Red Scare Similarities

1920s
Attorney General A. Mitchell

1950s
Senator Joseph McCarthy House Un-American

Palmer Committee on Public Information

Creel Committee

Public fear of Communism

spread to unconstitutional arrests and imprisonment of suspected Reds American freedoms were restricted

Activities Committee Public fear of Communism spread to unconstitutional arrests and imprisonment of suspected Reds American freedoms were restricted

Rise of Senator Joseph McCarthy

Rose to popularity during a speech in 1950 in which he proclaimed that the State Department

was full of Communists

Senator Joseph McCarthy

Never produced any evidence to support his claim about Communists in the State Department

Became a leading member of Congress during his witch hunts (1950-1954)

Army-McCarthy Hearings
1954- McCarthy accused the army of concealing evidence of espionage activities and General Ralph

Zwicker of shielding Communists Televised hearings showed McCarthy as a bully who treated his witnesses badly

Fall of Senator Joseph McCarthy

The Army-McCarthy Hearings brought a

rapid decline to McCarthys influence December 1954- McCarthy was condemned by the Senate for conduct contrary to senatorial traditions and censured
Censure does not remove a senator from office
It is a formal statement of disapproval that

usually discredits the actions of the senator

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)

Operated at the same time as Senator

McCarthy, but not with him Held many public hearings and treated those who refused to answer its questions as guilty of being Communists Freely and openly accused many in the movie, television, and radio industry of being Communists and ruined many reputations