Essay about Comparison of McCarthyism and the U.S. Patriot...

Through the 1940s and 1950s, America was beleaguered with anxieties about the menace of communism arising in Eastern Europe and China. Profiting out of such worries of the nation, young Senator Joseph McCarthy made an open charge that hundreds of card-carrying communists had penetrate in the United States government. Although his allegations were found ultimately to be false and the Senate reproached him for improper ways, his ardent shakeup heralded as one of the most tyrannical era in 20th-century American politics. While the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAA) had been made in 1938 as a body to resist communists, McCarthys charges enhanced the political nervousness of the epoch. The suspicious chase for moles,†¦show more content†¦The law also needed all foreign residents in the United States over 14 years of age to report an all-inclusive declaration of their private and professional position and a testimony of their political viewpoints. The main objective of the Alien Registration Act was to destabilize the American Communist Party and other left-leaning political pressure lobbies in the Unites States. It was decided that the HUAC had been set up by Congress in 1938 to examine people distrusted of being unpatriotic and hence more bent to oust the government (McCarthysm, spartacus.schoolnet.co). Modern researches, of course, show opposing viewpoints about McCarthysm as interpreted during the cold war days and now. It also sometimes, finds the Patriot Act as having some very significant and positive sides and that the act should not be merely seen as an appendage to McCarthyism. Starting with ballot and crime figures, Amitai Etzioni, a Carter government advisor on domestic affairs and the present director of the Institute of Communitarian Policy Studies at George Washington University, argues that civic security actions can be vital to democracy but not that any and all security dealings augment liberty. In his book How Patriotic is the Patriot Act? Freedom Versus Security in the Age of Terrorism (2004), he specifies safety measures embarked on the U.S. since September 11th. Foreshadowing the menaces includingShow MoreRelatedMccarthyism And Today s Issues Concerning The Surveillance Of Muslim Americans2012 Words   |  9 PagesThere is a particularly strong relationship between 1950’s McCarthyism and today’s issues concerning the surveillance of Muslim-Americans. Although it can be argued that Islamophobia today is not the red scare repeating itself, it is important to study how the United States handled past civil liberties violations in ord er to have a better understanding of how we can handle similar issues in the present and the future. During the 1940’s the Motion Picture Association made a chilling statement in responseRead MoreMass Hysteria And The Boston Marathon Bombing1380 Words   |  6 Pagesmass hysteria like in The Crucible. In this essay, I will argue that those who act to preserve power use fear and uncertainty, irrational behavior and fear must continue to fuel the hysteria, and the lawgivers must use unjust actions to establish justice. The reason I decided to choose the theme of mass hysteria is to show the relevance and importance of mass hysteria in our recent history. Firstly, those that act in the interest of preserving power and self-interest create the use of fear and