Okay, so Joseph McCarthy was a hated U.S. senator from Wisconsin. He was so unpopular he was labeled the worst senator in the United States and he knew he could never get re-elected. So, he knew that many Americans feared Communism and he capitalized on this fact by saying he had a list of over 200 government executives who are under suspicion of being Communist spies who are trying to infiltrate the government and send secrets back to the Soviet Union. This struck fear into many Americans because why would we want the U.S. to be Communist. It was a scary thought and this began the mistrust in the U.S. government. Anyway, McCarthy's famous Communist witch hunt trials ensued which accused and tried high up government officials of Communist sympathies. This practice of accusing people of something without real evidence began to be called McCarthyism. The feeling during this time closely resembled the Salem Witch Hunt/Trials of the 1600's in America.
