American anti-communism is often known as McCarthyism. Did the Cold War crusade against Communists in the U.S. begin with Senator McCarthy?
The Cold War was not only a matter of foreign policy. It affected every aspect of American life. While Americans generally opposed the Soviet Union and communism, the American government took measures to ensure that communists did not gain influence within the United States.
Anticommunism had been a powerful force in America from the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917. It became very powerful once again during the Cold War. Both the Congress and the Truman administration sought to identify and eliminate communist influence in the U.S. in the 1940s. In Congress, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) began investigating communist influence in the film industry. The so-called "Hollywood Ten," writers and directors accused of being members or supporters of the Communist Party, were questioned about their political beliefs. As a result of HUAC's hearings, some writers and directors were "blacklisted" in Hollywood, which meant that movie studios refused to hire known or suspected Communists. The Truman administration began the Federal Employee Loyalty Program, which required government workers to take an oath declaring that they did not support the views of the Communist Party. Employees who refused to take such an oath were dismissed. Many states passed similar laws requiring employees to take such oaths.
The most publicized example of the government's effort to dismiss Communists was the case of Alger Hiss, a state department employee who had, in fact, once belonged the Communist Party and had passed secret government information to the Soviet Union. Whittaker Chambers, a journalist, former government employee, and former Communist, accused Hiss of being a Communist spy. Few people believed Chambers, because Hiss had been considered a model employee, who was destined for a distinguished career in government. One young congressman, Richard M. Nixon of California, believed Chambers, and pursued the case against Hiss. After months of hearings, Nixon persuaded many Americans that Hiss had lied about his role as a Communist informer. In 1949 Hiss was convicted of perjury (lying under oath) and sentenced to five years in prison. The case ended Hiss's career in government and launched Nixon's.
American anti-communism is often called McCarthyism, because the leading opponent of communism in the U.S. in the 1950s was Sen. Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, even though the anti-Communist crusade began before Sen. McCarthy became its leader. In a speech in 1950, McCarthy claimed to have a list of 205 Communists working in the U.S. government. In a later speech, he claimed that communism was "a conspiracy so immense" that it threatened to destroy the government of the United States.
McCarthy's sensational charges soon attracted a great deal of attention, and he began conducting hearings into the presence of Communists in the U.S. government. Even though most of his charges were untrue, few politicians were willing to challenge the powerful, ruthless senator. In 1953, however, the Army-McCarthy hearings were held to investigate charges that McCarthy had tried to secure special treatment for a former assistant. McCarthy claimed that the Army was trying to pressure him to stop investigating possible Communist influence within the Army. These hearings were televised, and attracted many viewers. In June, Joseph Welch, a lawyer for the Army, dared to stand up to McCarthy, calling him "so reckless and so cruel," and asking "Have you left no sense of decency?" Welch's speech marked the beginning of the end of McCarthy's power. Although McCarthy was found innocent of improperly trying to help his former assistant, the Senate in December condemned McCarthy for abusing his power as a senator and a committee chairman.