February 18, 1954 - Joseph McCarthy - a podcast by Stephen Hammond

Joseph McCarthy’s search for “Army communists” begins his downfall. Wisconsin Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy was infamous for seeking out and destroying the lives of supposed “communist sympathizers.” While the House of Representatives’ Un-American Activities committee had inflicted damage to the reputations of many people shortly after World War II, McCarthy took it to new heights. He was quick to accuse anyone who’d supported Roosevelt’s New Deal, especially Democrats, of being communists. But when his Permanent Investigations sub-committee levelled accusations against the U.S. Army, his support began to crumble. On February 18, 1954, the day McCarthy’s committee was to investigate communism in the Army, two generals refused to obey their summons to appear. They stayed away on order of Robert T. Stevens, secretary of the Army. Undaunted, McCarthy proceeded to accuse the Army of rampant communism, but this time, when asked to back up his claims, he had very little to reveal. This “stunt” bolstered the president and fellow senators who were growing weary of McCarthy and his campaign. This turning point was strengthened when the military revealed that McCarthy had asked favoured treatment for a former aide drafted into the Army. In December 1954, the Senate finally censured McCarthy, an option exercised only three other times in the Senate’s history. McCarthy never recovered from that political storm, and died in 1957 at the age of 48 from an alcohol-related illness.

---

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Further episodes of Human Rights a Day

Further podcasts by Stephen Hammond

Website of Stephen Hammond