3.2 - McCarthyism and Profiling
OverviewObjectivesEssayVocabularyDiscussion QuestionsActivity 1Activity 2Activity 3 Further Information StandardsCredits
Grade: 7-12Subject: English Language Arts, U.S. History
Number of Activities: 3
Overview:
During the 1950s, the United States was gripped by McCarthyism, a period of accusations against individuals and groups for treason without just evidence. Heightened by fears of communist spies hidden among the U.S. population, Senator Joseph McCarthy gained prominence after presenting a list of possible Communist Party members working within the U.S. State Department. This lesson will discuss how McCarthyism abused the First Amendment rights of Americans, how it targeted Chinese Americans during the Korean War, and modern day profiling of people in the name of national security.
 
Learning Objectives:
Students will:
 
Topic/Background Essay:
During the 1950s, the United States was gripped by fear of the Cold War, with concerns that communism was taking over and Soviet spies were infiltrating the U.S. Fanning these flames was Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin.
In the 1950s, McCarthy gained prominence after presenting an unsubstantiated list of possible Communist Party members working within the U.S. State Department. At hearings conducted by the House Un-American Activities Committee, alleged communists or sympathizers lost their jobs and careers, including those in entertainment being blacklisted. Notable affected individuals targeted include Lucille Ball, Charlie Chaplin, Lena Horne, and Langston Hughes. This practice of making unfounded accusations of subversion and treason without proper evidence became known as “McCarthyism”.
In 1949, China, an ally of the United States during World War II, was taken over by the Chinese Communist Party. The following year, the Korean War broke out when the North Korean Communist army invaded non-Communist South Korea. The North was supported by China and the Soviet Union, and the South was supported by the U.S. and United Nations. China Daily News, a domestic news publication reporting on news from China. When the China Daily News reported the communist revolution, it became branded as a communist paper.
In 1955, the China Daily News was accused of violating the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, charged with running advertisements for Hong Kong branches of People’s Republic China-backed banks. Many associated with the newspaper were targeted, and the paper’s editor Eugene Moy was arrested and convicted, and ultimately died in prison.
By the mid-1950s, public support of McCarthyism was on the decline. McCarthy was condemned during a series of hearings in 1954, and criticized by renowned journalist Edward R. Murrow in a TV editorial. The U.S. Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren took notice of McCarthyism’s effect on the liberties of citizens and it made several important rulings in the late 1950s, including Yates v. United States, which protected radical and reactionary speech under the First Amendment unless it posed a clear and present danger to the country, and Kent v. Dulles, which halted the U.S State Department’s refusal or revoking of passports based on an applicant’s communist beliefs or associations.
 
Vocabulary
 
Discussion Questions:
 
Activity 1: First Amendment: Freedom of Speech
Drawing on the widespread fear of communism emblematic of the Cold War era, Senator Joseph McCarthy’s “Enemies From Within” speech on February 20, 1950 launched him into the national spotlight, branding him an authority on identifying and blacklisting unwanted communists in the United States. Many of those accused never admitted, or were proven to be, communists, but some paid a hefty price professionally, socially and economically. McCarthy was condemned by the U.S. senate in 1954, and the Supreme Court followed in the late 1950s with several rulings on the protection of individuals’ First Amendment rights.
Ask students to research the following three areas (definitions/overview included for teachers below) and provide a short overview:
Have students answer the following questions, preparing to address questions in a class discussion:
 
Activity 2: Blacklisting
Assign students to research one prominent individual who was targeted for communist activity by Senator McCarthy or by the House on Un-American Activities. Begin this exercise by starting together as a class and reviewing the history of Hsue-Shen Tsien, a Chinese scientist who was accused of being a communist spy during the 1950s.
Suggested individuals that you may assign to students may include: Charlie Chaplin, Leonard Bernstein, Langston Hughes, Lucille Ball, W.E.B. Du Bois, Leonard Bernstein, Lena Horne, Dorothy Parker, Dalton Trumbo, and Orson Welles.
Students can record their findings on a three-column chart:
Split students into small breakout groups of three to four students to share findings, or to post findings.
Provide students adequate time to review in a museum-style walk/jamboard (for remote learning). With the whole class, discuss the following questions:
 
Activity 3: First Amendment: Freedom of Association
After the Chinese Communist Revolution and the onset of the Korean War, there was an increase in anti-Communism sentiment in the United States. And many in the U.S. government viewed Chinese Americans as suspicious and potentially disloyal. In 1955, the China Daily News was accused of violating the Trading with the Enemy Act of 1917, charged with running advertisements for Hong Kong branches of People’s Republic of China-backed banks. Many associated with the newspaper were targeted, and the paper’s editor Eugene Moy was arrested and convicted, and ultimately died in prison.
Discussion Questions:
After watching the video clip, divide students into small breakout groups of three or four students and have them answer the following questions. After completing the questions, groups will come back together and share with the rest of the class their answers. Allow time for students to potentially research some of these questions:
Personal Connections:
Have students individually answer the following questions, and then discuss as a whole class:
Class Web:
Make class webs with the following in the middle:
As you build the web, ask students the following questions:
Warning: When discussing heinous and often deadly incidences of “guilt by association” events, especially with regards to police brutality, make sure to prepare students for this discussion in advance and offer moments to leave the room if necessary. Additionally, students working on these difficult encounters should be given facts only. No use of racist or other derogatory language should ever be allowed in the classroom.
 
Further Information:
American Experience, “Numbed with Fear: Chinese Americans and McCarthyism”