Because of McCarthyism, America's democratic institutions and basic civil and political rights were violated. McCarthyism is a good example of how the Cold War damaged and weakened America's democratic institutions.cCarthyism and the political and cultural anti-communist hysteria it created threatened the the American's basic rights. Many Americans in the 1950s were afraid to speak their mind or talk about their opinions for fear that they would stand out from the crowd and be called communists.