ABSTRACT
McCarthyism is named after Senator Joseph McCarthy who from 1950 through 1954 used Senate hearings and speeches to root out alleged Communist influence or infiltration in the State Department, the military, and Hollywood. The legacy of McCarthyism in America has been enormous. Individuals were often demeaned by being described as "card-carrying members of the Community Party." The phrases became part of American popular culture. Some scholars argue that McCarthyism began with Senator McCarthy and the threat of communism, but others see it as rooted in various aspects of US political and social psychology. Arthur Miller and others contend that the Salem witch-hunts were an early precursor of McCarthyism, in that lies and fear were used to attack individuals who were unpopular. During the 1988 presidential race, some observers saw McCarthyism at work when Republican presidential candidate George H. W. Bush attacked Democratic presidential candidate Michael Dukakis as being a "card-carrying member of the American Civil Liberties Union."
