President Roosevelt's New Deal laws, started back in the 1930s, changed America, creating strong child labor regulations, minimum wage standards, Social Security, and new taxes. Over the years the gap between rich and poor has narrowed. But some Americans don't like those New Deal ideas; they say they are communistic. Now Harry Truman wants to change society even more, with a program of liberal reform called the Fair Deal. To J. Edgar Hoover, head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, it sounds like Communism. And fear of Communism is terrifying many Americans . Hoover says, "There are half a million fellow travelers and sympathizers in America ready to do the Communist bidding."

Then some Communist spies are discovered. They have sold atom-bomb secrets to Russia. And shocking news comes from England —some top British intelligence officials turn out to be Soviet spies. In 1949, Russia tests an atom bomb. The United States thought it had been alone in having atomic weapons. Now the idea that Joseph Stalin, a cold-blooded tyrant, has the A-bomb terrifies Americans .

In that same year, Communists take over China. Then North Korea, encouraged by communist China, sends an army into South Korea . Truman, working with the United Nations, decides to stop them. Though war is never declared, it becomes known as the Korean War. The Cold War has turned hot. Americans have become fearful that Communism will dominate the world. And because of those fears, we do some foolish things at home .

Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin likes attention and he knows how to get it. What will capture headlines? The Communist danger! At a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, he waves a piece of paper and says it contains the names of fifty-seven Communists who work in the State Department. He is lying, but who would believe that of a Senator McCarthy begins a witch-hunt for supposed Communists . He accuses hundreds of people of Communist activity. He never proves a single case. But it doesn't seem to matter. Those he accuses lose jobs, and friends, and careers. Their lives are ruined . The nation gets infected with anti-Communist hysteria. It is sick. What about free speech and the guarantees of the First Amendment? Those rights are in trouble. People are afraid to speak out. They are afraid to buy books, subscribe to magazines, or join organizations that might have left-wing leanings. But in a free country it is not a crime to hold any kind of belief—including communist beliefs. Those who understand America's values and history understand that. One of Maine's two senators, Margaret Chase Smith, has the courage to speak out. She says, "I think it is high time we remembered that the Constitution speaks not only of the freedom of speech but also of trial by jury instead of trial by accusation."

That doesn't stop McCarthy. He keeps attacking. He accuses top army officers of being Communist sympathizers. Hearings are held, and McCarthy's true colors come out. Joseph Welch serves as the Army's attorney . He is appalled by what he calls McCarthy's "recklessness" and "cruelty." At one point he turns to McCarthy and says, "At long last, have you left no sense of decency ?"

The Senate votes to censure McCarthy for outrageous behavior . The man who has terrorized much of the nation is, at last, disgraced. Later, most Americans become ashamed of McCarthy's witch hunts. But they make us aware of how easy it is to take our basic right of free speech for granted.