Joseph Raymond McCarthy American Republican Senator. Date of Birth: 14.11.1908 Country: USA

1. Joseph Raymond McCarthy - American Republican Senator
2. Military Service and Political Career
3. The "McCarthyism" Era
4. Decline and Legacy

Joseph Raymond McCarthy - American Republican Senator

Joseph Raymond McCarthy was an American Republican senator. He completed high school at the age of 14 and obtained a higher education in law at the age of 20. From 1930 to 1935, he worked at a college. McCarthy's father was half Irish and half German, while his mother was Irish.

Military Service and Political Career

In 1942, during World War II, McCarthy enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. After the war, in 1946, he was nominated as a candidate for the Senate from the state of Wisconsin. As a senator, McCarthy took a strong anti-communist stance, advocating for the intensification of the Cold War and targeting communists. On March 22, 1947, President Harry Truman issued Executive Order 9835, which prohibited the employment of disloyal individuals in government agencies. However, the House Un-American Activities Committee extended its investigations beyond government officials, conducting informal inquiries into many figures in the arts and culture.

The "McCarthyism" Era

On February 9, 1950, on Lincoln's Day, McCarthy made a speech at the Republican Women's Club in Wheeling, West Virginia, stating: "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 the policy of the State Department." The list grew to include an additional three thousand American officials, including homosexuals, who were sympathetic to communism or the Soviet Union. Many individuals on the list were fired from their positions. Additionally, approximately 30,000 pro-communist books were removed from public library shelves after a review of their collections.

In 1953, McCarthy became the chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations and organized a series of public hearings. McCarthy claimed that communists had infiltrated all levels of power in the United States, including the Senate and the military. Among his targets were the Rosenbergs, a couple accused of espionage for the Soviet Union.

Decline and Legacy

In 1954, prominent journalist Edward R. Murrow criticized McCarthy's methods, leading to a public debate in which McCarthy was ultimately defeated. This marked the beginning of his downfall. The turning point came during televised public hearings against the U.S. Army, which revealed the senator's unethical tactics to the public. On December 2, 1954, the Senate passed a resolution condemning McCarthy's behavior.

McCarthy struggled with alcoholism and died on May 2, 1957, at the age of 48 from hepatitis in a hospital in Bethesda, Maryland. He was buried in Appleton, Wisconsin. McCarthy's era became known as "McCarthyism," a term associated with the anti-communist crusade that he led.