To what extent were the allegations of Joseph McCarthy factual?

While there WAS abuse by the House Un-American Activities Committee as many many citizens were subpoenaed to appear and testify, MUCH of the "problem" was private companies firing those subpoenaed to avoid the taint of an accused Communist. It became a "witch hunt".. with those accused, accusing others in an attempt to mitigate / lessen their sentence.

However, MOST of those brought before the Committee WERE current or former Communists and suffered harassment under the McCarran Internal Security Act, and later imprisonment under the Communist Control Act. The allegations were brought forward by FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover... after THOROUGH investigation.

President Truman criticized McCarthyism: ""In a free country, we punish men for the crimes they commit, but never for the opinions they have."

He accused people of being Communists, and said that there are many Communists that have infiltrated the government. Being a Communist simply means an adoption of the Communist philosophy. Most people would give at least some credence to some Communist ideas like communal support for the indigent, or the idea that sometimes workers are exploited in a capitalist economy. Therefore, being a Communist or not is a relative thing. The truth behind the allegations is a matter of perception and definition.

Proof? The whole McCarthy thing was a horrible witch hunt. Proof was irrelevant. Often it involved having participated in sending support to Soviet allies during WW2, or political action to get the United States involved in WW2 against the Nazis after June 1941 and before December 1941. Sometimes it involved membership in the Communist Party, knowing someone who was a member at one time, or being against the war in Korea. It might just have been being on the wrong side of politics or pissing somebody off.

Very very little. Charlie Chaplin was, indeed, a communist sympathizer, but so were many. It did not make them unamerican. All the way through the 60's the Communist Party USA was on the ballots.

McCarthy was a pumped up blowhard, bully, with some vendetta. He was an alcoholic psychopath. Nothing more.

In other words he was a total nut.

He never worried about the truth. Much like the communists did not.

How Ironic.

He really reached for so-called "proof". Some people might have been curious what communism was all about and asked questions about it. They were McCarthy's targets right along with the others. Anyone who had even thought about communism was grilled and labeled and black-balled in the entertainment industry especially.