Introduction
The term McCarthyism was derived from Joseph McCarthy a former US senator who was a Republican of Wisconsin. According to American history, McCarthyism is regarded as the period from 1950 to 1954. During this era, the United States of America was involved in a lot of anti-communism. At this period, the American government considered the American communist party rebellious. The American leadership together with its citizens were assumed either as suspects of communists or communist sympathizers (Keach, 2000, para 6).
Thus, this was an era that involved many accusations that were not supported by any evidence. Therefore McCarthyism is a term used to refer to the false allegation of one political faction, on the basis of their political stand. It was a period that existed in America from 1950 to 1954 which affected the majority of Americans negatively. It intimidated the Americans who were pro-communism and resulted to be discriminated against in employment opportunities. This affected their social life negatively. Thus, McCarthyism is not appropriate and hence should not be exercised not only in America but in any state.
Definition of McCarthyism
McCarthyism is defined as a practice of accusing people of disloyalty and especially during pro-communist activity (Keach, 2000, para 6). These accusations are not supported by relevant evidence. Alternatively, McCarthyism can also be referred to as any effort that tries to hinder political criticism or curtail a certain group to express its views on certain issues happening in the government.
Description of McCarthyism
McCarthyism started in the 1940s and ended in 1950. ‘Witch-hunt’ was the term used to refer to McCarthyism. This meant acts of making accusations that were baseless. This period was referred to as the Second Red Scare because it was the period Americans feared communism. Joseph McCarthy used this period to intimidate people for his personal gain. Nowadays, McCarthyism is still in existence and is used to describe the practice of making false allegations to people without adequate proof of such an existence (Keach, 2000, para 8).
Negative Effects of McCarthyism on the Lives of Americans
The lives of many Americans were negatively affected by McCarthyism. Majority of Americans who were considered pro-communism lost their lives, while others suffered by losing their jobs. In addition, this period ruined the good perception people had about America. This period was regarded as evil due to the fear it was associated with it (Keach, 2000, para 8). Therefore, anybody that practiced it was excluded from opportunities such as jobs.
Many American citizens who were accused suffered greatly as the majority lost their jobs. Thus, it greatly affected the social lives of many Americans negatively. This is because, despite the worldwide belief in American brotherhood, McCarthy had divided the Americans into two factions; the communists and the pro-communists. During recruitment, employers asked the interviewees questions which they were aimed at disclosing which group they supported to affirm whether they will be granted the jobs. The answers were supposed to be according to the Waldorf statement which stated that no known communist would be fired and therefore the pro-communists were fired.
McCarthyism’s Effect on the Political Thinking of Americans
Americans feared communalism and the accusations of McCarthy which had no relevant evidence made people not support communism. This is because instead of the government protecting its people by maintaining justice, it accused them falsely. Thus, people had negative attitudes towards politics (Keach, 2000, para 5).
According to the effects that McCarthyism had on the lives of the Americans such as people losing their lives, increased unemployment, and giving America a bad image national wide, then McCarthyism was and not appropriate. For example, during interviews, the firm asked employees questions on politics or other related areas in order to determine their political stand. How they answered these questions enabled the team to determine their stand which resulted in the pro-communists losing the opportunities to be employed, while the communists were employed. Therefore, there was no discrimination among employees.
Conclusion
McCarthyism is not appropriate in any society. It has many negative effects on people and the politics of the country. Therefore, McCarthyism should not be applied because it does not support justice and many innocent people suffer.
References
Keach, W. (2000). Rehabilitating McCarthyism. International Socialist.