Senator Joseph McCarthy began investigating Communist subversion in the United States in 1950. This action led to the Army-McCarthy Hearings in 1954. This activities and methods involved during this period would become known as McCarthyism.
because they were suspected to have communist ties
Gulags .
There was a paranoia about Communists during the early 1950's. People who had had Communist connections back on the 1930's were exposed and black-listed and suspected as traitors. Sen Joseph McCarthy, in particular, led witch-hunts of government workers who were suspected of Communist leanings. People had to sign an affidavit, certifying that they were not Communists , nor associated with subversive organization.
During the Cold War era in the United States, individuals who were perceived to have communist leanings or sympathies were often labeled as communist sympathizers. This included politicians, writers, artists, and intellectuals who were suspected of supporting or advocating for communist ideologies.
Former Sen. McCarthy
Richard Nixon was thrust into the national spotlight
Joint ethics regulations provide detailed procedures for reporting suspected violations of government ethics or standards.
The read scare was when people in America thought Democracy was being jepordized and people were becoming communists and trying to "overthrow" (for lack of a better word) the democratic government. Alot of innocent people were put on these government lists ( i forget the name) if they were even suspected of being communists when they often werent. Then they sometimes got sent to jail or worse....they were executed. The government was scared that they were spies. for example Julius and ethel rosenberg who were executed because they were suspected to be communist spies.
It was a list of people considered to be enemies of the state (Federal Government) or spies. These people were either interned or arrested and tried. It did not matter what their racial or national background was: if they suspected or had proof of someone being an enemy of the state they were dealt with.
McCarthyism and the Red Scare of the 1950's directly influenced the creation of the infamous Hollywood Blacklist, keeping suspected members of the Communist Party or Communist empathizers from finding jobs.
It was a period during the Cold War between the US and the Soviet Union where the people in the US were scared of the spread of communism throughout the world. Also referred to as the "Red Scare". People here were "blacklisted" if suspected of being a communist or socialist. Many were incarcerated or deported. The US government spied on its own people, using wire taps and tapping into personal records. People were so scared of communism in the US, they would snitch on people they suspected of being communist.
It was a time when the leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin, had a mass killing of everyone that was even suspected to be a communist, have communist ideas, or just plain not being loyal.