Upon the conclusion of World War II, a new era began. An era of diplomatic manipulation, paranoia, heightened security, intensive economic development of awesome weapons and even awesomer weapons, and yet an era where the greatest of all weapons were words and threats. This was the Cold War era. Fear of Communism in capitalist nations caused the United States government to use propaganda to raise Cold War anxieties. Although the Cold War itself did not involve direct military engagement between the United States and Soviet Union, it had many by-products, such as the Korean War, Vietnam War, Cuban Missile Crisis, and conflict in Afghanistan. It brought a change not only in American foreign policy, but also domestic policy. The Cold War brought fears throughout the nation and paved the way for McCarthyism to take hold. This was a period where millions of Americans felt unnecessary worries and fears. The American media influenced the attitude of Americans, making a hatred of Communism permeate through the United States. Many trials, especially of famous individuals, were televised across the country, leading people to believe that internal sedition was a real problem in America. People were unjustly persecuted and stripped away from their civil liberties, all in the name of national security. Regardless of what the reasoning was, McCarthyism was not a justified tactic of the Cold War.
             The Cold War was a time when the fear of subversion, espionage, and Communist sympathisers ran rampant in America. Wisconsin's Senator Joseph McCarthy exemplified this fear and distrust and attained power as a result of it. And so, the Communist "witch hunts" began, leading to unsubstantiated attacks on innocent people throughout the nation. Most of the people that McCarthy accused of being Communist were convicted. This happened despite the fact that many of the accused were not in fact communists. The McCarthy trial incre...