McCarthyismThe Witch Hunt without Witches

McCarthyismA term for the widespread

accusations and investigations of suspected Communist

activities in the U.S. during the 1950s.

--Insufficient evidenceInsufficient evidence-Unfair-Unfair-Used to suppress -Used to suppress oppositionopposition

McCarthyism

Fed by the quick invention of the Soviet Atomic Bomb. It was assumed spies must have helped them.

Also China became Communist and The Korean War.

Blamed the problems of the U.S. on the supposed secret presence of Communists in

the government

Joseph McCarthySenator Joseph R. McCarthy was a little-

known junior senator from Wisconsin.

He claimed to possess a list of 205 card-carrying Communists employed in the U.S.

Department of State. 

How Did it All Start? Communists in California and New

York All Citizens of the United States Communism was not illegal McCarthy wanted to expose them to

decrease their credibility Scared of bombing from Russia

Loyalty Boards/ HUAC

Loyalty boardsLoyalty boards investigated the federal workers under Truman’s

command to search

The senator created theHouse

Un-American Activities

Committee (HUAC)

Loyalty Boards/ HUAC HUAC- most widely known for its investigations

of suspected Communist influence in the late 1940s and early 1950s.

1947, HUAC subpoenaed 41 witnesses for its hearings on Communist influence in Hollywood.

The Hollywood 10 Ten of them, mostly writers and

directors, refused to answer questions at first, denounced the committee, and were held in contempt of Congress.

These witnesses became known as the “Hollywood Ten” and were “blacklisted” from the industry for many years afterward.

Why it Worked The Big Hollywood 10: 8 of 10

actors refused to appear in court and were sentenced to a year in prison

The blacklist: Informally, if you were accused of communism you could not be hired

The Deal

McCarthyism is now used as a reference to “reckless public accusations of disloyalty to

the U.S.”

Sell out your friends and you keep your reputation

Effects of McCarthyism Innocent people’s careers

ruined- three hundred and twenty artists were blacklisted (Among them were Arthur Miller and Charlie Chaplin.)

Arthur Miller & “ The Crucible”: Miller wrote The Crucible as an

allegory for the unjust accusations of Joseph McCarthy.

Arthur Miller Grew up during the Great Depression Wrote screenplays for Hollywood Won a Pulitzer in 1949 for Death of a

Salesman. 1953- wrote The Crucible based on Salem

Witch Trials. He wrote the play during the McCarthy

hearings when his friends were being attacked for pro- communist activities.

Arthur Miller & “ The Crucible”:When The Crucible opened in January of 1953, audiences noted the similarities between the Salem witch trials and the HUAC investigations.

In 1956 Miller was called to testify before the committee. He was later convicted of contempt of Congress for refusing to name persons seen at meetings organized by so-called Communist sympathizers. Miller’s conviction was overturned in 1958.