McCarthy accused anyone who he disagreed with of being a communist. He particularly went after people who were populists or activists or had leftist leanings of any kind. He accused many of his political opponents and writers and actors in Hollywood. People who were accused were then brought before a senate committee and asked to name names. It became a witch hunt and many people were blackballed from their professions and unable to work.
Anyone and his sister who associated themselves with another accused communist. And then anyone who was close to that person, most people turned in others for their positions or for vengeful purposes.
McCarthy Vindicated At Last 12/18/2007 http://bit.ly/b2fmz8
"...These intercepted cables proved that there were over 350 Americans spying for the Soviets, and enabled investigators to identify about half of them. Joe McCarthy had access to the information contained in the top secret Venona intercepts, access given him by J. Edgar Hoover and others concerned with the extent of Soviet espionage and penetration, but he could not defend himself against charges of recklessly accusing people of being Soviet agents by revealing the source of his information without alerting the Soviets that some of their most important secrets were known to U.S. Intelligence..."
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McCarthy accused anyone who he disagreed with of being a communist. He particularly went after people who were populists or activists or had leftist leanings of any kind. He accused many of his political opponents and writers and actors in Hollywood. People who were accused were then brought before a senate committee and asked to name names. It became a witch hunt and many people were blackballed from their professions and unable to work.
Anyone and his sister who associated themselves with another accused communist. And then anyone who was close to that person, most people turned in others for their positions or for vengeful purposes.
McCarthy Vindicated At Last 12/18/2007 http://bit.ly/b2fmz8
"...These intercepted cables proved that there were over 350 Americans spying for the Soviets, and enabled investigators to identify about half of them. Joe McCarthy had access to the information contained in the top secret Venona intercepts, access given him by J. Edgar Hoover and others concerned with the extent of Soviet espionage and penetration, but he could not defend himself against charges of recklessly accusing people of being Soviet agents by revealing the source of his information without alerting the Soviets that some of their most important secrets were known to U.S. Intelligence..."
In 1950 anti-communist hysteria began to emerge in the USA as encouraged by the actions of Senator Joe McCarthy who began accusing high-ranking US officials of being communists or at least them selling secrets to the Russians. Many government employees were found guilty about passing on secrets about the Atom Bomb but he eventually lost popularity and then soon power as his accusations grew wilder and cruder each day. All this simply served to increase tension between the two superpowers due to the hysteria created and the detest shown by this senator towards the communists.
When he finally accused President Dwight D. Eisenhower of being a communist they had finally had enough.
I think it was because he was a bad man about accusing people of being communists
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy and the House Committee on Un-American Activities created a reign of terror by going on a communist witch hunt. McCarthy questioned the loyalty and patriotism of people he suspected of being communists. Hearings were held and reputations were ruined.
McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. During the McCarthy era, thousands of Americans were accused of being Communists or communist sympathizers.