McCarthy: Hero or Bully?
How do you teach about Joseph McCarthy & McCarthyism in your classroom? Should we treat McCarthy as a hero (as the far right advocates), or continue to see him as a bully? Is the Venona Project credible or full of holes? I would like to hear your thoughts.
I still see him as a bully who added to the hysteria of the 2nd Red Scare and ruined the lives of those called before his Senate Committee with no evidence. I also have many questions as to the credibility of the Venona Project. I am planning on using the Venona Project with my students to practice researching sources for credibility. Has anyone done this, and how did you do it? Thank you for your help and comments.
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Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Joe Phelan on -
Why not take a look at our lesson Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy
http://edsitement.neh.gov/curriculum-unit/anticommunism-postwar-ame...
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Permalink Reply by Steve Jarvis on -
Thank you, & I have looked at this. Just came across an article slamming the left for treating McCarthy as a villain, and not a hero. Just trying to figure out if I need to adjust my views of McCarthy, as a historian. As far as I can tell the Venona Project only supports that a small fraction of those named & interrogated by McCarthy, were spies. I don't think this qualifies McCarthy as a hero, but I also understand I need to do more research on the Venona Project. Need to do my "sourcing".
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Permalink Reply by Joe Phelan on
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The scholar of the subject American Anti Communism is Harvey Klehr Emory University
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