McCarthy launches hunt for US Communists

Historical Context Note

Lucas Paul Richert (University of Saskatchewan)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 3.2.4: American (US) Writing and Culture: Postwar and Contemporary, 1945-present.
Vol. editors: Sofia Ahlberg (Uppsala University), Patrick Chura (University of Akron), Emory Elliott (University of California, Riverside), Dale Enggass (University of Utah), Christopher Hugh Gair (University of Glasgow), Matthew Hofer (University of New Mexico), Stephen E. Meats (Pittsburg State University), Kerry Myler (Birmingham Newman University), Justin Parks (UiT - The Arctic University of Norway), Nick Selby (University of East Anglia)

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Censorship of expression

Dates

Date of occurrence 1950-02-09

Places

United States (Location)

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In February 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy began his hunt for Communists in the U.S. government by publicly charging that 205 Communists had infiltrated the State Department. This charge propelled McCarthy into the national headlines. He was subsequently unable to produce the name of a single ‘card-carrying’ Communist in government; however, this did not deter him. Re-elected to the Senate in 1952, McCarthy was named the Chairman of the Government Committee on Operations. From this position, McCarthy continued his hunt for communists in government. His pugnacious style and insubstantial charges harmed many innocent Americans. McCarthy’s influence dwindled in 1954, as a result of the nationally televised U.S. army hearings. The hearings exposed to the public McCarthy’s belligerent…

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156 words

Citation: Richert, Lucas Paul. "McCarthy launches hunt for US Communists". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 01 October 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?rec=true&UID=3214, accessed 26 November 2024.]

McCarthy launches hunt for US Communists

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