The Age of McCarthyism by Ellen Schrecker - Book Report/Review Example

The Age of McCarthyism by Ellen Schrecker Introduction The end of the Second World War ushered in a new era of political, social and economic competition between the United States of America and the Union of the Soviet Socialist republic. This period saw a remarkable competition between the emergent superpowers in terms of an arms race and the race to control the social and political affairs of the competitor’s country as well as its allies. Known as the cold war, the period was marked by two socio-economic policies; communism and capitalism. Having chosen a capitalism as the primary policy for economic progression, the American government, fought communism in all spheres, however, it must be noted that there were select groups within the American society that favored communism as the policy for socio-economic progression (Schrecker, 126). In an attempt to understand the cold war era, this paper will focus on “The Age of McCarthyism” by Ellen Schrecker as the reference point for answering the questions of the motivators of the anti-communist forces as well as the motivators of the communist forces. The paper will equally conclude by discussing the group that is more sympathetic in respect to communism in America. Anti-communist forces Over the course of the twentieth century, the American government and citizens became increasingly concerned about communism and by late 1940,’s there developed a wide range anti-communist network in the country. Despite the fact that most American citizens were opposed to communism, there was a development of a select group of people whose intensity and manner of zeal in extermination of the communist menace in the country was on a profound level (Fried, 119-134). The anti-communist crusaders in the United States came full effect during the McCarthy period. The anti-communist forces staffed the main organizations in the country and imposed their agenda on the rest of the moderate American population. In late 1940 and early 1950’s, less than 50,000 of the American 150 million population were members of the Communist party; however, the American fear of the internal communist subversion reached an almost hysterical pitch. The loyal boards of the government investigated millions of employees, screenwriters, actors and directors with many blacklisted because of their alleged political belief. The motivating factor for the anti-communist forces in the United States during the cold war era can be said to be the policy failures of the communist governments. Economic policies of communist governments like USSR and China often failed like the famine in the Soviet state in 1921 and the famine in China following the failure of the great leap forward policy. These failures were used by the anti-communists in the United States to point at the implications of the application of the communist form of management in the country. Nevertheless, despite the genuine reasons to shun communism, most anti-communist forces were equally motivated by political gain achieved through the fight of communism. Through the application of the “McCarthyism,” most politicians who were aligned to anti-communism crusade used a communist tag to label their opponents in a bid to distract attention from legitimate questioning of an abuse of office. What motivated communists The communists in the United States pushed their agendas and ideologies through the communist party of United States (CPUSA). Established in 1919, the party had a long, complex history that is related to the history of most communist parties throughout the world. During the first half of the 20th century, the communist party was an influential organization in the fight for democratic rights of the American citizens. The Communist party played a significant role in the United States labor movement from the 1920’s to 1940’s. Additionally, the communist party of United States was credited to be the force behind the formation of most of the country’s industrial unions that helped in the fight for the rights of the workers. The structure and the membership of the Communist party appeared to be aligned towards service to the common people. Most members of the communist party were minority members of the society and the employees who found favor in the party as an organ fighting for their rights. The major motivator of the communists in the United States was a need to demonstrate to the citizens of the country the vices that come with capitalism and how the rich in the society prey on the poor members of the society. Additionally, the Communists were motivated by the funding from the communist party of Soviet Union, which enabled then to plan and execute their activities throughout the country. This gave the communist opportunity to engage the government of United States in court battles as they had financial and moral support from the government in Moscow (Marx et al., 54). The sympathetic group According to the anti-communist forces in the United States, the communist parties that have come to power throughout the world tended to be rigid and intolerant to political opposition. Additionally, the communist form of government was criticized for creating a ruling class with powers and privileges than those enjoyed by the ruling class in the non-communist regimes. Thus according to most Americans, the communist regime became a scare to the society during late 1940’s and early 1950’s resulting in the socio-political wars against the communism and the communist party of United States (Belknap, 362). However, the manner with which the anti-communist forces used in the fight against “subversion” by the communist draw questions to human right abuse. The adoption of the McCarthy style of accusation, investigation and conviction saw a massive abuse of human rights, as innocent citizens were held accountable of accusations that were mostly imagined. I thus find communists more sympathetic as they often became scapegoats of political schemes in the United States, being the vulnerable group in the society that could be used to address the failing political policies and programs in the United States (Weinstein, 600-613). The anti-McCarthyism campaigns that were conducted in the country in the later days of the 29th century is a better indication of the political evils that the use of McCarthyism subjected in the society, making the communist to be more sympathetic. Work cited Belknap, Michal R. The Smith Act and the Communist Party: A Study in Political Justice. , 1973. Print. Pp. 362 Ellen Schrecker, The Age of McCarthyism: A Brief History with Documents, 2nd Ed. New York: Palgrave, 2002 pp. 308 Fried, Albert. McCarthyism: The Great American Red Scare: a Documentary History. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997. Print. Pp. 119-134 Marx, Karl, and Frederic L. Bender. Manifesto of the Communist Party: Annotated Texts, Prefaces by Marx and Engels, Sources and Backgrounds, the Communist Manifesto in the History of Marxism Interpretation. New York: Norton, 1988. Print. Pp. 54 Weinstein, Allen. Perjury: The Hiss-Chambers Case. , 2013. Print. Pp. 600-613 Read More