Some say Senator McCarthy prevented the US from falling to communism. The fear of communism caused the American people to have increased awareness and suspicion. It allowed the government to purge communism out of all areas of American life, and one could argue that ultimately, America was saved. While all of this is true, there is debate over whether McCarthy truly did a good deed for American society - it is enormously difficult to ignore the negative externalities of the anti-communism wave he started.
The most obvious effect of McCarthyism was the effect on society. McCarthy, by de…
