The outspoken Joseph McCarthy was an ambitious senator from Wisconsin who, for a period of four years, held the nation in the palm of his hand. With just his word, he could ruin the life of any American, regardless of prominence or stature.

Born of humble beginnings in Wisconsin, McCarthy excelled in school. He completed a four-year high school program in just one year. He then went to a university to earn a degree in law. A few years later, he became a judge but gave that up to join the United States Marine Corps.

After the war, he won his first US Senate seat in 1946. In 1952, when he was up for reelection, he decided he needed a strong cause to advance his political career. He decided on Communism. He decided to search for communist and their sympathizers in the State Department.

On February 9, 1950, McCarthy delivered a speech before the Republican Women’s Club in Wheeling, West Virginia. In this speech, he claimed to have the names of 205 employees of the State Department who were either members of the Communist Party or sympathizers.

This speech was the beginning of four years of Communist witch hunts in the United States government by McCarthy and his staff. McCarthy’s power was, for a time, absolute. A word from him ruined many a career, and he hung the label of Red on any who dared attack him.

McCarthy mainly accused people in the government and Hollywood. He called many well-known individuals before his powerful committee. He ruined many promising careers in the process, whether he proven them guilty or not.

The end came for McCarthy when he accused the Army of having Communist sympathizers in its ranks. Public hearings from the floor of the Senate chamber followed. For weeks in 1954, Americans were able to watch the fiery senator accuse members of the Army of being communists. Unfortunately, the hearings also reversed public support for his cause. Tail Gunner Joe had gone too far, and the American public lost faith in him. After the hearings, McCarthy was a broken man. A short time later, the Senate condemned McCarthy for actions contrary to senatorial traditions.

After his censure, Senator McCarthy served the rest of his term out of the public eye. His fellow senators never passed or even seriously considered any of the bills he introduced. Three years later, the senator drank himself into poor health and passed away from liver disease in 1957.

It is interesting to note that one of McCarthy’s lieu tents was Richard M. Nixon, a future president of the United States who was forced to resign his presidency due to the Watergate scandal and his mishandling of the “war” in Vietnam.