Then there were the enemy spies. In 1950 Alger Hiss was convicted of providing sensitive documents to the Soviets. In 1951 Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were convicted of giving nuclear secrets to the Soviet Union and were sentenced to death. In 1950 Klaus Fuchs was also arrested for handing over atomic secrets to the Soviets, and these are just a few of the numerous spies apprehended for helping the Soviet Union.

The US government also passed laws and started committees that made the public more fearful of the communist threat. The House Un-American Activities Council (HUAC) began targeting Americans believed to be communists, in particular those on the left side of the political spectrum. In 1950 Congress passed the McCarran Internal Security Act which required that those considered to be “subversive” had to submit to government supervision. President Truman vetoed the bill saying that it went against the Bill of Rights, but the House overrode his veto and it was passed.

It is not hard to see why the American public was terrified of a communist takeover of America. Joseph McCarthy came along and played on this terror, winning over public opinion in order to go after communists with no limits.

McCarthy’s Rise to Power

Joseph McCarthy was a Republican Senator from Wisconsin and was elected in 1946. He rose to prominence when on February 9, 1950, he gave a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia and claimed to have the names of 205 communists that had infiltrated the state department. In a few other speeches he reiterated this claim, attracting public attention and eventually the attention of the Senate. He was asked to testify before the Senate and on February 15, 1950 he testified and cited 81 cases of alleged communists in prominent positions. Many of McCarthy’s claims were flimsy and he rehashed the same information over and over but the Senate called for a full investigation.