1950's Government and Politics | McCarthy, Joseph Raymond 1909-1957

U.S. SENATOR, 1947-1957

Hunting Communists.

Beginning with a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia, on 9 February 1950 in which he claimed to have a list containing the names of 205 known Communists in the U.S. State Department, Republican senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin became synonymous with investigations of Communists. He took the Senate floor later that month to elaborate on his accusations. During his series of speeches to the Senate, McCarthy's numbers varied, ranging from 205 to 57 Communists. When challenged by majority leader Democratic senator Scott Lucas to "name them all," McCarthy responded that "it would be improper to make the names public until the appropriate Senate committee can meet in executive session and get them.… If we should label one man a Communist when he is not a Communist, I think it would be too bad." Critics labeled those comments window dressing: McCarthy, they argued, never had any...