McCarthyism

<p><strong>McCarthyism</strong> is the practice of making accusations of <a title="Subversion" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subversion">subversion</a> or <a title="Treason" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treason">treason</a> without proper regard for evidence.<sup id="cite_ref-authentichistory_1-0" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism#cite_note-authentichistory-1">[1]</a></sup> The term refers to U.S. senator <a title="Joseph McCarthy" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_McCarthy">Joseph McCarthy</a> (R-Wisconsin) and has its origins in the period in the United States known as the Second Red Scare, lasting from the late 1940s through the 1950s.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_2-0" class= "reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism#cite_note-:1-2">[2]</a></sup> It was characterized by heightened <a title= "Political repression" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_repression">political repression</a> and a <a class="mw-redirect" title= "Fear mongering" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_mongering">campaign spreading fear</a> of <a title="Communism" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communism">communist</a> influence on American institutions and of <a title="Espionage" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Espionage">espionage</a> by <a title="Soviet Union" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Union">Soviet</a> agents.<sup id="cite_ref-:1_2-1" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism#cite_note-:1-2">[2]</a></sup> After the mid-1950s, McCarthyism began to decline, mainly due to the gradual loss of public popularity and opposition from the <a class="mw-redirect" title="U.S. Supreme Court" href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Supreme_Court">U.S. Supreme Court</a> led by Chief Justice <a title="Earl Warren" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Warren">Earl Warren</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-:2_3-0" class="reference"><a href= "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism#cite_note-:2-3">[3]</a></sup><sup