Bit of a dive into McCarthyism from the high powers of the authority that is wikipedia.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism
The US Supreme Court under Chief Justice Earl Warren made a series of rulings on civil and political rights that overturned several key laws and legislative directives, and helped bring an end to the Second Red Scare.
Hmm. Interesting.
After the mid-1950s, U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy, who had spearheaded the campaign, gradually lost his public popularity and credibility after several of his accusations were found to be false.
Oh Really?! Hmm.
The term has since taken on a broader meaning, describing the excesses of similar efforts to crack down on alleged "subversive" elements. In the early 21st century, the term is used more generally to describe reckless and unsubstantiated accusations of treason and far-left extremism, along with demamgoic personal attacks on the character and patriotism of political adversaries.
FASCINATING.
The primary targets for persecution were government employees, prominent figures in the entertainment industry, academics, left-wing politicians, and labor union activists. Suspicions were often given credence despite inconclusive and questionable evidence, and the level of threat posed by a person's real or supposed leftist associations and beliefs were often exaggerated. Many people suffered loss of employment and the destruction of their careers and livelihoods as a result of the crackdowns on suspected communists, and some were outright imprisoned. Most of these reprisals were initiated by trial verdicts that were later overturned, laws that were later struck down as unconstitutional, dismissals for reasons later declared illegal or actionable, and extra-judiciary procedures, such as informal blacklists by employers and public institutions, that would come into general disrepute, though by then many lives had been ruined.
Primary targets in the UK for accusations of transphobia are, drum roll... government employees, prominent figures in the entertainment industry, academics, left-wing politicians, and labor union activists. AND YET, we are told that being gender critical is association with the far right... How ODD....
Other forces encouraged the rise of McCarthyism. The more conservative politicians in the United States had historically referred to progressive reforms, such as child labor laws and women's suffrage, as "communist" or "Red plots", trying to raise fears against such changes.
And
One focus of popular McCarthyism concerned the provision of public health services, particularly vaccination, mental health care services, and fluridation, all of which were denounced by some to be communist plots to poison or brainwash the American people. Such viewpoints led to collisions between McCarthyite radicals and supporters of public-health programs.
Its that weird that fear of women and children having rights, fuelled a political witch hunt, isn't it? Odd that those who were interested in public health were at odds with McCarthism. Its almost as if theres a rational v ideological battle going on...
Moving on, heres an telling quote:
The nation was by no means united behind the policies and activities that have come to be associated with McCarthyism. The critics of various aspects of McCarthyism included many figures not generally noted for their liberalism. In his overridden veto of the McCarran Internal Security Act of 1950, President Truman wrote,
"In a free country, we punish men for the crimes they commit, but never for the opinions they have."
In 1953, after he left office, Truman criticized the current Eisenhower administration:
It is now evident that the present Administration has fully embraced, for political advantage, McCarthyism. I am not referring to the Senator from Wisconsin. He is only important in that his name has taken on the dictionary meaning of the word. It is the corruption of truth, the abandonment of the due process law. It is the use of the big lie and the unfounded accusation against any citizen in the name of Americanism or security. It is the rise to power of the demagogue who lives on untruth; it is the spreading of fear and the destruction of faith in every level of society.
And
On June 1, 1950, Senator Margaret Chase Smith, a Maine Republican, delivered a speech to the Senate she called a "Declaration of Conscience". In a clear attack upon McCarthyism, she called for an end to "character assassinations" and named "some of the basic principles of Americanism: The right to criticize; the right to hold unpopular beliefs; the right to protest; the right of independent thought". She said "freedom of speech is not what it used to be in America", and decried "cancerous tentacles of 'know nothing, suspect everything' attitudes".
What was said about the OU academics and letter writers who hounded Jo Phoenix again?
So how did it end?
In the mid and late 1950s, the attitudes and institutions of McCarthyism slowly weakened. Changing public sentiments heavily contributed to the decline of McCarthyism. Its decline may also be charted through a series of court decisions.
So a collaspe in populist support as people began to realise it was batshit nonsense and there was growing awareness of dubious implimentation of law. Funny eh?
It talks about Justice Warren's influence and other cases, but this one is particularly interesting:
A key figure in the end of the blacklisting of McCarthyism was John Henry Faulk . Host of an afternoon comedy radio show, Faulk was a leftist active in his union. He was scrutinized by AWARE, Inc., one of the private firms that examined individuals for signs of communist "disloyalty". Marked by AWARE as unfit, he was fired by CBS Radio. Almost uniquely among the many victims of blacklisting, Faulk decided to sue AWARE in 1957 and finally won the case in 1962.
With this court decision, the private blacklisters and those who used them were put on notice that they were legally liable for the professional and financial damage they caused. Although some informal blacklisting continued, the private "loyalty checking" agencies were soon a thing of the past.
If ever you wanted a historical precedence to why these employment court hearing matter and why they are not inconsequential, THATS the example.
Interestingly the wiki article doesn't have even a whisper about consequences for anyone who supported McCarthism. So we can conclude that its regarded as 'not important enough to make wiki' or it didn't happen at all.
McCarthy himself died in 1957 so never lived to see it all unravel in full. Wiki talks about how it was actually less about McCarthy and more about J Edgar Hoover making a power grab and it was about excesses of power and illegal FBI activity and nothing was ever done to Hoover. The FBI's power has been reigned in to a degree over the years by court rulings but thats so far as its really gone. No one accountable.
And no the victims of McCarthism who had their careers and lives wrecked were never acknowledged and given their dues.
Totally off topic I know and I apologise but also uniquely ON topic in its own way...