What is McCarthyism?
'''McCarthyism''' is the term describing a period of intense anti-[[Communist]] [[:wikt:suspicion|suspicion]] in the [[United States]] which began during the start of the [[Cold War]], that lasted roughly from the late [[1940s]] to the mid to late [[1950s]]. The term gets its name from [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] Joseph McCarthy, a [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] of [[Wisconsin]]. The period of McCarthyism is also referred to as the '''Second [[Red Scare]]''' (The '''First Red Scare''' happened after the [[Bolshevik]] [[October Revolution]] of [[1917]], that lasted from the late [[1910s]] to the late [[1920s]]). It happened at the same times as increased fears of Communist influence on American [[institution]]s, [[espionage]] by [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] agents such as the [[Julius and Ethel Rosenberg|Rosenbergs]], heightened tension from [[Eastern Bloc|Soviet control]] over [[Central Europe|Central]] and [[Eastern Europe]], and the success of the [[Chinese Civil War|Chinese Communist Revolution]] ([[1949]]) and the [[Korean War]] ([[1950]]-[[1953]]). There is a play called '[[The Crucible]]' which is about the beginning of the [[Salem Witch Trials]], but also about McCarthy. [[Category:20th century in the United States]] [[Category:Political movements]]