1950s – Sharing History

On February 9, 1950, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy stood before the Ohio County Republican Women’s Club at McClure Hotel in Wheeling, Ohio, and leveled an accusation at the federal government that led to five years of pointed fingers, paranoia, and ruined careers.

McCarthy began his speech by asserting: “Today we are engaged in a final, all-out battle between communistic atheism and Christianity. The modern champions of communism have selected this as the time. And, ladies and gentlemen, the chips are down—they are truly down.” He went on to say, “The reason why we find ourselves in a position of impotency is not because our only powerful potential enemy has sent men to invade our shores, but rather because of the traitorous actions of those who have been treated so well by this Nation . . . This is glaringly true in the State Department . . . In my opinion the State Department, which is one of the most important government departments, is thoroughly infested with Communists . . . While I cannot take the time to name all of the men in the State Department who have been named as members of the Communist Party and members of a spy ring, I have here in my hand a list of 205 that were known to the Secretary of State as being members of the Communist Party and who, nevertheless, are still working and shaping the policy . . .”

Though his hunt for communists in the federal government made him a controversial character, he was reelected to his seat in 1952 and made the Chair of the Committee on Government Operations. He used this position to investigate hundreds of government employees and their suspected ties to communism. In 1954, he even went so far as to have some of these investigations televised. These were referred to as the “McCarthy Hearings.” During these, McCarthy accused the U.S. Army of employing communists and committing espionage. It was this that finally ended McCarthy’s rampage. Upon accusing U.S. Army lawyer Joseph Welch of hiring communist attorneys, Welch responded, “Until this moment, Senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or your recklessness . . . Have you no sense of decency?” Upon the airing of this exchange, McCarthy’s support vanished. He was censured by the Senate and died a few years later, in 1957.

History now refers to this period of time as “The Second Red Scare,” (the first taking place in 1917) when McCarthy’s antics caused a surge of paranoia among Americans that caused neighbors and friends to turn against each other. Those who were accused had their lives and careers ruined. To this day, the term “McCarthyism” is used to describe accusations without evidence and unfair methods of investigation.

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