Editing McCarthyism (section)

==Critical reactions==
The nation was by no means united behind the policies and activities that have come to be associated with McCarthyism. The critics of various aspects of McCarthyism included many figures not generally noted for their liberalism. In his overridden [[Veto power in the United States|veto]] of the [[McCarran Internal Security Act]] of 1950, President Truman wrote, "In a free country, we punish men for the crimes they commit, but never for the opinions they have."<ref>{{cite web| author= Truman, Harry S.| date=September 1950| url=http://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/viewpapers.php?pid=883| title=Veto of the Internal Security Bill| access-date=August 7, 2006| publisher=Truman Presidential Museum and Library| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070301113033/http://trumanlibrary.org/publicpapers/viewpapers.php?pid=883| archive-date=March 1, 2007| url-status=dead}}</ref> Truman also unsuccessfully vetoed the [[Taft–Hartley Act]], which among other provisions denied [[trade union]]s [[National Labor Relations Board]] protection unless union leaders signed [[affidavit]]s swearing they were not and had never been Communists. In 1953, after he left office, Truman criticized the contemporary Eisenhower administration:

{{blockquote|It is now evident that the present Administration has fully embraced, for political advantage, McCarthyism. I am not referring to the Senator from Wisconsin. He is only important in that his name has taken on the dictionary meaning of the word. It is the corruption of truth, the abandonment of the due process law. It is the use of the big lie and the unfounded accusation against any citizen in the name of Americanism or security. It is the rise to power of the demagogue who lives on untruth; it is the spreading of fear and the destruction of faith in every level of society.{{sfn|Doherty|2005|pp=14–15}}}}

On June 1, 1950, Senator [[Margaret Chase Smith]], a Maine Republican, delivered a speech to the Senate she called a "[[Declaration of Conscience]]". In a clear attack upon McCarthyism, she called for an end to "[[character assassination]]s" and named "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". She said "[[freedom of speech]] is not what it used to be in America", and decried "cancerous tentacles of 'know nothing, suspect everything' attitudes".<ref>{{cite web |author=Smith, Margaret Chase |date=June 1, 1950 |url= http://www.mcslibrary.org/program/library/declaration.htm |title= Declaration of Conscience |access-date= August 4, 2006 |publisher=Margaret Chase Smith Library |url-status=dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20061008025315/http://www.mcslibrary.org/program/library/declaration.htm |archive-date=October 8, 2006 }}</ref> Six other Republican senators—[[Wayne Morse]], [[Irving Ives|Irving M. Ives]], [[Charles W. Tobey]], [[Edward John Thye]], [[George Aiken]], and [[Robert C. Hendrickson]]—joined Smith in condemning the tactics of McCarthyism.
[[File:Welch-McCarthy-Hearings.jpg|right|thumb| [[Joseph N. Welch]] (left) and Senator McCarthy, June 9, 1954]]

[[Elmer Davis]], one of the most highly respected news reporters and commentators of the 1940s and 1950s, often spoke out against what he saw as the excesses of McCarthyism. On one occasion he warned that many local anti-communist movements constituted a "general attack not only on schools and colleges and libraries, on teachers and textbooks, but on all people who think and write ... in short, on the freedom of the mind".{{sfn|Fried|1990|p=29}}

In 1952, the Supreme Court upheld a lower-court decision in ''[[Irving Adler#Adler v. Board of Education|Adler v. Board of Education]]'', thus approving a law that allowed state loyalty review boards to fire teachers deemed "subversive". In his dissenting opinion, Justice [[William O. Douglas]] wrote: "The present law proceeds on a principle repugnant to our society—guilt by association.... What happens under this law is typical of what happens in a police state. Teachers are under constant surveillance; their pasts are combed for signs of disloyalty; their utterances are watched for clues to dangerous thoughts."{{sfn|Fried|1997|p=114}}

[[File:Edward r murrow challenge of ideas screenshot 2.jpg|thumb|Broadcast journalist [[Edward R. Murrow]]]]
One of the most influential opponents of McCarthyism was the famed CBS newscaster and analyst [[Edward R. Murrow]]. On October 20, 1953, Murrow's show ''[[See It Now]]'' aired an episode about the dismissal of [[Milo Radulovich]], a former reserve Air Force lieutenant who was accused of associating with Communists. The show was strongly critical of the [[United States Air Force|Air Force]]'s methods, which included presenting evidence in a sealed envelope that Radulovich and his attorney were not allowed to open.

On March 9, 1954, ''See It Now'' aired another episode on the issue of McCarthyism, this one attacking Joseph McCarthy himself. Titled "A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy", it used footage of McCarthy speeches to portray him as dishonest, reckless, and abusive toward witnesses and prominent Americans. In his concluding comment, Murrow said:

{{blockquote|We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men.<ref name=SIN/>}}

This broadcast has been cited as a key episode in bringing about the end of McCarthyism.{{sfn|Streitmatter|1998|p=154}}

In April 1954, McCarthy was also under attack in the [[Army–McCarthy hearings]]. These hearings were televised live on the new [[American Broadcasting Company]] network, allowing the public to view first-hand McCarthy's interrogation of individuals and his controversial tactics. In one exchange, McCarthy reminded the attorney for the Army, [[Joseph N. Welch|Joseph Welch]], that he had an employee in his law firm who had belonged to an organization that had been accused of Communist sympathies. In an exchange that reflected the increasingly negative public opinion of McCarthy, Welch rebuked the senator: "Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?"{{sfn|Doherty|2005|p=207}}