Joseph+McCarthy

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Joseph Raymond McCarthy was a Republican United States Senator whose name, in the 1950s, became synonymous with anti-communism. His unsubstantiated claims and extreme practices typified McCarthyism and similar anti-communist activities.

Early Life and Career
Joseph McCarthy was born on November 14, 1908. He grew up on a farm near Appleton, Wisconsin and was the son of Bridget Tierney and Tim McCarthy. As a teenager McCarthy dropped out of junior high school to help his parents on their farm. Only when he came to be 20 years of age, did McCarthy return to school. He graduated from high school in one year and went on to study engineering and law, eventually earning a law degree at Marquette University in 1935. After a few years working in a small law firm, McCarthy tried campaigning to become a district attorney representing the Democratic Party. As this endeavor failed, he moved on in an attempt to become a circuit court judge as a Republican Party candidate. After succeeding in 1939 and becoming the youngest circuit judge in state history, he later joined the United States Marine Corps, volunteering during World War II. He was commissioned as an officer and eventually left the Marines with the rank of captain. It seems as though, according to documented records, McCarthy's intentions of joining the Marines were based primarily on the planning of his political career. The claims that were made by McCarthy concerning his military accomplishments, consisted of so much exaggeration, that they could even be considered lies. These "lies" were made by Joseph McCarthy in order to benefit his status and reputation, along with his career. With these exaggerated accomplishments and his newly developed image, Joseph McCarthy worked his way up to the campaign against Robert La Follete, for United States Senator. As the Republican candidate McCarthy was then elected to the United States Senate in 1946.

United States Senate
Joseph McCarthy's first three years in the senate seemed to go unnoticed. It wasn't until 1950 that McCarthy became the most recognized face during the era of McCarthyism. McCarthy's first public appearance that was recognized and remembered by a significant number of people was during his speech given in Wheeling, West Virginia to the Republican Women's Club. The fame of this particular speech wasn't exactly due to the "power" of his oration, but known for what brought with him. During the speech he produced a piece of paper in which he claimed consisted the names of 205 communists working inside the government. "I have here in my hand a list of 205—a list of names that were made known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who nevertheless are still working and shaping policy in the State Department." This, as it would seem, grasped the attention of millions living in the United States. Fear already hung over the people, but panic began to arise and people would do anything they could do escape the threat of communism. Joseph McCarthy acted as though he was the savior of the people and the protector of the communist threat, and received the attention he had always craved. The publicity and attention that McCarthy received after his Wheeling Speech only propelled him to continue his manipulative ways. Time after time McCarthy began to make false accusations and claims, disregarding the people and their constitutional rights. He ruined thousands of peoples lives in his quest for fame and notice.

Although a decent part of the population living in America had a high disapproval of McCarthy, there were some that approved of his actions, and supported him. A majority of these people, were a part of the Catholic community, even though it is not true to say that all Catholics supported McCarthy. While his popularity grew inside the Catholic community he also received support from the Kennedy family. However, with or without the people's approval, at the beginning of McCarthy's second term as Senator, he became chairman of the Senate Committee on Government Operations. Although the committee normally responsible for investigating communists is the Internal Security Subcommittee, the flexibility of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations allowed McCarthy to further his harsh actions. McCarthy's committee began its hunt to seek out communists when it started an investigation concerning the United States Army in 1953. With the beginning of this project heading downhill, McCarthy began to focus his attention on a man named Irving Peress. According to the military bureaucracy Peress had declined to answer questions concerning his political affiliations on a loyalty-review form. Because of this, he was discharged from the army and sent to appear before McCarthy and his subcommittee. Here, he refused to cooperate with McCarthy by failing to answer his questions and stating his rights under the Fifth Amendment. Although McCarthy demanded that Peress be court-martialed Peress was given an honorable separation from the army. Multiple cases such as the Peress case, involved different people with the same accusations and occurred throughout the time that McCarthy was making his investigation inside the army. Once the attacks against the U.S. Army were over, there came a conflict between McCarthy and the host of the show "See It Now", which provided clips of McCarthy speaking and making misstatements. The host, Edward Murrow, was charged with several accusations from McCarthy, which did not go over so well. The outcome was that McCarthy's popularity and approval declined even further. Soon, members of the U.S. Senate began to reveal and present the truth about McCarthy. Among these members, was Senator Magaret Chase Smith, along with Wayne Morse, Irving Ives, Charles Tobey, Edward Thye, George Aiken, and Roberty C. Hendrickson. Without mentioning McCarthy by name, these people managed to help put an end to his sneaky tactics. On December 2, 1954, Joseph McCarthy was condemned by vote of the Senate.

Final Years
Although McCarthy continued to be a part of the Senate for two and a half more years, his days of involvement in accusations and suspicions of those involved in communism, was over. Joseph McCarthy no longer held his reputation of invincibility and was finally at defeat. It was as though he no longer existed, receiving no attention from the public or even from other members of the senate. It wasn't until May 2, 1957 that McCarthy's days were actually over. Joseph McCarthy died in Besthesda Naval Hospital caused by too many years of drinking resulting in liver damage. He was 48 years old.

[|1954 Joseph McCarthy Speech]

Article By: Lauren Wrobleski

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