The phrase McCarthyism was first coined in the late 40’s to 50’s during the suspicious political climate against communists. The phrase refers to Senator Joseph McCarthy, a senator from Wisconsin, and his political tactics. McCarthy had a bad reputation for being an infected legislature, so he desperately tried to find an issue to capture the publics’ votes and become re-elected.
Being an anti-communist activist, McCarthy claimed that communists were taking over the government. Feeding off the publics’ fear of communism, McCarthy continued to make false accusations about communists in the government. These attacks on supposed communists became known as McCarthyism.
The meaning today is accusing others of treason with unsupported accusations. McCarthy claimed that up to 205 communists were in the State Department. He also bashed the Democratic Party for treason by allowing communists to infiltrate the government. He was careful to make his false claims in the Senate, where he had legal immunity.
Other republicans did not stop McCarthy, but when he made accusations against the army, the government issued an investigation on McCarthy. Shown as a criminal, McCarthy quickly lost public support. The Senate condemned him, and 3 years later, he died from the effects of too much alcohol.
-Felix, Kevin
