Senator Joseph's McCarthy's claims that communists had infiltrated and threatened the American way of life set off a red scare in the 1950s—and those claims have influenced today's concepts of loyalty to country. Using video clips from historians and authors, as well as newsreel footage of McCarthy and those who criticized him, learners consider the tense moment in American history. After watching the clips, they consider what role fear at home played in the Cold War. 

Concepts

mccarthyism, the red scare, communism, the cold war, the 1950s, historians, american history

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Additional Tags

social studies

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Instructional Ideas

• Use clips from historians to analyze the effects of McCarthyism on American politics and culture
• Ask class members to use clips of McCarthy and his detractors for how they make their case to the American people

Classroom Considerations

• Teachers must create a free C-SPAN Classroom account or the use of the following login credentials: Username: students, Password: C-SPANCLASSROOM
  

Pros

• Authentic clips are carefully curated and easy to incorporate into instruction
• Footage includes experts in the field discussing their work on the Cold War

Cons

• None

Common Core

RH.6-8.1 RH.6-8.4 RH.6-8.6 RH.6-8.9 RH.6-8.10 RH.9-10.1 RH.9-10.4 RH.9-10.6 RH.9-10.9 RH.9-10.10 RH.11-12.1 RH.11-12.4 RH.11-12.6 RH.11-12.9 RH.11-12.10