The 1950's Red Scare

The 1950’s Red Scare

“The line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one and the junior Senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep into our own history and our doctrine and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes which were for the moment unpopular. This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods to keep silent. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result” (Edward Murrow). These words were spoken by Edward Murrow on his show See It Now on March 9th, 1954 protesting against the rash actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy. Senator McCarthy, infamously known as a witch hunter, accused many innocent citizens of being Communists, Communist supporters, or anti-anti-Communists, which in turn caused these people to feel betrayal by their own country, paranoia in everyone, and even fear of McCarthy himself (McCarthyism). These mentioned people would lose their jobs immediately, be given punishments without due process of law, and maybe even be interrogated by McCarthy on television in front of millions of viewers. Average Americans were afraid what to do in response to this situation for the simple reason that anyone who opposed McCarthy’s views was a “Communist” (McCarthyism). Some patriotic citizens had the courage to stand up for their beliefs even if it meant they had to endure the accusations. One of these patriots was Edward Murrow, who went against McCarthy, fully aware of the consequences involved. This period of time was named the Red Scare for the following two reasons: calling someone “Red” means calling them a Communist and the fear of the American citizens (McCarthyism).

Joseph McCarthy was born on November 14, 1908 in Appleton, Wisconsin. He grew up as a Catholic in a family of nine children. He attended Marquette University to be a lawyer but did not make as much money as he thought, so he substituted his lack of income with gambling. He soon ran for district attorney as a Democrat but failed in his attempt. He then ran for circuit court judge against his opponent, Edgar Werner. He falsely claimed that Werner was “73 years old, senile, and guilty of financial corruption” (Joe McCarthy: Biography).

Joseph McCarthy joined the US marines at the beginning of WW2 and resigned as the circuit court judge. Shortly after WW2, McCarthy ran for senator of Wisconsin against Robert La Follette. He claimed that La Follette didn’t join the army because he didn’t want to. In fact, La Follette was too old to join the army at the time. Many other false claims were given against Robert La Follette which later drove him to commit suicide after losing the election (Joe McCarthy: Biography).

One his first day as Senator, McCarthy came up with a solution to a certain coal strike. He said that the miners were to be drafted into the army, and if they still refused to mine, then they would be court-martialed for insubordination and shot. The years after that were filled with people claiming that he lied about his war record, investigations of McCarthy for tax offenses and taking bribes. In response to this, he held a meeting with his advisers about how to keep his seat in the senate. Edmund Walsh suggested that McCarthy begin a campaign against Communist subversives. This was the action that spun the Red Scare into motion (Joe McCarthy: Biography).

One of McCarthy’s friends, Jack Anderson, fed him information about the certain government workers that were suspected of being Communists. This was only one of McCarthy’s accomplices however. J. Edgar Hoover became his other accomplice who helped organize the hearings between McCarthy and the accused. Without these hearings, McCarthy would not have produced the amount of fear that he achieved. The fear of Communists in the US was building slowly until one significant event (Joe McCarthy: Biography).

On February 9th, 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy came out to the public with a list of 205 supposed American Communists. He stated that these people were acting as spies for the Soviet Union. He said these words on that day regarding the situation, "The reason why we find ourselves in a position of impotency is not because the enemy has sent men to invade our shores, but rather because of the traitorous actions of those who have had all the benefits that the wealthiest nation on earth has had to offer - the finest homes, the finest college educations, and the finest jobs in Government we can give" (Joe McCarthy: Biography). In response to this new outbreak of fear of Communism, people like Edward R. Murrow started popping out, voicing their opinions (Edward Murrow).

Edward R. Murrow was born on April 25th, 1908 in Polecat Creek, Greensboro, North Carolina. He attended Washington State College before joining CBS in 1935. At the beginning of WW2, CBS sent Murrow to Europe in order to report on the war firsthand. He reported from France first and then from Germany at the time of the liberation of the death camps. He personally went into Buchenwald to report on the scene (Edward Murrow). His report upon entering Buchenwald will be given report will be given at the end of this report and not included in the length as it is too long.

After the war, Murrow was given the chance to host his own show, See It Now, which he used to report on the current news for 30 minutes. After McCarthy came out with his list of 205 Communists however, he became interested in the current situation and wanted to use his program for something more useful. When Larry Duggan, a friend of Murrow’s committed suicide after being accused of being a Communist, Murrow became greatly upset and began to become even more interested in the current situation. This interest caused Murrow and his producer, Fred Friendly to use their own money to advertise their next show that was going to be directed straight at McCarthy and his actions (Edward Murrow).

On March 9th, 1954, Murrow made his famous speech attacking McCarthy’s methods and calling for action from those “men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods” (Edward Murrow). My paraphrase of his speech is given here. The difference between evidence and investigation and immediate accusation is very clear, and Senator McCarthy doesn’t realize the difference. Our country will not be driven by fear into a time of uncertainty and pandemonium. If we look back into the history of the US, we will observe that those men who opposed Great Britain didn’t keep quiet about their opinions. This is no time for people who don’t like McCarthy’s methods to stay silent. We can deny our history, but we cannot deny the responsibility for what comes of it (Edward Murrow).

Following the show, Don Hollenbeck came on his normal 11pm news and said the following words: “I want to associate myself with every word just spoken by Ed Murrow.” After 3 years of unbearable accusations of being a Communist, Don Hollenbeck committed suicide by gas (Good Night, and Good Luck). Senator McCarthy indirectly took another life in his struggle to keep his seat in the Senate.

Ed Murrow’s history has continued with the recent movie Good Night, and Good Luck directed and written by George Clooney. The plot of the movie is much like the real event where Edward Murrow and his colleagues have to make the major decision of whether or not to take a shot at McCarthy on their show, See It Now. Contrary to the fact that the movie was made in 2005, it is in black and white. In my opinion, it only adds to the seriousness and risk of the situation. Good Night, and Good Luck begins in 1958 with Edward Murrow’s speech on the correct use of television. He used phrases like, “At the end of this discourse a few people may accuse this reporter of fouling his own comfortable nest and your organization may be accused of having given hospitality to heretical and even dangerous ideas.” His comfortable nest is his job, and the organization or CBS might be accused of supporting crazy ideas. He continues, “And if there are any historians about 50 or 100 years from now, and there should be preserved the kinescopes of one week of all 3 networks, they will there find recorded in black and white, and in color evidence of decadence, escapism, and insulation from the realities of the world in which we live. We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable, and complacent. We have a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this.” He is saying that TV and all of the media are being used for the wrong reasons. He believes that the media is being used to blind us from the real problems at hand in the world. Whether he is right or not, I do not know. Overall, the movie is fantastic and my need to be watched more than once.

The beginning of the end of Senator McCarthy came when J.B Matthews was hired by Senator McCarthy as his research director. Matthews published an article stating that “the Protestant Clergy was the “largest single group supporting the Communist apparatus in the United States” (McCarthyism). The public was outraged by this article, and McCarthy lost some popularity. McCarthy also started investigating the Army Signal Corps Laboratory at Fort Monmouth. He inspected the employees there even after they had already been inspected by the government. The army was already examining the workers again, but McCarthy had a knack for sticking his nose in matters that didn’t matter. Soon after, McCarthy gave up the case “after months of quarreling with the army” (McCarthyism).

An interesting fall in McCarthy's popularity occurred when he tried to investigate an army dentist, Irving Peress. The army dentist had invoked the 5th amendment when filling out a questionnaire. He was then promoted to Major. McCarthy questioned why Peress was allowed to be promoted to Major. While questioning General Zwicker, he demanded a list of names from him. When the general refused, he compared his intelligence to that of “a five year old child.” This attack on the general lost McCarthy almost all of his support from the American public and the press. Still, he wanted to investigate more into the Peress case by having televised hearings. These hearings went on for 2 months as viewers watched McCarthy torment witnesses. On one hearing, McCarthy didn’t drop a serious matter when speaking to Joseph Welch. Welch exclaimed, “You’ve done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?” (McCarthyism) This changed everyone’s view of McCarthy. He went from being the person to uncover the truth to “cruel, manipulative and reckless” (McCarthyism).

On December 2nd, 1954, the Senate voted to censure Senator McCarthy. This was the end of Senator Joseph McCarthy and the Red Scare. He died on May 2, 1957 from acute hepatitis after having cirrhosis as a result from over-drinking. The Red Scare left many people without jobs, kids who weren’t allowed to play with other kids because of their parents, and citizens left shocked after being investigated and persecuted by their own government (McCarthyism). The only thing we can learn from this dark period of history is to not make the same mistakes as the “men we are descended from” (Edward Murrow). The junior senator from Wisconsin caused the very event that our founding fathers set out to prevent. People like Edward Murrow had to stand up for their beliefs against their own country. “Our history will be what we make it” (Good Night, and Good Luck). In order to determine our future, we must study the past. Many people will tell you why history is studied in school is for this exact reason. What we can learn from this segment of our own dark history is that over-zeal in our country can cause instability and unreason in the process of doing what we feel in our hearts is right.



Works Cited



1. “Edward Murrow.” Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Spartacus Educational. 4/22/10

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmurrow.htm



2. Good Night, and Good Luck. Dir. George Clooney. Warner Independent Pictures, 2005.



3. “Joe McCarthy: Biography.” Spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk. Spartacus Educational. 4/22/10

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmccarthy.htm



4. “McCarthyism.” Mtholyoke.edu. 4/22/10

<http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~lillsie/McCarthyism/background.html>