Cormac McCarthy

The history of mankind has brought about many instances where there have been episodes of mass hysteria. Although history is taught so that we may learn from past mistakes, there is still a tendency for it to repeat itself. Epidemics of false accusations and innocent executions seem all too familiar in the study of humankind. In the late 1600s, several small Massachusetts towns had executed many of their citizens under the false pretense that they had been practicing witchcraft. There was a…

The House Committee on Un- American Activities (HUAC) was an investigating committee of the United State House of Representatives that operated during the 1930s to 1970s. Martin Dies was the first chairman of the Un-American Activities, which was established in 1938. At first, the role of the HUAC was to investigate a variety of political groups as well as subversive activities. Due to the Red Scare of the 1950, many hearings were structured towards investigating whether a person is a communist…

As a result of the development of the "Cold War" in the late 1940s most Americans came to believe that communism threatened world peace and the liberties of free people everywhere. Including the United States. Indeed, the issue that aroused more American passion than any other in the late 1940s and early 1950s was the fanatical fear of communism which led to the Second Red Scare. Like the first Red Scare following World War I, the Red Scare of the 1950's was a product of hysterical overreaction…

Communism was such a startling time for American society, creating various suicides and pure killings, including the suicide of Don Hollenbeck, which shook the newsroom. It was to a great degree, very brave of Edward R. Murrow to face Joseph McCarthy before the camera, expressing many facts that demonstrate his honesty and innocence, and McCarthy's ludicrousness. While the American society could have rejected him, not trusted him, or essentially disregard his comments. Be that as it may, Murrow…

“Good Night and Good Morning” helped in my understanding of American society during the McCarthy era by visually demonstrating how something as basic as a loosely constructed claim could ruin a life of a person. The film also demonstrated how people such as McCarthy could use the fear of the Soviet Union as a tool to achieve their own goals, as he did when he slandered Edward with having communist ties. The film demonstrates how slander and claims of ties to the Soviet Union could so easily be…

It is known that Miller wrote The Crucible as a reaction to the critical period in our country’s. There are several parallels between the McCarthy era and the Salem witch trials. The Crucible along with McCarthyism involved claims that were made with little to no proof, with the use of a scare factor, and the creation of hostility and paranoia. McCarthy was well known for the list of “a list of 200 names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and…

Being thin, I never thought that I can win a fight with anyone. Until a gangster taught me this, “You are thin so don’t engaged in a fist fight. Use anything that you can get hold of and turn into a weapon. Because no matter how big they are you can still hurt them with it.” He taught me further, “Always wear a belt; it can be turned into a weapon for protection.” I still wear a belt today but only to hold my pants up. In the light of this incident, let me share my deepest demon with you. I have…

The Army-McCarthy Hearings took place between April and June of 1954. Joseph McCarthy, Senator of the state of Wisconsin, wrongly accused people of association with communism to further his political career. When Joseph McCarthy was up for reelection, he turned his investigations on communism in the Army to gain public support. Because Pvt. G. David Schine, former staff member on McCarthy’s team, had been drafted into the army, the Army then accused McCarthy of trying to seek out special…

Paranoia is a frightening thing. It completely alters the way someone lives and thinks. Harsh judgments can be made when we suspect the worst is coming. A famous example of this was Senator Joseph McCarthy. During the late 1940’s and 1950’s, he believed over two hundred communists had hacked the United States Government System (McCarthyism). He desired to find and uncover the ‘communists” hiding in the United States. This was an ongoing subject of quandary and chaos for many years. Most…

Barenblatt v U.S. 360 U.S. 109 (1959) Facts A case readdressing the HUAC committee. In 1953 the HUAC subcommittee initiated hearings to “ascertain the character, extent and objects of Communist Party activities” carried out by teachers who are the “subject to the directive and discipline of the Communist party.” One of those called to testify before the committee was Francis X. T. Crowley, who admitted being a member of a club tied to the communist party while a graduate student at the…