McCarthyism is a time period in which Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy became famous. This occurred in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Elected to the Senate in 1946, McCarthy launched investigations that would expose potential communists within the U.S. government. According to the American Heritage Dictionary, McCarthyism is “the political practice of publicizing accusations of disloyalty or subversion with insufficient regard to the evidence.” McCarthy accused people of communism without finding evidence against them. This is very similar to what happens in The Witch of Blackbird Pond. People like Kit and Hannah get accused of something just because it's not normal for the people accusing them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The Witch of Blackbird Pond, written by Elizabeth George Speare, offers a good portrayal of McCarthyism. In the book, a girl named Katherine Tyler leaves her old life behind to live in Connecticut for a year. While there, he learns that his life is very different from those of these people. The book shows how Kit tries to adapt to this new life and build relationships with people. Many people she met became her friends while some did not get along with her. He also had problems with some family members. Lifestyle Murphy 2 was used to scaring the population and was considered an outcast. She becomes friends with a woman named Hannah Tupper, who is also in the same boat. The community was so shocked by the things Kit had done that they called her a witch. The first time this happens is when Katherine arrives in Connecticut. After a little girl drops her toy, Kit dives into the freezing water to retrieve it. Where Kit came from, this was completely normal. However, this was witchcraft. People labeled Kit without any information and evidence. They were surprised, so they just assumed. This is very similar to McCarthyism. The things people did within the government were not normal, so Joseph McCarthy accused them of being communists. He didn't take the time to look for evidence, but simply came to an unknown conclusion. This has caused great fear and confusion among many people. McCarthy was going too far in his pursuit of communists. The senator was re-elected in 1952. He was appointed chairman of the Senate Government Operations Committee. He took advantage of his position, carrying out numerous investigations into government departments for a couple of years. McCarthy was very confident and made his accusations seem true. He asked many questions of many people, trying to get them to admit their communist ways. Hard working workers were forced out of their positions because of McCarthy. His accusations and arguments were never valid but the way he acted helped him succeed in his goals. McCarthy's wrong intentions and false accusations were seen when Edward R. Murrow Murphy 3 criticized him on television. After people realized what Joseph McCarthy was doing, they strongly disapproved. McCarthyism died at that moment and so did McCarthy himself just three years later. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay At the end of Speare's book, the community drops the charges against Kit and Hannah and the truth is seen that Kit was only helping people. The ending of McCarthyism and The Witch of Blackbird Pond is similar in that everyone ultimately saw that not.