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[[Image:Joseph McCarthy.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Senator Joseph Raymond McCarthy]]

'''Joe McCarthy''' (Joseph Raymond McCarthy, November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was a Republican [[United States Senate|U.S. Senator]] from [[Wisconsin]] 1947 to 1957. He dominated the anti-communist movement in the U.S., 1950-54, until his career was ruined by censure by the Senate.  '''"McCarthyism"''' is the aggressive exposure of Communists influences in America and the people who protect them, and [[liberal]]s will add 'with scant regard for due process'.

|image=Joseph McCarthy.jpg

|party=[[Republican]]

|spouse=Jean Kerr McCarthy

|offices=

|state=Wisconsin

|terms=January 3, 1947 – May 2, 1957

|preceded=Robert M. La Follette, Jr.

Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public figure to stand up to [[Communist]] infiltration of the [[United States]] government. He is now considered an American hero by many, though liberals still seek to tarnish his name.  

 

Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public figure to stand up to [[Communist]] infiltration of the [[United States]] government. A 1954 gallup poll found that Joe McCarthy was the fourth on its list of most admired men. <ref>http://www.knology.net/~bilrum/mccarth5.htm</ref>He is now considered an American hero by many, though liberals still seek to tarnish his name.  

He was noted for claiming that there were large numbers of [[Communist Party|Communists]] and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] spies and sympathizers, engaged in a conspiracy to undermine the [[United States]], inside the federal government. He was proven correct by government documents and inquiry, including decrypted [[Venona]] files.  

He was noted for claiming that there were large numbers of [[Communist Party|Communists]] and [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] spies and sympathizers, engaged in a conspiracy to undermine the [[United States]], inside the federal government. He was proven correct by government documents and inquiry, including decrypted [[Venona]] files.  

Ultimately, his detractors, including the [[Communist Party]], were able to organize an effective effort to having him censured by the [[United States Senate]].  

Ultimately, his detractors, including the [[Communist Party]], were able to organize an effective effort to having him censured by the [[United States Senate]].  

The term "[[McCarthyism]]," coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's attempts to expose Communists, was soon applied to similar dogmatic pursuits.   

The term "[[McCarthyism]]," coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's attempts to expose Communists, was soon applied to similar dogmatic pursuits.   

The youngest judge in state history, he worked long hours to clear up a large backlog. As one local newspaper concluded, Judge McCarthy "administered justice promptly and with a combination of legal knowledge and good sense."<ref>Drummey, James J. (May 11, 1987). [http://www.jbs.org/node/632 ''The Real McCarthy Record'']. The New American, Section I. The Years Before 1950.</ref>  He was still a Democrat, but that party was very weak statewide at the time.

The youngest judge in state history, he worked long hours to clear up a large backlog. As one local newspaper concluded, Judge McCarthy "administered justice promptly and with a combination of legal knowledge and good sense."<ref>Drummey, James J. (May 11, 1987). [http://www.jbs.org/node/632 ''The Real McCarthy Record'']. The New American, Section I. The Years Before 1950.</ref>  He was still a Democrat, but that party was very weak statewide at the time.

===Military service===

===Military service===

==Elected to Senate, 1946==

==Elected to Senate, 1946==

McCarthy had his name entered in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 1944, opposing a well-entrenched incumbent Republican, Alexander Wiley.  The absentee war hero ran a strong second, making a name for himself statewide and making himself available for the 1946 Senate contest. Why McCarthy suddenly changed parties was never explained, but prospects for ambitious Wisconsin politicians were dim inside the poorly organized Democratic party, for most New Dealers supported the state’s Progressive party.  During the war, however,  that party collapsed, torn apart between its New Deal domestic liberalism, and its intensely isolationist opposition to Roosevelt’s foreign policy.  Increasingly out of touch with Wisconsin, its leader [[Robert LaFollette Jr.]] looked to his family’s past glories and made the blunder of trying for reelection to the Senate in 1946 as a Republican.  "Tail Gunner Joe," as his posters called him, endlessly crisscrossed Wisconsin while LaFollette remained in Washington, offered an alternative in the Republican primary to old guard Republicans who had opposed the Lafollettes for a half century.  McCarthy brilliantly captured the frustrations citizens felt about massive strikes, unstable economy, price controls, severe shortages of housing and meat, and the growing threat of from the far left in the CIO.  He nipped LaFollette in the primary. The slogan “Had Enough?—Vote Republican” gave the Republicans a landslide all across the North, electing a new junior senator from Wisconsin.

McCarthy had his name entered in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate in 1944, opposing a well-entrenched incumbent Republican, Alexander Wiley.  The absentee war hero ran a strong second, making a name for himself statewide and making himself available for the 1946 Senate contest. Why McCarthy suddenly changed parties was never explained, but prospects for ambitious Wisconsin politicians were dim inside the poorly organized Democratic party, for most New Dealers supported the state’s Progressive party.  During the war, however,  that party collapsed, torn apart between its New Deal domestic liberalism, and its intensely isolationist opposition to Roosevelt’s foreign policy.  Increasingly out of touch with Wisconsin, its leader [[Robert LaFollette Jr.]] looked to his family’s past glories and made the blunder of trying for reelection to the Senate in 1946 as a Republican.  "Tail Gunner Joe," as his posters called him, endlessly crisscrossed Wisconsin while LaFollette remained in Washington, offered an alternative in the Republican primary to old guard Republicans who had opposed the Lafollettes for a half century.  McCarthy brilliantly captured the frustrations citizens felt about massive strikes, unstable economy, price controls, severe shortages of housing and meat, and the growing threat of from the far left in the CIO.  He nipped LaFollette in the primary. The slogan “Had Enough?—Vote Republican” gave the Republicans a landslide all across the North, electing a new junior senator from Wisconsin.

==Communist Issue==

==Communist Issue==

McCarthy was able to characterize President Truman and the Democratic Party as soft on or even in league with the Communists. McCarthy's allegations were rejected by Truman who was unaware of [[Venona project]] decrypts which corroborated [[Elizabeth Bentley]]'s debriefing after her defection from the Communists.

McCarthy was able to characterize President Truman and the Democratic Party as soft on or even in league with the Communists. McCarthy's allegations were rejected by Truman who was unaware of [[Venona project]] decrypts which corroborated [[Elizabeth Bentley]]'s debriefing after her defection from the Communists.

McCarthy's support and popularity peaked in early 1954 when a January 1954 Gallup Poll showed that 50 percent of the respondents had a generally "favorable opinion" of him. McCarthy was also fourth on the list of the "most admired men".<ref>

McCarthy's support and popularity peaked in early 1954 when a January 1954 Gallup Poll showed that 50 percent of the respondents had a generally "favorable opinion" of him.<ref>

{{cite book

{{cite book

  | last = Kazin, Michael

  | last = Kazin, Michael