Answer to Question #302404 in History for bob

Question

Did the threat of Soviet espionage justify the reaction from HUAC and McCarthy?

Answer 1

No, it did not. In order to respond to this, a House Committee on Un-American Activities was formed to investigate and seize communist activities in the country.

In the 1950's, there was wide spread of panic that soviet espionage were trying to infiltrate in the country, consequently, Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator, accused the whole communist leaning population despite lacking a concrete evidence by establishing that soviet spies were expanding in American institutions courtesy of them.