Many are the crimes
Subtitle: McCarthyism in America
By: Ellen Schrecker.
Edition: 1st ed.
Publisher: Little, Brown
Published: 1998
Place of publication: Boston
Language: eng
Number of pages: 573
Subjects: McCarthy, Joseph, 1908-1957; Anti-communist movements -- United States -- History; Internal security -- United States -- History -- 20th century; Communism -- United States -- History; Subversive activities -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Description: The McCarthy Era was a bad time for freedom in America. Encompassing far more than the brief career of Senator Joseph McCarthy, it was the most widespread episode of political repression in the history of the United States. In the name of national security, most Americans - liberal and conservative alike - supported the anticommunist crusade that ruined so many careers, marriages, even lives.

However, despite the unfairness of their methods, the nation's most powerful anti-Communists in the FBI, the House Un-American Activities Committee, and elsewhere were generally accurate in their accusations. Most of the men and women who were charged in the McCarthy-era purges had been involved with the American Communist party.

Now, in Many Are the Crimes, Ellen Schrecker gives us the first complete post-Cold War account of McCarthyism. Drawing on newly released FBI files, private papers, and interviews, Schrecker explains why McCarthyism happened and how it worked. She also assesses its long-term impact.

From the dumbing-down of Hollywood and the decline of the labor movement to the war in Vietnam and the post-Watergate sleaziness of contemporary politics, McCarthyism has cast a heavy shadow over America's political and cultural life.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 421-429) and index.