A Decade Of Fear Analysis

The New York Times journalist, Sam Roberts, in the article, “A Decade of Fear” published in 2010 addresses the topic of the Red Scare and how it illustrates how McCarthyism turned Americans against each other after WWII due to threat posed by the Soviets and false accusations of the American government being infiltratred of communists.During the 20th century and after the Cold War, the ideas of democracy were being undermined by those of communism. On February 9th 1950, a statement made by Joseph McCarthy was made. He stated that,“ The State Department was infested by Communists.” This statement then led the creation of the word McCarthyism which is the act of unscrupulously accusing people of disloyalty without evidence.This led to many …show more content…
Another example of how McCarthyism turned Americans against each other, is that even when those who were forced to come forward with names didn’t they risked being disapproved on from many. “ Some agreed to testify, while others invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Either way, they risked ostracism that could cost them friends, families, and careers. As journalist Victor Navasky wrote, the committee and its victims agreed on one thing: "The test for friend or foe was the willingness to inform." Many who would not cooperate with the investigating committees were blacklisted by potential employers and unable to work for many years. The playwrights Arthur Miller and Lillian Hellman, and the actors Charlie Chaplin, Zero Mostel, and Paul Robeson were among hundreds who were persecuted because of real or imagined Communist sympathies.”
This shows how McCarthyism even forced unwilling Americans to turn on each other due to the consequences they would face if they did not. The accusations made by Joseph McCarthy turned many Americans against each other which we now know to be not right and