McCarthyites
Communist witch hunters
McCarthyites are followers or supporters of Senator Joseph McCarthy's aggressive anti-communist crusade in 1950s America, or those who employ similar tactics—making sweeping accusations of disloyalty without sufficient evidence, using congressional hearings as political theater, and ruining reputations through innuendo.
The term is almost always pejorative: The McCarthyites destroyed careers with mere allegations.
Today it labels anyone who conducts ideological witch hunts.
Prolonged East-West standoff
- 1950sDecade after WWII
- Red ScareAnti-communist hysteria period
- censureFormal institutional disapproval
- SenateLegislative body, often bicameral's elder
Rosenbergs · J. Edgar Hoover · Edward R. Murrow · Wisconsin · Truman · Korean War · State Department · Voice of America
Opposition to collectivist ideology
- redbaitingAttacking through communist accusations
- HUACRed Scare congressional committee
- blacklistRecord of prohibited entities
- loyalty oathsRequired statements affirming devotion
witch hunt · subversion · informants · Fifth Amendment · congressional hearings · fellow travelers · pinkos · demagogue
Deliberately spreading exaggerated threats
- demagogueryManipulative political rhetoric
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
- paranoiaIrrational persecution fears
- hysteriaUncontrollable emotional excess
persecution · character assassination · innuendo · unsubstantiated · reckless · bullying · intimidation · grandstanding
Formally excluded or barred
- screenwritersAuthors of film scripts
- actorsThose playing roles
- directorsThose who lead organizations
- Arthur MillerAmerican dramatist, mid-century
The Crucible · Hollywood · entertainers · clearance · fronts · pseudonyms · exile · rehabilitation
Cold War
Prolonged East-West standoff
- 1950sDecade after WWII
- Red ScareAnti-communist hysteria period
- censureFormal institutional disapproval
Rosenbergs · J. Edgar Hoover · Edward R. Murrow · Senate · Wisconsin · Truman · Korean War · State Department · Voice of America
anticommunism
Opposition to collectivist ideology
- redbaitingAttacking through communist accusations
- HUACRed Scare congressional committee
- blacklistRecord of prohibited entities
loyalty oaths · witch hunt · subversion · informants · Fifth Amendment · congressional hearings · fellow travelers · pinkos · demagogue · smear campaigns
fearmongering
Deliberately spreading exaggerated threats
- demagogueryManipulative political rhetoric
- scapegoatingUnfairly assigning fault to innocents
- paranoiaIrrational persecution fears
hysteria · persecution · character assassination · innuendo · unsubstantiated · reckless · bullying · intimidation · grandstanding · spectacle
blacklisted
Formally excluded or barred
- screenwritersAuthors of film scripts
- actorsThose playing roles
- directorsThose who lead organizations
Arthur Miller · The Crucible · Hollywood · entertainers · clearance · fronts · pseudonyms · exile · rehabilitation · testimony
McCarthyitescommunists
Collective ownership advocates
leftists · socialists · fellow travelers · Rosenbergs · Pete Seeger