Joseph McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy, born November 14, 1908, served as a Republican U.S Senator for Wisconsin from 1947 until 1957. He earned a law degree at Marquette University and became a circuit judge for Wisconsin in 1939 when he was 33 (he was the youngest in the history of the state). In 1942, he volunteered for the Marine Corps and served as a Captain until the end of WWII, in 1945. Though his reasons for enlisting have not been confirmed, it is largely believed he enlisted simply to improve his political career. Upon his return from war, he ran for the U.S. Senate in 1946, defeating his opponent, Robert La Follette. His first few years in the senate were uneventful and he remained a relatively unknown figure.

In 1950, he quickly rose to fame after giving a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia. In the speech, he accused 205 (or 57. The speech was not recorded and the exact number is disputed) members of the State Department of being members of the Communist Party or Soviet Spies. This speech gained huge media attention almost immediately. McCarthy continued to accuse members of government and others of being communist in the following years. In February, 1950, the Tydings Committee hearings were called in response to McCarthy’s claims. Although the hearing reported that McCarthy’s claims were fraudulent, McCarthy’s accusations sparked a mass paranoia dubbed the “Red Scare” (as communism is often represented by the color red).

Although McCarthy is most known for sparking the “Red Scare”, he also sparked a lesser known mass paranoia dubbed the “Lavender Scare”. During this time, he accused many of his opponents and other people who showed opposition to him of being homosexual. These accusations ruined many careers and some experts insist that the Lavender Scare was much more destructive than the Red Scare.

Joseph McCarthy holding up his “proof” of the Communist spies in the U.S. government