In the 1940s, Joseph McCarthy made a name for himself in the political circuit by inciting suspicion and paranoia into the American people. The Soviet Union had just developed its first Atomic Bomb, and the Communist Party had taken over China. These foreign developments helped McCarthy convince the American public that communism had infiltrated the government. The House of un-American Activities Committee was created, and then used to accuse thousands of Americans, especially Hollywood stars, of being communists. "Communist" quickly became a label no one wanted to carry, and would accuse their friends to avoid. If accused, one could prove that were no communist by outing three of their friends as communists. Decades after, author Arthur Miller wrote the play The Crucible about the Salem Witch Trials, an allegory for the paranoia and accusations during the Red Scare. While the public could scoff at the ridiculousness of the actions and accusations of the characters, this type of mass paranoia and punishment of those who carry a certain label happens time and time again in American history. For example, a similar sense of paranoia can be seen in the recent emergence of widespread Islamophobia. After 9/11, the American public became increasingly anti-Islamic. In a survey done by Yougov in 2015, 53% of the Republican respondents answered that they have a somewhat/very unfavorable opinion of Islam as a religion. This kind of prejudice contributes to the success of 2016 Presidential candidate Donald Trump, who wants a "complete and total shutdown of Muslims entering the United States". While decades apart, the correlation between these events show that Americans are still just as prone to mass paranoia and group mentality.
Sources: http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/dec/08/muslims-us-islam-islamophobia-data-polls
http://www.history.com/topics/cold-war/joseph-mccarthy
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