JOSEPH MCCARTHY AND MCCARTHYISM QUESTIONS

1.Who was Joseph McCarthy?

Joseph McCarthy was an American politician, and served as an U.S. Republican Senator
from Wisconsin from 1947 until 1957.

2. What were his politics?

His politics were based on McCarthyism that was an anti-communist crusade, named like 
this because of McCarthy, who used brutal interrogation methods and accused a lot of people
of being communist agents or carrying out un-American activities.

3.What were the first accusations he made?

The firsts accusations he made, or at least one of the first ones, was in 1950 when he gave
a speech during he showed the audience a piece of paper with a list of the names of 205 
suppose active communists working in the State Department.

4.Why do you think the American public believed him?

I think that American public believed him because they were afraid of communist infiltration 
in their society and because he used controversial techniques that made people believe him.

5.What other people did he go on to accuse? What were foundations for his 
accusations?

McCarthy accused government employees, trade union activists and people in the 
entertainment industry like Hollywood actors and directors. He also accused officers from 
the U.S. Army for being communist agents. All his accusations were made with very poor 
evidences.

6.How and why did the reaction of the American public change?
The reaction of the American public changed when his brutal interrogation methos were
revealed in 1954. The support for McCarthy quickly dimished and he was censured by the Senate
for having abused his power as a senator.