Fiveable
Fiveable

McCarthy Era

Definition

The McCarthy Era refers to the period of intense anti-communist suspicion in the United States from the late 1940s to the late 1950s when Senator Joseph McCarthy's investigations were most active.

Related terms

Loyalty Oaths: Sworn declarations by individuals affirming their loyalty to a government and its values, often used during the McCarthy era to weed out suspected communists.

Hollywood Ten: A group of writers and directors who were cited for contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate with HUAC's investigation into Communist influence in Hollywood.

Alger Hiss Case: A case involving a former State Department official who was accused of being a Soviet spy in 1948 and convicted of perjury related to this charge in 1950. This case helped fuel fears about communist infiltration in U.S. government.

"McCarthy Era" appears in:

Subjects (1)

  • AP US Government

Study guides (1)

  • AP US History - 8.3 The Red Scare

collegeable - rocket pep

Are you a college student?

  • Study guides for the entire semester

  • 200k practice questions

  • Glossary of 50k key terms - memorize important vocab


Fiveable
About Us

About Fiveable

Blog

Careers

Code of Conduct

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

CCPA Privacy Policy

Resources

Cram Mode

AP Score Calculators

Study Guides

Practice Quizzes

Glossary

Cram Events

Merch Shop

Crisis Text Line

Help Center

Stay Connected


© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.
AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.

About Us

About Fiveable

Blog

Careers

Code of Conduct

Terms of Use

Privacy Policy

CCPA Privacy Policy

Resources

Cram Mode

AP Score Calculators

Study Guides

Practice Quizzes

Glossary

Cram Events

Merch Shop

Crisis Text Line

Help Center

© 2024 Fiveable Inc. All rights reserved.

AP® and SAT® are trademarks registered by the College Board, which is not affiliated with, and does not endorse this website.