Essay Database

Throughout the early 1950’s, the nation was deeply engrossed in fears of a Communist takeover. At a time when America’s fears were at their very height, Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator from Wisconsin pushed America’s fears to an extreme. As a ploy to get himself re-elected, and to make America hate Communism as much as he did, the Senator devised a devious scheme. McCarthy, while giving a speech, held up a piece of …

…can become so much more. In most ways this situation was identical to what happened in Salem. Congress conducted a modern day witch-hunt. The entire nation was left shocked and scared. They had more fears of an atomic bomb being dropped by the Soviet Union now then they ever had before. In some ways, a bomb was dropped. McCarthy basically dropped his own bomb on the country when he held up that piece of paper.