Joseph McCarthy was a Republican senator for the state of Wisconsin in the 1950s.

McCarthy gained
popularity in February of 1950 by claiming that the State Department was full of communist, he claimed
over 200 were known communist. The term used to describe McCarthys actions were appropriately
named, McCarthyism. McCarthyism is, as Princeton defines, the practice of making accusations of
disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence. Referring to the actions of
Joseph McCarthy boasting about the State Department and how it was willed with Communist, despite
his lack of evidence.
McCarthys actions caused another Red Scare. A Red Scare is a term used for when the people of the
United States feels threatened by an upbringing of communism. Since the American citizens were afraid
of communism in America, McCarthy took advantage of the opportunity and used a tactic called
fearmongering. He exploited the American people to protect himself and pushed aside all of the
attention due to his lack of evidence. This Red Scare caused an uproar in the United States, many things
became controversial and anyone who seemed to be connected with communism was treated poorly,
possibly fired and threatened.

http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/McCarthyism.html