AllMovie

In this documentary, part of the 20th Century With Mike Wallace series from CBS News and the History Channel, series host and CBS News correspondent Mike Wallace studies the life, work, and controversy of Senator Joseph McCarthy. This episode offers new evidence and insights into the McCarthy era and the infamous blacklist he perpetrated on the United States. With newly discovered information from the CIA and Russian declassified files, Wallace digs deep into the heart of the Wisconsin Senator's reasons for the Communist witch hunts he led. 20th Century With Mike Wallace also features commentary from scholars and historians who talk about the era of McCarthy and how the fear he instilled into many Americans might have been justified, at least more than previously thought. However, some historians see this new evidence as nothing that lends any credence to a blacklist that ruined so many lives and careers.