Block, Siteadmin, SkipCaptcha, Upload, Automoderated users, delete, edit, move, nsTeam2RO, nsTeam2RW, nsTeam2_talkRO, nsTeam2_talkRW, protect, rollback, Administrators, template
295,703
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 19:
Line 19: − − ==Criticism of McCarthy's methods== − − McCarthy has been criticized for his aggressive use of legislative investigatory powers to probe the Communist sympathies of various government officials.{{fact}} McCarthy made charges of Communist infiltration several government agencies. Critics say McCarthy only uncovered a few Communists. McCarthy had a confrontation with Boston attorney Joseph Welch in televised hearings. Welch demanded that McCarthy name someone who had belonged to a [[Glossary_of_espionage_terms#Fronts_and_cutouts|Communist front]] organization, and then complained that it was cruel, reckless, and indecent to do so. McCarthy named Welch's associate Fred Fisher as a member of the [[National Lawyers Guild]], who Welch himself had previously outed to the NY Times six weeks earlier.[http://www.aim.org/aim_report/A4297_0_4_0_C/] − Welch dishonestly pretended to be shocked, and famously said, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last?" − − A teacher named Julius Hlavaty testified at the VOA hearings, and refused to answer whether he had been a Communist or had tried to recruit students to the Communist Party.<ref>http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,806622,00.html</ref> He lost his job as a distinguished public school teacher and had to take a job at Columbia University. Critics say that McCarthy should have ignored Communists making broadcasts on VOA because exposing them might have personally embarrassed them. − − McCarthy questioned the security clearance for a Communist named Annie Lee Moss who worked in the US Army Signal Corps. Critics say although a CPUSA member she was just a low-level clerk. − − McCarthy never had access to secret Venona evidence about Communist spying, and did not successfully expose the extent of Communist influence in the US government.
move material to McCarthyism
McCarthy sought to characterize President Truman and the Democratic party as soft on or even in league with the Communists. McCarthy's allegations fell flat with Truman who was unaware of [[Venona project]] decrypts which corroborated [[Elizabeth Bentley]]'s debriefing after her defection from the Communists. While innocent persons may have been abused, many of the truely guilty walked away free under the cloak of "McCarthyism".
McCarthy sought to characterize President Truman and the Democratic party as soft on or even in league with the Communists. McCarthy's allegations fell flat with Truman who was unaware of [[Venona project]] decrypts which corroborated [[Elizabeth Bentley]]'s debriefing after her defection from the Communists. While innocent persons may have been abused, many of the truely guilty walked away free under the cloak of "McCarthyism".
McCarthy's support and popularity peaked in early 1954. CBS broadcast a TV documentary attacking McCarthy. A special Senate committee was appointed to study and evaluate McCarthy's methods and actions. The committee exonerated McCarthy on all substantive charges.<ref>44 of the 46 charges were dropped. [http://www.xmission.com/~nccs/newsletter/nov05nl.html]</ref> Following the recommendations of this committee, the full Senate voted to censure Senator McCarthy by a vote of 65 to 22 (the votes for censure included all the Democratic senators and about half the Republican senators) for failing to cooperate with the subcommittee that was investigating him, and for insults to the committee that was trying to censure him <ref>Senate Report 104-137 - Resolution For Disciplinary Action. Library of Congress (1995). Retrieved on 2006-10-19.</ref>, making him one of the few senators ever to be disciplined in this fashion. [http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/60.htm] McCarthy died of acute hepatitis in Bethesda Naval Hospital on May 2, 1957, at the age of 48.
McCarthy's support and popularity peaked in early 1954. CBS broadcast a TV documentary attacking McCarthy. A special Senate committee was appointed to study and evaluate McCarthy's methods and actions. The committee exonerated McCarthy on all substantive charges.<ref>44 of the 46 charges were dropped. [http://www.xmission.com/~nccs/newsletter/nov05nl.html]</ref> Following the recommendations of this committee, the full Senate voted to censure Senator McCarthy by a vote of 65 to 22 (the votes for censure included all the Democratic senators and about half the Republican senators) for failing to cooperate with the subcommittee that was investigating him, and for insults to the committee that was trying to censure him <ref>Senate Report 104-137 - Resolution For Disciplinary Action. Library of Congress (1995). Retrieved on 2006-10-19.</ref>, making him one of the few senators ever to be disciplined in this fashion. [http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/democrac/60.htm] McCarthy died of acute hepatitis in Bethesda Naval Hospital on May 2, 1957, at the age of 48.