What you’ll learn to do: closely read primary documents to support a claim about McCarthyism

In this historical hack, we will examine both a key figure from American history, Senator Joe McCarthy, as well as a recognizable political type, the demagogue. Our goal will be to carefully analyze the text of a speech by McCarthy and to identify the elements in his rhetoric that qualify it as an example of demagoguery. We will preface this work with a definition and brief history of the concept and will finish by reflecting on our analysis and gathering evidence from four additional excerpts of text to support a thesis statement that could viably serve as the foundation of an essay.