Today was our first official day of the class witch hunt. The rules that we established yesterday were actually implemented for the first time. Herr Lazarow told us that our job is to keep a journal of observations we make about our classmates, keeping track off who is or isn't following the rules. The goal is too be able to provide some evidence for the accusations we will have to make about who we think the witch is and why.
After that, we watched a short excerpt from a movie that was about the McCarthy accusations and the numerous investigations that took place. Most notably, the McCarthy's accusations against the US army, where McCarthy accused the army of protecting certain officials who were members of a Communist spy ring. These hearings were broadcast on live television and deeply impacted public opinion.
We then began discussion on the topic of McCarthyism. We used one of McCarthy's speeches and the movie we just watched as references. One particular point of discussion was how McCarthy continued to ask questions to those who chose to take their 5th amendment right (nothing you say can help to incriminate yourself). This meant he repeatedly questioned people who refused and could no longer answer questions in order to make them seem like they had something to hide. The main idea is that if they were innocent and weren't Communist, then why wouldn't they just give an answer?
We summarized this by ultimately concluding that you don't need any evidence to make the accusation, the accusation is enough by itself. Suspicion was enough to declare someone a Communist and once the claim was made the damage was already done.
- Mike Bass
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4 comments:
hey i'm just wondering for the minutes are we still going around the room or is it on a volunteer/first come first do basis, since we seem to be skipping around?
From what I understand, we have definitely abandoned the seating rotation schedule. The class notes have gone to anarchy. It's a first come basis.
Uh oh, thats not good. I think we should keep a rotation, I think Julie S. was the last one in order? If i'm not mistaken.
Anywho, I think McCarthy is a fascinating subject who had the right idea. He just went about it a bit too forcefully and got carried away - though the notion of undermining communists was an issue that needed to be addressed. It shows the fervor of a witchhunt, and how easily it can sweep away someone's entire life.
I think that the idea of seeking out communists was something that needed to be done, but only to a small extent. During the time period, it was American policy to contain communism and the American people were associating communism with oppression and aggression. I think that the act of searching for communism in different institutions including the government was an attempt to demonstrate a form of control.
As we discussed, there is nothing illegal about being a communist. I can understand how there are sympathies towards communism, it is a "nice" ideology that just doesn't work out in practice.
I believe that it was a violation of the first amendment (freedom of speech) and the fifth amendment (right to due process). As long as the accused person was not advocating the overthrow of the American government or involved in espionage, that person cannot be punished. These people were also assumed guilty and denied a "fair" trial-just like the alleged witches in the Crucible.
-Kelsey W.
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