Joseph R. McCarthy

Born in Wisconsin Served in WWII Ran for that senate in 1946 – Accused his opponent of being “communistically inclined” Never provided any proof of this – Made very intense speeches Won the election Used the same method to gain popularity in the senate

McCarthyism Accused many high ranking officials of either being a communist or covering up communists – Secretary of State Dean Acheson and former army chief and sec. of state George Marshall Most Americans believed his accusations – Still did not provide any proof McCarran Act was passed out of fear – Required all Communist organizations to register with the attorney general and report their records Truman vetoed, but congress overrode the vote

McCarthyism McCarthy gained more power and became the leader of the Senate subcommittee of investigations – Allowed him to bring communists to court and testify He used flimsy evidence and irrational fears – Created a witch hunt His tactics became known as McCarthyism – Would badger witnesses and not allow them to answer People allowed this to happen in fear of being accused themselves

McCarthyism In 1954 McCarthy started to target the US Army in his Witch hunt The army instead did their own investigation and found no communists Unhappy with these results, McCarthy took the US army to court – The trials were televised so all America could see Army Lawyer Joseph Welch went up against McCarthy

Army-McCarthy hearings McCarthyism was on full display for all of America to see After McCarthy accused one of Welch’s employees, Welch had had enough – Welch attacked McCarthy and his tactics America was fed up McCarthy was censured and denied any real power in the senate McCarthyism had ended

Political Cartoons What big problem is this cartoon concerned with? What are the key symbols in the cartoon and how are they distorted? How do the distortions help the cartoon make its point? Use your background knowledge of the topic Are there any words? How would the opposing view see this cartoon?

Today’s Assignment You will be creating a political cartoon that deals with an aspect of chapter 21. You can choose from The Red Scare, McCarthy, or popular culture during the Cold War. It must be neat, colored and explained on the back of the paper. Remember, political cartoons tell people what YOU think of an issue. Have fun!

Tips for Making an Awesome Political Cartoon Exaggerated expressions Symbols Labels, titles, and captions help the viewer understand what is going on Relationships of the objects in the picture Analogies