Curated OER
Whose Business Is It Anyway? McCarthyism and Its Effect on Individual Rights
Students explore the concept of individual rights. In this McCarthyism lesson, students determine how government may affect the rights of individuals as they examine the Constitution, participate in class discussions, and research the...
Curated OER
McCarthyism: The Political Cartoons of Herb Block
Students examine McCarthyism. In this Cold War lesson, students analyze 6 political cartoons by Herb Block that capture the essence of the Red Scare. Students discuss the cartoons and the fear of communism that permeated America.
Curated OER
The Cold War: Anti-Communism at Home
Eleventh graders take a closer look at the Red Scare. In this Cold War lesson, 11th graders read the provided literature about anti-communism in the United States and then respond to the provided discussion questions that accompany the...
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania: The Age of Mc Carthyism
Contains links to articles which discuss the age of McCarthyism. Covers issues of national security, anti-communism, congressional committees, blacklists, and the legacy of the McCarthy Era.
Wisconsin Historical Society
Wisconsin Historical Society: Mc Carthyism, Korea and the Cold War
This article looks at McCarthyism in the context of the Korean War and the Cold War. It is supplemented by original documents and articles from that era.
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College: Mc Carthyism: Senator Joe Mc Carthy and the Red Scare
This site explains who Joe McCarthy was and the emergence and progression of McCarthyism in the United States.
CommonLit
Common Lit: "Mc Carthyism" by Us history.org
A learning module that begins with "McCarthyism" by USHistory.org, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
TED Talks
Ted: Ted Ed: What Is Mc Carthyism? And How Did It Happen?
In the 1950s, as part of a campaign to expose suspected Communists, thousands of individuals were aggressively investigated and questioned before government panels. Named after its most notorious practitioner, the phenomenon known as...
Thinkport Education
Thinkport: Write Now: Case Study: Mc Carthyism and the Cold War
Students are tasked with researching and writing an informative article about McCarthy and the Cold War. The overarching concept is focused around how one person was able to influence the political and social arena during the time of the...
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College: Mc Carthyism: Persecution
Discusses the list Senator Joseph McCarthy was showing to the public in early 1950, a list that purportedly stated the names of Communist Part members who worked within the State Department. This was the beginning of McCarthyism. Over...
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College: Mc Carthy's Downfall
As part of a larger site about Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism, this page relates his ultimate downfall brought about by his bullying style and false accusations.
Siteseen
Siteseen: American Historama: Mc Carthyism
Learn detailed facts about McCarthyism, the anti-communist 'witch hunts' of Senator Joseph McCarthy (1950 - 1956) consisting of investigations and persecution of alleged communists in America in which accusations of treason or subversion...
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College: Mc Carthyism: Victims of Mc Carthyism
Describes the experiences of Owen Lattimore and Val Lorwin, two individuals accused of being Communist sympathizers during the McCarthy error.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Marshall and Mc Carthyism
Read the outlandish claims Senators Joseph McCarthy and William Jenner made about honored statesman and public servant, George Marshal during the time that came to be known as McCarthyism.
University of Illinois
University of Illinois: The Legacy of Mc Carthyism
An essay addressing the ramifications of false accusations made against academics, politicians, and cultural figures during the McCarthy Era. Read about the consequences not only for the individuals but for society in general.
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College: Mc Carthyism: Was the Threat Real?
A brief description of the hunt for spies within the United States prior to McCarthyism.
US National Archives
Nara: Prologue Magazine: Prelude to Mc Carthyism: The Making of a Blacklist
This lengthy article in the Prologue Magazine, a publication from the National Archives, details the operations of the Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations, or AGLOSO, which was used in compiling information based on...
Digital History
Digital History: Mc Carthy and Mc Carthyism [Pdf]
Read about one of the truly black eyes in American history when Senator Joseph McCarthy was able to make false accusations against politicians and ordinary citizens alike, claiming they had communist leanings and were enemies of the...
Curated OER
History Matters: "Enemies From Within": Senator Joseph Mc Carthy's Accusations
Read a speech and a letter from Joseph McCarthy supporting his contention that there are Communists in the State Department.
University of North Carolina
Nc Civic Education Consortium: Joe Mc Carthy and the Red Scare
This very detailed lesson plan incorporates small group activities, whole group activities, projects, debate ideas, and primary sources all related to Joseph McCarthy. Extensive background material is provided along with a bibliography...
Other
Amistad Digital Resource: Mc Carthyism
Detailed account of the anti-communist campaign conducted by the House of Un-American Activities and Joseph McCarthy during the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare. The primary targets of such suspicions were...
University of Missouri
Famous Trials: Mc Martin Preschool Abuse Trial (1987 90)
"They're putting on witnesses who they know are lying. They concealed exonerating evidence. Don't we have enough criminal conduct by the prosecutors to put them behind bars?" "It doesn't work that way," the lawyer laughed. "The law is...
University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania: Senator Joe Mc Carthy
An excerpt from a book on Senator Joseph McCarthy. Includes a description of his life and career and details the impact his actions and ideas had on America in the 1950's.
Other
Behind the Scenes: The Mc Carran Internal Security Act
Read about the origins and impact of the McCarran Internal Security Act which President Harry Truman called "the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press and assembly, since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798." Find out how a fear of...