Question

(MC)The quote below is from a Declaration of Conscience written by Senator Margaret Chase Smith in the 1950s: "Those of us who shout the loudest about Americanism . . . are all too frequently those who . . . ignore some of the basic principles of Americanism-the right to criticize, the right to hold unpopular beliefs, the right to protest, the right of independent thought. . . . Freedom of speech . . . has been so abused by some that it is not exercised by others." In this quote, Smith is condemning which of the following?

McCarthyism
the Second Red Scare
the Cold War
the McCarran Act

Answer 1

The correct one would be McCarthyism

Answer 2

The correct answer is McCarthyism.

Margaret Chase Smith was one of the few members of Congress willing to stand up to Joe McCarthy and his constant abuse of power. Joe McCarthy was trying to get rid of communism in the US. However, the means he used to do this were through intimidation and faulty logic. Margaret Chase Smith stood up to him and references his actions in the excerpt above.

When she discusses those who shout the "loudest" often ignore the rights of citizens she is talking directly about Joseph McCarthy.