McCarthyism

During the time anti-Communist fever was sweeping the nation, one senator saw the opportunity to make a name for himself and garner supporters. That man was Senator Joseph McCarthy.

McCarthy, after his first three years in the Senate, had become known for being an ineffective legislator. Realizing that his unpopularity put his reelection to the Senate at risk, McCarthy took advantage of anti-Communist sentiment and charged that Communists were taking over the government.

McCarthy repeatedly made one untenable accusation after another about who the Communists were in the government. This act of accusation without evidence became known as McCarthyism. McCarthy eventually claimed, at three separate times, that there were 57, 81, and 205 Communists in the State Department. He even charged that the Democratic Party was guilty for allowing Communist infiltration into the government. Such slander would have gotten McCarthy sued had it not been for his legal immunity in the Senate that protected him. McCarthy’s own party, the Republicans, did not moderate his actions because they believed he would win the 1952 presidential election if the public saw McCarthy cleansing the nation of Communists.

However, McCarthy finally went too far when he accused the U.S. Army of harboring and being Communist. This led to a nationally televised Senate investigation that resulted in the Senate condemning him for his dishonest actions. McCarthy, who suffered from alcoholism, died three years later a broken and dishonored man.

by Jonathan Marson and Andy Yeh