Historical Dictionary of United States Intelligence

wounded. The Cambodian Khmer Rouge government, possibly on

appeal by the government of the People’s Republic of China(PRC),

released the crew, who were brought out of Cambodia by the res-

cuers. The reasons for the ship’s capture and subsequent release of

the crew have baffled researchers.

McCARTHY ERA. The McCarthy era refers to the years between

1950 and 1954 when Wisconsin senator Joseph McCarthy zealously

sought to unmask communist infiltration of the U.S. government.

The stage for the McCarthy Era was set as early as 1940, when the

Alien Registration Act made it illegal for anyone in the United States

to advocate, abet, or teach the overthrow of the government. The law

also required all alien residents over 14 years of age living in the

country to file a statement of personal and occupational status as well

as a record of their political beliefs. The main objective of the Act

was to undermine the American Communist Party and other left-wing

political groups in the United States. Politicians soon settled on the

House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), set up in 1938

to investigate unpatriotic behavior, as the best venue to enforce the

Alien Registration Act.

After World War II, the HUAC began investigating intellectuals,

artists, and movie stars, a task assumed by Senator McCarthy in Feb-

ruary 1950 when he became chairman of the committee. With the

communist takeover in China in 1949 and the onset of the Korean

Warin 1950, the American public felt genuinely frightened by the

possibilities of internal subversion. However, McCarthy went further

and began attacking government officials as communist infiltrators.

For the next two years, Senator McCarthy investigated government

agencies and a large number of people about their political past.

Some of these people lost their jobs, mostly because of the implica-

tion associated with being investigated. This witch hunt and hysteria

became known as McCarthyism.

When McCarthy started alleging communist infiltration of the mil-

itary and the intelligence services, the White House began having

doubts about McCarthy’s investigations and sought ways to discredit

him. The televised hearings also showed McCarthy, according to one

newspaper column of the time, to be “evil and unmatched in malice.”

The Senate passed a motion of censure against Senator McCarthy on

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