ublic relations to do so as they were afraid that if they kept these people there would be severe repercussions from it. As it turns out many of the companies who did not fire its employees had little or no trouble (Chafe 58). From about 1952 to 1954 when the McCarthy subcommittees had finished running through the government looking for communists they switched their attention to collages and universities. The net results were the same, if you were found to be a communist or you refused to cooperate with the committee you would most likely loose your job. It seems the collage presidents were afraid of loosing the financial backing of its alumni if they did not act on the findings of the committees. During this time of McCarthyism it appears that about 10,000 people may have lost their jobs, and about 150 people went to jail. (Chafe 57,64). It also marked the end of the left wing political groups in America, as well as many left wing union leaders were also removed from power. The American Communist Party had about 75,000 members just after WW II, and by the end of 1957 there were fewer than 10,000. It is also believed that many of the 10,000 had been informants for the Government and that is why they remained (Navasky 1). But this may not have been the most significant impact of McCarthyism. The real impact of McCarthyism may be that people just fell in line. Everyone seemed to become the "perfect Citizen" supporting the government, or at least not speaking out against it. For during this time it would have been suicide to speak out against the government or any of its policies. The fear was that you might be labeled a Communist or a Communist sympathizer. You could also end up on one of the many "Black Lists" that were in effect. If this happened it would be impossible to get a job in your industry of expertise. This fear was widespread, from top government officials and large corporations, right down to professo...
