The+McCarthy+Era1

__**Joseph McCarthy**__ In a 1950 speech, McCarthy entered the public spotlight by claiming that communists had "infested" the State Department, dramatically waving a sheet of paper which purportedly contained the traitors' names. A special Senate committee investigated the charges and found them groundless. McCarthy used his position to wage a relentless anti-communist crusade. With little if any proof of his charges, McCarthy relied on accusation, slander and innuendo to tarnish his opponents' reputations. In 1954, televised hearings allowed millions to view McCarthy's methods for the first time, sparking a public backlash and official censure. ([]) [|McCarthy's Hearing]
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__**McCarthyism**__- During the post World War II era of McCarthyism, thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers and became the subject of investigations and questioning before government or private-industry panels, committees and agencies. The primary targets of such suspicions were government employees, those in the entertainment industry, educators and union activists. ([])

__**Blacklist**__ The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) blacklisted many people. Blacklisting means putting people on a list of suspected communists. It meant that their professional reputation was destroyed, and that no one would hire them for fear of being thought a communist. The HUAC and Joseph McCarthy forced many people to testify at their hearings. They asked if the people had ever been communists, they asked if they were communists now, and they asked them for the names of people who could be communists. Most people did not want to answer, because they felt that it was a violation of both their civil rights and any people they might name. ([])

McCarthy is often incorrectly described as part of the House Committee on Un-American Activity or HUAC. HUAC is best known for the investigation of Alger Hiss and for its investigation of the Hollywood film industry, which led to the blacklisting of hundreds of actors, writers, and directors. HUAC was a House committee, and as such had no formal connection with McCarthy, who served in the Senate. **
 * __HUAC__

A 1947 comic book published by the Catechetical Guild Educational Society warning of the supposed dangers of a Communist takeover