Process PAper
How did I choose my topic?
I chose my topic based on my growing interest of Communism and it's development throughout the ages. When I first read the history day prompt, I decided to conduct my research on something American, but my interest in communism overwhelmed me. Therefore, I decided to do my project on either the Cold War or the McCarthyism and I found that the latter was more fitting for the History Day theme.
Researching Process
I conducted my research by accessing videos and transcripts of the House of Un-American Activities' trials. My primary research came from databases and general and detailed articles on those databases. I also searched for propaganda posters from 1947-1957 to understand the American concious during the time being. Since McCarthyism isn't a broad and overwhelming topic, most of research included piecing the puzzle together to get a grasp of the civil liberties violated and the public opinion of Joseph McCarthy and communism. I also talked to seniors who lived through the McCarthy era to get a real life view of what happened.
Choosing a category and project completion
I chose to do an individual website because I felt that the topic was more informative than display. McCarthyism is an attack on the government and its peoples based on oral evidence. My topic required me to understand it rather than display it and I thought a website was fitting for it.
Correlation between my project and NHD theme
Firstly, my project on McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare heavily stresses the NHD theme as it was a turning point in how the government-and even the FBI-and the public would react to a mass hysteria that may or may not be justified. In the First Red Scare, the public was outraged over the anarchist bombings and communist-supported strikes. In the Second Red Scare, the public had nothing to fear but a global communist takeover conspiracy theory. The main contrast between the two is that the former can be justified, while the latter was a direct result of the American ignorance and the post-war, anti-communist sentiment. Though it is understandable that the threat of a Soviet bomb, created in 1949, could devastate America, Senator Joseph McCarthy undertook extreme and generally unnecessary actions; some of these actions (blacklisting, undeserved imprisonment) was completely unfair to Americans even if they opposed the government opinion. Many Communist and leftist Americans were imprisoned and many left the country. McCarthyism created a turning point in that it changed how the government would react to a crisis and just how powerful government powers can become if the public would stand idle and accept the events occurring.
I chose my topic based on my growing interest of Communism and it's development throughout the ages. When I first read the history day prompt, I decided to conduct my research on something American, but my interest in communism overwhelmed me. Therefore, I decided to do my project on either the Cold War or the McCarthyism and I found that the latter was more fitting for the History Day theme.
Researching Process
I conducted my research by accessing videos and transcripts of the House of Un-American Activities' trials. My primary research came from databases and general and detailed articles on those databases. I also searched for propaganda posters from 1947-1957 to understand the American concious during the time being. Since McCarthyism isn't a broad and overwhelming topic, most of research included piecing the puzzle together to get a grasp of the civil liberties violated and the public opinion of Joseph McCarthy and communism. I also talked to seniors who lived through the McCarthy era to get a real life view of what happened.
Choosing a category and project completion
I chose to do an individual website because I felt that the topic was more informative than display. McCarthyism is an attack on the government and its peoples based on oral evidence. My topic required me to understand it rather than display it and I thought a website was fitting for it.
Correlation between my project and NHD theme
Firstly, my project on McCarthyism and the Second Red Scare heavily stresses the NHD theme as it was a turning point in how the government-and even the FBI-and the public would react to a mass hysteria that may or may not be justified. In the First Red Scare, the public was outraged over the anarchist bombings and communist-supported strikes. In the Second Red Scare, the public had nothing to fear but a global communist takeover conspiracy theory. The main contrast between the two is that the former can be justified, while the latter was a direct result of the American ignorance and the post-war, anti-communist sentiment. Though it is understandable that the threat of a Soviet bomb, created in 1949, could devastate America, Senator Joseph McCarthy undertook extreme and generally unnecessary actions; some of these actions (blacklisting, undeserved imprisonment) was completely unfair to Americans even if they opposed the government opinion. Many Communist and leftist Americans were imprisoned and many left the country. McCarthyism created a turning point in that it changed how the government would react to a crisis and just how powerful government powers can become if the public would stand idle and accept the events occurring.