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Lesson

McCarthyism DBQ

Duration
70 min
Grade
9–12
Published
Nov 15, 2020
Two men in 1950s suits engaged in a serious conversation at a table with a microphone and a drink.
Use this lesson with The Postwar Red Scare Narrative to discuss the impact McCarthy and widespread fear of Communism had during the 1950s. This Lesson can also be used with the Cold War Spy Cases Narrative and the George Kennan ("Mr. X"), "Sources of Soviet Conduct," July 1947 Primary Source.

Founding Principles

Due Process, Rule of Law

Objectives:

  • Students will learn the historical background of the Cold War and McCarthyism and analyze documents related to anti-communist legislation.
  • Students will evaluate the threats to civil liberties, especially free speech, free press, and freedom of association, during national security crises.
  • Students will craft a thesis statement based on their learning.

Materials

Handout A: Warm-Up and Background Essay

Handout B: Student Document Packet

  • Document 1: The Alien Registration Act of 1940, also called the Smith Act
  • Document 2: Dennis v. United States (1951), Chief Justice Vinson’s Majority Opinion
  • Document 3: Internal Security Act of 1950, also called the McCarran Act
  • Document 4: Truman’s Veto of the Internal Security Act, September 22, 1950
  • Document 5: “McCarthy Cries Again,” Editorial, Collier’s, August 2, 1952
  • Document 6: Edward R. Murrow, “See It Now,” March 9, 1954
  • Document 7: Senator Margaret Chase Smith, “Declaration of Conscience,” June 1, 1950

Lesson Components

ActivityMcCarthyism Warm-Up and Background Essay

What historical background of the Cold War and McCarthyism do students need to understand to evaluate anti-communist legislation? Use the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and this background essay to introduce these ideas for students.

ActivityMcCarthyism DBQ Student Document Packet

To what extent did anti-communist hysteria during the Second Red Scare violate civil liberties?

Lesson plan

70 minClick a phase to open it

More Information

The Warm-Up and Background Essay in Handout A can be assigned for homework before this activity. Small groups are recommended for the document analysis in the exploration portion of this lesson to encourage a higher level of participation and to allow students to compare and contrast their reasoning with one another.

Standards

Advanced Placement

  • Topic 8.3 · The Red Scare
  • Theme · American and National Identity
  • Learning Objective · Unit 8C
  • Historical Development · 8.1.II.A
  • Reasoning Skill · Sourcing and Situation
  • Reasoning Skill · Source Claims and Evidence
  • Reasoning Skill · Contextualization
  • Reasoning Skill · Making Connections
  • Reasoning Skill · Argumentation
  • Reasoning Process · Comparison
  • Reasoning Process · Causation

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Related materials

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ActivityJoseph McCarthy and Irresponsibility Narrative
Title card for a video on Joseph McCarthy, featuring text and a background image of a historical protest.
VideoThe Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy | BRI’s Homework Help Series

Our latest Homework Help Evidence of History video tells the story of the rise and fall of Senator Joseph McCarthy, a fierce partisan and demagogue whose battles against Communism in early 1950s America utilized the new medium of television to garner public attention. Preying upon the public's fear of communism within the U.S. government, he hurled accusations against numerous political enemies often with little or no evidence, and with scant regard to the principles of due process, free speech, and liberty. The new medium of television, which helped his meteoric political rise, would ultimately play a key role in his undoing.