As the cold war began in the late 1940s, the fear of a Red threat within the United States intensified. Exploiting the public anxieties, Joseph R. McCarthy, a little-known senator from Wisconsin, launched his anti-communist crusade in 1950. Past membership in the Communist Party, friendship with suspected radicals, or buying a leftist newspaper was enough for a person to be blacklisted, fired from their job, arrested, or even deported. Federal employees, Hollywood actors, public schoolteachers, scientists, and many others were ensnared by the Red Scare. Though the Soviet Union did present a real threat and some American Communists did try to aid the Soviets through spying, McCarthy's disregard for the truth, bullying of witnesses, and trampling of Constitutional rights helped create one of the darkest, most controversial periods in American history. The McCarthy Era examines the influences, events, and repercussions of the period, giving readers a vivid sense of this time in history.

Both the women's suffrage and civil rights movements laid the groundwork for some of the groups featured in this book, who were often less visible than women and African Americans. But over the last few decades, ethnic groups such as Asians and Latinos and organizations representing such interests as the elderly and people with disabilities have been able to attain political and social power through advocacy. ""The Ethnic and Group Identity Movements"" is an intriguing examination of these nascent yet influential groups, whose recent rise in visibility has mirrored the profound changes occurring within the fabric of American society.