The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy

Prompted by a viewing of Emiko and Chizu Omori’s Rabbit in the Moon, a documentary about the internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II, high schoolers examine a series of documents, including the Bill of Rights and the UN’s...

Explore legendary cartoonist Herb Block's bold challenge of McCarthy-era politics through this analysis activity. Two cartoons are included, along with talking points to prompt analysis and background information to help pupils "read...

Examine the introduction to Our Islands in Their People, written by Major-General Joseph Wheeler. The excerpt, which is about two-and-a-half pages long, is included here along with six questions about the text. Pupils can learn about the...

In the 1950s, how did the Red Scare and the actions of Senator Joseph McCarthy affect the American people? Your young historians will analyze primary source documents on the Red Scare, participate in a "find the...

"I have here in my hand . . ." The war against Communism and Joseph McCarthy’s place in it are the focus of a series of lessons examining postwar America from 1945-1954. Joseph McCarthy takes center stage in this, the final lesson...

A description of the genesis of the House Un-American Activities Committee and the bullying inquisition of those the committee accused of having Communist leanings.

The House Un-American Activities Committee gained noteriety in the 1950s with Joseph McCarthy and his witch hunts. The committee was still in existence in the early 1960s. Read this brief article to see what it was investigating then.

Senator Joseph's McCarthy's claims that communists had infiltrated and threatened the American way of life set off a red scare in the 1950s—and those claims have influenced today's concepts of loyalty to country. Using video clips from...

Provide a primary source document for the class to read and analyze. They read the 12-paragraph introduction to the book Our Islands and Their People, then answer six critical-analysis questions about Wheeler's statement on the...

Who was Joseph McCarthy and why is his name synonymous with witch hunts? What were the factors that permitted the political repression of the 1950s to flourish? Could the same thing happen today? An intriguing video traces the rise and...