The Gradual Unraveling Public support for McCarthy's methods began to wane as his tactics grew increasingly reckless and his targets more mainstream. Amplification by Media and Institutions While McCarthy provided the spark, the fire of McCarthyism was significantly fueled by other institutions.
From Accusations To Blacklists The Tactics That Fueled McCarthyism
While the number fluctuated wildly in subsequent retellings and the list itself was never substantiated, the speech provided the sensationalist blueprint for accusing the federal government of being riddled with traitors. On February 9, 1950, McCarthy delivered a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, that would ignite the phenomenon.
Holding a piece of paper, he claimed to possess a list of 205 known communists who were working in the State Department. The rapid expansion of Soviet influence in Eastern Europe, the victory of communist forces in China in 1949, and the outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 all contributed to a pervasive dread that communism was not just a foreign ideology but a domestic contagion.
From Accusations To Blacklists McCarthyism
The mere allegation was often enough to destroy a career, as loyalty hearings became common and the burden of proof shifted to the accused to demonstrate their patriotism, a nearly impossible task in the climate of fear. The Political Climate of Post-War Anxiety To understand how McCarthyism start, one must first examine the intense atmosphere of suspicion that defined the late 1940s.
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