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History Homework
Nealy Ann Bowden
Assignment B
Read: Page 742 - 749 & Sen. Margaret Chase Smith’s speech
1. Explain the new elements of American foreign policy introduced by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles.
2. Read this famous speech of one of Maine’s most important Senators, Senator Margaret Chase Smith. How does she portray the impact of Senator McCarthy’s attack on “individual freedom?”
She depicts Senator McCarthy’s actions as having created a national angst that could potentially lead to the destruction of the way of life that America is accustomed to. She depicts it as a huge problem that is very hypocritical. She shows the senate being able to criticize, but not take criticism, and explains that, while the Senate was once a very productive “deliberative body”, it is now filled with too much of this angst and hate and fear to be able to function appropriately.
What is she defending?
First, and foremost, Smith defends personal liberties. The rights to criticize, protest, have independent thought, and uphold unpopular beliefs are all mentioned in her speech as the bones that make up any American’s natural born rights. She is not, however, only defending the people who were not given these rights at this time in history, but any American who could ever potentially want to put to use these rights that they have.
Comment on the meaning of this speech in the context of the times.
This speech is meaningful in relation to the times because it came about during a time when it seems like everyone was scared to speak their minds. If a person went against the grain, they could potentially be accused of being radical or communist, etc. This would have made giving a speech like this, one which was sympathetic towards those accused of communist actions, and one that preached individual freedoms and the right to such things as protest and having unpopular beliefs, a relatively risky thing to do. Smith had to have a lot of courage to be able to give a speech against a man as powerful as McCarthy. This just shows how compassionate she was about her cause and her beliefs. It also shows that there were a certain amount of people that didn’t agree with the way that the senate was functioning at this time in history, and it takes discontent to spawn change and improvement. This speech signifies both a want from within the senate to change the ways of the senate; and the passion an individual has for her cause, enough so that she would risk herself to speak her mind.
3. Outline the characteristics of Eisenhower’s “middle-of-the-road” domestic policy. Be sure to understand this completely before composing a response.