Most Americans first encounter the word McCarthyism as a synonym for reckless accusation — a cautionary tale about demagoguery, fear, and the abuse of political power. Senator Joseph McCarthy is remembered as a bully who destroyed innocent lives with unsubstantiated charges, and his era is routinely compared to the Salem witch trials of 1692: hysteria mistaken for evidence, accusation substituted for proof.
But what if the witch hunt found real witches?
In this capstone project, you will go beyond the textbook narrative and examine the actual archival evidence: declassified Soviet intelligence cables from the Venona Project and internal KGB records from the Vassiliev Notebooks — documents that were hidden behind the Iron Curtain until the 1990s. These records name names, describe operations, and identify U.S. government officials who supplied the Soviet Union with intelligence during the 1940s.
Your task is to evaluate McCarthy's specific accusations against the archival record, assess the strength of the evidence, and construct an evidence-based historical argument about what the declassified archives actually reveal.
"The practice of making unfair allegations or using unfair investigative techniques, especially in order to restrict dissent or political criticism."
— Dictionary.com, s.v. "McCarthyism"This is where your research begins — and where the standard narrative may begin to break down. You will decide what the evidence shows.
.txt files to Canvas when complete.
Pre-compiled reference page with government roles, Soviet code names, verbatim archival quotes, and citations for all 10 individuals. Start here.
Open Archival Database →Declassified NSA intercepts of Soviet intelligence cables, 1940s. Names U.S. sources by code name with operational details.
NSA Venona Archive →KGB officer Alexander Vassiliev's handwritten notes from Moscow Center files, including the 1948 Gorsky Memo listing active Soviet agents by real name.
Wilson Center Digital Archive →The February 20, 1950 Congressional Record — McCarthy's "81 cases" speech naming State and Treasury officials as security risks or Communists.
Congressional Record (PDF) →All work submitted for this assignment must reflect your own research and analysis. Do not use AI tools to generate, rewrite, or complete any portion of either form. Review the class AI use policy before beginning.
Submitted files will be processed through AI detection tools as part of the grading review.