McCarthyism+-+Koontz

McCarthyism
__McCarthyism:__ Put into simple terms it is the accusation of someone with little or no proof to back up your accusation.

Joseph McCarthy
 * A Republican US Senator from Wisconsin
 * Stated that he had a list of 205 names of Communists
 * The term McCarthyism is named after Senator McCarthy's actions.

In 1950 J. McCarthy made a speech saying that he had a list of names of govenment employees who were part of the communist party. He actually had very little proof of this but caused even more tension in the US because during the cold war everyone was concerned about communism. Since everyone was tense and sort of panicked there were many government employees and also hollywood actors that lost their jobs because of McCarthy and the increased tension he had caused in the US. The term McCarthyism is still used throughout the US today but now is used more to describe when someone recklessly attacks their political opponent.

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