Mccarthyism In The Cold War

Appeal for McCarthyism in the Cold War In the era following World War II, tensions between the United States and Soviet Russia were at their highest. Americans were on constant alert for an imminent nuclear war outbreak. This constant threat caused many Americans to become frightened. McCarthy gave people a relief to their stress, by giving them the belief that the government was successfully hunting down and capturing communists, and that McCarthy’s actions were preventing a war. In addition, anti-communist propaganda was utilized by the government to promote opposition to communism, and to create fear of communism. Americans also just wanted to fit in during this stressful time, which would prevent them from being accused, and they would …show more content…
This had the effect of spreading McCarthyism. There was propaganda on the dangers of communism, and on what would happen if America fell to communism. These propaganda campaigns turned communists into monsters to the public who needed to be stopped. The propaganda also caused people to support McCarthyism, because he was doing his best to ensure that communism never took over America. There were ads on how to find communists, and where to report if you did find one. This only made it easier for people to report on their neighbors about communism, which caused a spread of McCarthyism. Even without the propaganda, it was unlikely that there would have been a communist takeover, but it didn’t stop McCarthy from utilizing it to his utmost advantage. McCarthy, while utilizing propaganda, twisted the truth, and made it seem as though communism was much more of a danger to the American government than it actually was. McCarthy used the fear of communism created by the propaganda to continue his witch hunt, and continue to accuse innocent people of communist activities. Political propaganda was key in allowing McCarthy to convince the public that communism was right on America’s doorstep and that only he could keep it at