Why+this+is+a+Civil+Rights+Topic


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=Why Political Persecution During McCarthyism And The Red Scare Is A Civil Rights Topic:=

During the first Red Scare, McCarthyism, and the second Red Scare, many peoples' rights were violated. It all started in the 1920's, when Attorney General Mitchell Palmer (picture at right) started the first Red Scare by attacking anyone he believed to be communist. He started in 1917 by targeting other politicians. At the time, he was in the House of Representatives and the Attorney General's office. Throughout the Red Scare, Palmer conducted what were called "Palmer Raids." Overall, Palmer rounded between 4,000 and 10,000 people during his raids. This proves that he violated others rights by attacking them based on no proof and for doing nothing illegal

Throughout the McCarthy era, there was a second Red Scare that was even worse then the first. In 1950, Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury by the United States Justice System and was questioned by Richard Nixon. This was one of the events that started off the Second Red Scare. Later it was estimated that 50,000 communist spies were within our nation. Of course, these numbers, and other pieces of information were largely blown out of proportion. These semi-reliable statistics and other events scared the American people into believing Joseph McCarthy's ideas. The entire country became brainwashed by McCarthyism which is a "public accusation of disloyalty, unsupported by proof." Some other events which lead to McCarthy's success was the atomic bomb testing conducted by the Soviet Union in 1949, the rise of communist leader, Mao Zedong in China, and the Korean War. This lead McCarthy to believe that there were many communists, so he started accusing people that worked for the government. He had many supporters, but luckily his fame ended when he accused the U.S. Army of being communist. People then started realizing the trouble he caused and how he made up lies that scarred one's life. If you were convicted of being communist, then your job opportunities would be limited. Also, you would be sent to court and usually taken to jail. In addition, you would be accused of being a spy for the Soviet Union. Therefore, life would be horrible if you were accused of being a communist by McCarthy even though he had no proof to back his claims.



One of the most famous cases of communist espionage within the U.S. was the case of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg (to the right). This case scared the American people more than ever and boosted McCarthy's ruthless campaign. It is best known as the only case in which U.S. citizens were sentenced to, and received the death penalty as a result of committing espionage. The Rosenbergs were found guilty of relaying information gained from Ethel's brother David Greenglass, to the Soviet Union. The Rosenbergs received the death penalty when David Greenglass, who was the one who stole the original information, only received a 15 year prison sentence. On June 19th, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were killed in the electric chair at Sing Sing prison in NY. They left behind two young sons that were ages 7 and 10. This case is remembered as the first and last time any United States citizens have been killed for treason and espionage. Therefore, it should never be a forgotten for it was when the civil rights of the Rosenbergs were violated.

The FBI also played a huge role in the withholding of basic rights from American citizens who were suspected of communism. Edgar Hoover (below) was head of the FBI from 1924 to 1972 and served under ten presidents. Throughout his career, he built up the FBI and had so much power, that no one had the strength to fire him. He hated immigrants and communists and said so in the "Daughters of the American Revolution" speech. He said that half of the American population supported and sympathized communism. He had his own crime laboratory and fingerprint files while working in the FBI. In addition to despising communists, he also attacked Martin Luther King Jr. Hoover started rumors about Dr. King in the press and had his phone line tapped. However, he mostly attacked communists or people who he believed agreed with them.



In conclusion, a civil rights topic is any topic in which the basic rights of any person is violated. It is obvious that the rights of immigrants, communist supporters, and average citizens were disobeyed. They were attacked for various reason and the people who accused them had no evidence to back their claims. Most of the victims had unfair trials like the case of the Rosenbergs. The Red Scare, was not just a time in history were there was a fear of communism spreading, it was also a terror time for many people who were treated in an unjust manor. To this day most people involved are embarrassed of what they let happen during the McCarthy era.

• http://www.erbzine.com/mag14/palmer2a.jpg
 * Bibliography:**
 * "Hakim, Joan. All The People. New York. Oxford University Press. 1995
 * "McCarthyism." Wikipedia. Harrison Middle School, Yarmouth Maine. May 9, 2007. www.wikipedia.org
 * "Rosenberg Case." Answers.com. 2007. Answers Corporation. May 9, 2007. http://www.answers.com/topic/ethel-and-julius rosenberg
 * Shannon, David. "Palmer, A. Mitchell." World Book. CD-Rom. World Book. 2006.
 * https://www.kintera.com/accounttempfiles/account15091/images/redscare.gif
 * http://www.portrait.kaar.at/USA 2/images/j_edgar_hoover.jpg
 * http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2002/06/09/csp_rosenbergs.jpg

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