McCarthyism--A product of Containment (a six point lesson plan) Focus and Review Purpose: Through this lesson plan, a comprehension of the causes, outcomes, and key players involved in the culmination of the 2nd Red Scare can be achieved. While learning the factual information involved with the phenomenon of “McCarthyism,” one can understand it to be another product of the initial policy of Containment--a complete alienation of President Washington’s isolationist desires. Through the observation of primary source documents and connections to literature, the student will understand the mass hysteria that was created by containment political leaders and their legislation--while making connections across the curriculum. Key Questions: Who was Joseph McCarthy? How did he justify his propaganda? What medium did he use to spread it? What evidence is there that supports his views? How was the era represented in literary examples such as The Crucible? If McCarthy had not accused army officials of communism, would he still have had the same downfall? Were American’s fears used against them during the red scare? What about today? Or is the government just being protective and making sure those fears do not become realities? Statement of Objectives NC SCOS--U.S. History Objectives Objective 11.01: Describe the effects of the Cold War on economic, political, and social life in America. Skills Objectives Critical Thinking--The student will gain the factual knowledge of the McCarthy era, while making the realization that it was an outcome of the containment decision. Analysis--The student will analyze excerpts from Joseph McCarthy’s speeches and political cartoons of the time as a primary source documents to understand more thoroughly the impact one person can have on society in a time of high suspicion. Literature--The student will learn the background of and read excerpts from The Crucible to gain a comprehension of McCarthyism’s relationship with literary themes Audio--The student will hear excerpts from the Army-McCarthy hearings to understand the fall of McCarthy. Groups--The students will actively discuss the relationship between The Crucible and the Red Scare. Teacher Input McCarthyism Lecture Notes/Outline Background: During the 1950’s, the Cold War spread around the world. At home, McCarthyism caused fear and distrust. I. Setting the Scene A. Communist aggression in Korea was causing increased concern on the part of Americans B. Senator Joseph McCarthy’s declaration of State Dept. commies 1. Wheeling, West VA--look at “Enemies from Within”--view speech 2. 205 names--later reduced to 57 in light of suspicion C. In the atmosphere of the time, the charges quickly gained support and only the most courageous spoke out against him 1. Edward R. Murrow II. The McCarthy Era A. His accusations were more accepting during time of events in Asia; however, the names were those of people who still worked for the government, even though they were considered “disloyal” under Truman--view Feb. 11, 1950 conversation with Truman--view speech B. This sparked an anti-Communist “mass hysteria” and national search for subversives that caused fear and suspicion across the nation--view political cartoons C. McCarthy’s rise to power 1. He needed a popular issue for the 1952 election a. Found an issue in the “menace of communism” b. Piled baseless accusations on top of improvable charges c. He took his crusade to the senate floor and “McCarthyism” was born d. Not only was he reelected, but became chairman of an investigations subcommittee e. Being accused by him meant losing your job and reputation D. McCarthy takes on larger targets 1. Sec. of State George Marshall 2. Other senators--worried to oppose--feared they would get “branded” E. There were some exceptions 1. Margaret Chase Smith a. Declaration of Conscience III. The Fall of McCarthy A. Early 1954--he charged that even the army was full of commies B. Army officials, in turn, charged him with seeking special treatment C. The senator’s subcommittee voted to investigate the claims 1. Televised Army-McCarthy hearings--listen/look at “Have you no sense of Decency” part of the hearings (see reference list) D. By the end, he had lost even his most adamant supporters--he lost his credibility and the 2nd Red Scare was finished Materials/Resources -Copies of Joseph McCarthy’s speeches--at Wheeling and to President Truman -Audio recording of the Army-McCarthy hearings -Computer with internet access -MP3 player -Transparencies of political cartoons for discussion *The interactive lecture that introduces McCarthyism should include the political cartoons and copies of the senator’s speeches--at Wheeling and to President Truman (Appendix A). Guided Practice Following a question and answer session on the lecture, the teacher should then summarize the events of the Crucible--pass out the summary. Also, chosen excerpts from the play should be incorporated into the introduction/discussion with the students (If possible, one may want to include video excerpts--listed in the resource list). (Appendix B) In order to visually demonstrate the “mass hysteria“ and the quick spreading of the accusations, show the website that includes an interactive map of them (see reference list). The students should then be arranged into groups in order to discuss and write down the relationships between the play and the Red Scare. It is important to do this prior to a class discussion--the students will be more engaged in the big discussion. After 10-15 minutes, the entire class should engage in making connections between McCarthyism and Arthur Miller’s play in discussion. The teacher and students should reflect the discussion in a graphic organizer (Appendix C). Materials/Resources -Copies/Summary of the Crucible--text excerpts -The Crucible Video (optional) -Website that includes the interactive map of the witch accusations (see references) Independent Practice Assessment The teacher should conclude the lesson by instructing the students to write a brief response to be handed in to the following quote from McCarthy in retrospect in 1996: I am not sure what “The Crucible” is telling people now, but I know that its paranoid center is still pumping out the same darkly attractive warning that it did in the fifties. --Arthur Miller, 1998 How do the elements that Arthur Miller mentioned in The Crucible still exist today? (Ex: War on Terror; the Patriot Act, etc) Closure To summarize the subject and explain its relevance, a question and answer discussion should take place on the written responses (that have already been handed in). How are we living through a Third Red Scare? Accommodations Someone with a reading disability may need some of the texts read aloud to them Someone with a hearing disability may need the Army-McCarthy exchange in text format Appendix A Speech of Joseph McCarthy, Wheeling, West Virginia, February 9, 1950 Ladies and gentlemen, tonight as we celebrate the one hundred forty-first birthday of one of the greatest men in American history, I would like to be able to talk about what a glorious day today is in the history of the world. As we celebrate the birth of this man who with his whole heart and soul hated war, I would like to be able to speak of peace in our time—of war being outlawed—and of world-wide disarmament. These would be truly appropriate things to be able to mention as we celebrate the birthday of Abraham Lincoln. Five years after a world war has been won, men’s hearts should anticipate a long peace—and men’s minds should be free from the heavy weight that comes with war. But this is not such a period—for this is not a period of peace. This is a time of “the cold war.” This is a time when all the world is split into two vast, increasingly hostile armed camps—a time of a great armament race. Today we can almost physically hear the mutterings and rumblings of an invigorated god of war. You can see it, feel it, and hear it all the way from the Indochina hills, from the shores of Formosa, right over into the very heart of Europe itself. The one encouraging thing is that the “mad moment” has not yet arrived for the firing of the gun or the exploding of the bomb which will set civilization about the final task of destroying itself. There is still a hope for peace if we finally decide that no longer can we safely blind our eyes and close our ears to those facts which are shaping up more and more clearly . . . and that is that we are now engaged in a show-down fight . . . not the usual war between nations for land areas or other material gains, but a war between two diametrically opposed ideologies. The great difference between our western Christian world and the atheistic Communist world is not political, gentlemen, it is moral. For instance, the Marxian idea of confiscating the land and factories and running the entire economy as a single enterprise is momentous. Likewise, Lenin’s invention of the one-party police state as a way to make Marx’s idea work is hardly less momentous. Stalin’s resolute putting across of these two ideas, of course, did much to divide the world. With only these differences, however, the east and the west could most certainly still live in peace. The real, basic difference, however, lies in the religion of immoralism . . . invented by Marx, preached feverishly by Lenin, and carried to unimaginable extremes by Stalin. This religion of immoralism, if the Red half of the world triumphs—and well it may, gentlemen—this religion of immoralism will more deeply wound and damage mankind than any conceivable economic or political system. Karl Marx dismissed God as a hoax, and Lenin and Stalin have added in clear-cut, unmistakable language their resolve that no nation, no people who believe in a god, can exist side by side with their communistic state. Karl Marx, for example, expelled people from his Communist Party for mentioning such things as love, justice, humanity or morality. He called this “soulful ravings” and “sloppy sentimentality.” . . . Today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity. The modern champions of communism have selected this as the time, and ladies and gentlemen, the chips are down—they are truly down. Lest there be any doubt that the time has been chosen, let us go directly to the leader of communism today—Joseph Stalin. Here is what he said—not back in 1928, not before the war, not during the war—but 2 years after the last war was ended: “To think that the Communist revolution can be carried out peacefully, within the framework of a Christian democracy, means one has either gone out of one’s mind and lost all normal understanding, or has grossly and openly repudiated the Communist revolution.” . . . Ladies and gentlemen, can there be anyone tonight who is so blind as to say that the war is not on? Can there by anyone who fails to realize that the Communist world has said the time is now? . . . that this is the time for the show-down between the democratic Christian world and the communistic atheistic world? Unless we face this fact, we shall pay the price that must be paid by those who wait too long. Six years ago, . . . there was within the Soviet orbit, 180,000,000 people. Lined up on the antitotalitarian side there were in the world at that time, roughly 1,625,000,000 people. Today, only six years later, there are 80,000,000,000 people under the absolute domination of Soviet Russia—an increase of over 400 percent. On our side, the figure has shrunk to around 500,000. In other words, in less than six years, the odds have changed from 9 to 1 in our favor to 8 to 1 against us. This indicates the swiftness of the tempo of Communist victories and American defeats in the cold war. As one of our outstanding historical figures once said, “When a great democracy is destroyed, it will not be from enemies from without, but rather because of enemies from within.” . . . The reason why we find ourselves in a position of impotency is not because our only powerful potential enemy has sent men to invade our shores . . . but rather because of the traitorous actions of those who have been treated so well by this Nation. It has not been the less fortunate, or members of minority groups who have been traitorous to this Nation, but rather those who have had all the benefits that the wealthiest Nation on earth has had to offer . . . the finest homes, the finest college education and the finest jobs in government we can give. This is glaringly true in the State Department. There the bright young men who are born with silver spoons in their mouths are the ones who have been most traitorous. . . . I have here in my hand a list of 205 . . . a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department. . . . As you know, very recently the Secretary of State proclaimed his loyalty to a man guilty of what has always been considered as the most abominable of all crimes—being a traitor to the people who gave him a position of great trust—high treason. . . . He has lighted the spark which is resulting in a moral uprising and will end only when the whole sorry mess of twisted, warped thinkers are swept from the national scene so that we may have a new birth of honesty and decency in government. Joseph McCarthy to President Harry Truman, February 11, 1950 In the Lincoln Day speech at Wheeling Thursday night I stated that the State Department harbors a nest of Communists and Communist sympathizers who are helping to shape our foreign policy. I further stated that I have in my possession the names of 57 Communists who are in the State Department at present. A State Department spokesman promptly denied this, claiming that there is not a single Communist in the Department. You can convince yourself of the falsity of the State Department claim very easily. You will recall that you personally appointed a board to screen State Department employees for the purpose of weeding out fellow travelers—men whom the board considered dangerous to the security of this Nation. Your board did a painstaking job, and named hundreds which had been listed as dangerous to the security of the Nation, because of communistic connections. While the records are not available to me, I know absolutely of one group of approximately 300 certified to the Secretary for discharge because of communism. He actually only discharged approximately 80. I understand that this was done after lengthy consultation with the now-convicted traitor, Alger Hiss. I would suggest, therefore, Mr. President, that you simply pick up your phone and ask Mr. Acheson how many of those whom your board had labeled as dangerous Communists he failed to discharge. The day the House Un-American Activities Committee exposed Alger Hiss as an important link in an international Communist spy ring you signed an order forbidding the State Department’s giving any information in regard to the disloyalty or the communistic connections of anyone in that Department to the Congress. Despite this State Department black-out, we have been able to compile a list of 57 Communists in the State Department. This list is available to you but you can get a much longer list by ordering Secretary Acheson to give you a list of those whom your own board listed as being disloyal and who are still working in the State Department. I believe the following is the minimum which can be expected of you in this case. 1. That you demand that Acheson give you and the proper congressional committee the names and a complete report on all of those who were placed in the Department by Alger Hiss, and all of those still working in the State Department who were listed by your board as bad security risks because of their communistic connections. 2. That you promptly revoke the order in which you provided under no circumstances could a congressional committee obtain any information or help in exposing Communists. Failure on your part will label the Democratic Party of being the bedfellow of international communism. Certainly this label is not deserved by the hundreds of thousands of loyal American Democrats throughout the Nation, and by the sizable number of able loyal Democrats in both the Senate and the House. Political Cartoons ? "Fire!" June 17, 1949 Reproduction from original drawing Published in the Washington Post (25) ? "It's okay – We're hunting Communists," October 31, 1947 Ink, graphite, and opaque white over graphite underdrawing on layered paper Published in the Washington Post (18) LC-USZ62-127327