Schrecker, The Age Of McCarthyism - A Brief History With Documents

Abstract

Many citizens today still define McCarthyism as part of a brief and aberrational phase of the nation's history when an immoral senator shamelessly manipulated early Cold War hysteria to suit his political ambitions. Those same observers proudly contend that, with few exceptions, past generations of Americans have avoided the kind of paranoia and extremism that allowed McCarthyism to flourish. In contrast to this view, Ellen Schrecker convincingly demonstrates that this intolerance has had deep roots in American society.