McCarthyism & Foreign Policies

The fear of communism sent the United States into a very dark period in foreign and domestic policy. One of the leaders of the "Red Scare" was Republican Sen. Joseph McCarthy, the man who created McCarthyism.

Facts

McCarthyism is the name given to the post-World War II push to protect the U.S. from communism. The rampant fear became known as the Red Scare. Sen. McCarthy led the way in 1950 with his list of more than 200 communists within the U.S. Department of State.

Black List

The people on McCarthy's list and others (actors, businesspeople and even foreign diplomats) were hauled into secretive hearings led by McCarthy and essentially accused of treason.

McCarthy and Foreign Policy

McCarthy's actions were extreme, but they were similar to measures taken by state and municipal governments out of fear of a communist takeover. President Harry Truman's foreign policy, known as the Truman Doctrine, was created not long before McCarthy debuted his black list. The Truman Doctrine stood for decades as the U.S. government's reasoning for entering into uprisings, wars and disputes all over the globe.

References

• American History 102: The Coils of Cold War
• The National Archives: Prelude to McCarthyism
• University of Pennsylvania: Truman Doctrine