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Website
Other

Behind the Scenes: The Mc Carran Internal Security Act

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the origins and impact of the McCarran Internal Security Act which President Harry Truman called "the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press and assembly, since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798." Find out how a fear of...
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Website
Other

Appleton Public Library: Joseph Mc Carthy

For Students 9th - 10th
Information on the life and work of Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957).
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Website
PBS

Kqed: Russian American Immigration

For Students 9th - 10th
A historic look at the earliest wave of Russian immigration to the United States, which began in the late nineteenth century and continued up to the passage of restrictive immigration laws in the 1920s. With details about how World War I...
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Website
PBS

Pbs: American Masters: Edward R. Murrow

For Students 9th - 10th
A short biography of Edward R. Murrow with details on his contentious relationship with Senator Joseph McCarthy.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: Mc Carthyism

For Students 5th - 8th
Read about the dangers of paranoia when exercised by people of power. The witch-hunting of the McCarthy era made rash and false accusations against supposed Communist sympathizers that affected many lives.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The Cold War Erupts

For Students 5th - 8th
World War II ended in 1945 and the Cold War began immediately. Read about the mistrust Western Europe and the United States felt towards the Soviet Union and Joseph Stalin. Learn how the Soviets expanded their realm of influence and...
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Primary
City University of New York

Ashp: A Postal Worker Testifies Before the Loyalty Security Program

For Students 9th - 10th
Read the actions taken against a postal worker, who, as a federal worker, was subject to the vague loyalty oath. Find out what the charges where against him and what happened to him.
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Handout
Federal Bureau of Investigation

Fbi Stories: A Byte Out of History: The Alger Hiss Story

For Students 9th - 10th
An account from the FBI about the Alger Hiss case in which he was convicted of perjury after the accusation of his being a Soviet agent.
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Website
Library of Congress

Loc: America's Story: Marshall and Mc Carthyism

For Students 6th - 8th
Read the outlandish claims Senators Joseph McCarthy and William Jenner made about honored statesman and public servant, George Marshal during the time that came to be known as McCarthyism.
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Website
US Senate

Senate Stories: "Have You No Sense of Decency?"

For Students 9th - 10th
Read about the abrupt downfall of Senator Joseph McCarthy after the damage he did with his anti-Communist witch hunts.
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Website
Other

Biographies: Harry S. Truman

For Students 9th - 10th
This brief, but comprehensive look at the Truman administration covers Truman's actions from the time he took office upon the death of Franklin Roosevelt to his decision not to run in the election of 1952.
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Primary
American Rhetoric

American Rhetoric: Margaret Chase Smith: "Declaration of Conscience"

For Students 9th - 10th
This is the text of Senator Margaret Chase Smith's "Declaration of Conscience," a list of how Republicans and Democrats should act, delivered on June 1, 1950.
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Unit Plan
CommonLit

Common Lit: "Mc Carthyism" by Us history.org

For Students 9th - 10th
A learning module that begins with "McCarthyism" by USHistory.org, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
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Website
University of Illinois

University of Illinois: The Legacy of Mc Carthyism

For Students 9th - 10th
An essay addressing the ramifications of false accusations made against academics, politicians, and cultural figures during the McCarthy Era. Read about the consequences not only for the individuals but for society in general.
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Website
American-Israeli Cooperative Enterprise

Jewish Virtual Library: Edward R. Murrow's Report From Buchenwald

For Students 9th - 10th
The Jewish Virtual Library offers a moving account of Murrow's visit to the Nazi concentration camp. Brief, but powerful.
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Article
PBS

Pbs American Experience: Emma Goldman (1869 1940)

For Students 9th - 10th
A notorious lecturer, fearless writer, and merciless publisher, Goldman was one of the most controversial women in America. For more than thirty years, she defined the limits of dissent and free speech in Progressive Era America.
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Handout
Library of Congress

Loc: Biographical Directory of the u.s. Congress: Mc Carthy, Joseph Raymond

For Students 9th - 10th
Part of the official biographical guide of the U.S. Congress, this page contains a brief biography of Joseph McCarthy and his political career.
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Handout
Other

Anarchist Murderers or American Martyrs?: Nicola Sacco

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief biography of Nicola Sacco's life before his fateful arrest, perhaps wrongly, for murder in 1920.
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Website
Independence Hall Association

U.s. History: The 1950s: Happy Days

For Students 5th - 8th
A brief look at American life and politics in the 1950s with an increase in consumerism and fear of the Soviet Union.
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Article
Ohio State University

E History: Clash of Cultures in the 1910s and 1920s: Trial of Sacco and Vanzetti

For Students 9th - 10th
Overview of the arrest, trial, and conviction of Sacco and Vanzetti, with a link to Felix Frankfurter's book on the subject, published in 1927, which concludes that the conviction was the result of the anti-immigration fury of the time.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Alger Hiss

For Students 9th - 10th
Fact sheet and biography contain interesting information and history on Alger Hiss who was accused by Whitaker Chambers as being a Communist and Soviet spy.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Mc Carthyism

For Students 9th - 10th
Learn detailed facts about McCarthyism, the anti-communist 'witch hunts' of Senator Joseph McCarthy (1950 - 1956) consisting of investigations and persecution of alleged communists in America in which accusations of treason or subversion...
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Handout
Mount Holyoke College

Mount Holyoke College: Mc Carthyism: Was the Threat Real?

For Students 9th - 10th
A brief description of the hunt for spies within the United States prior to McCarthyism.
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Article
Siteseen

Siteseen: American Historama: Sacco and Vanzetti

For Students 9th - 10th
Comprehensive summary features detailed facts and information on the Sacco and Vanzetti case.