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What was Joseph McCarthy Afraid of? A Look into His Early Career, Senate Years, and Speeches

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Added on 2019-09-21

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This article delves into Joseph McCarthy's early career as a judge and military officer, his unremarkable years in the Senate before his political attacks on suspected communists, and his speeches where he used dramatic language to paint communism as a growing force around the world. The article also includes a hypothetical interview with McCarthy where he defends himself against accusations of making false allegations and explains his fear of communism. Ultimately, the article concludes that while McCarthy may have genuinely feared communism, he also used it to his political advantage.

What was Joseph McCarthy Afraid of? A Look into His Early Career, Senate Years, and Speeches

Added on 2019-09-21

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What was Joseph McCarthy Afraid of?Part 1: From Wisconsin to the U.S. SenateUse information from Site 1 and Site 2 to answer the following questions:1.What evidence from Joseph McCarthy's early career as a judge and military officer might cause concern about his later accusations of communist infiltration ofthe U.S. government?McCarthy carried with him a strong nationalistic approach in his career first as a judge and then as a military man. Attacks on the part of McCarthy started to emerge within thecompliance of political and social environment. Being a judge McCarthy was referred to be fair and hard working. Side by side he faced sharp disapproval by the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in relation to abuse of Judicial Authority. Briefly after the beginning of the world war II, in July 1942, McCarthy was positioned as first lieutenant in the marines and he have to take leave from his judicial office. He was stationed in the pacific, as an intelligence officer he used to participate in combat actions, but he never get hurt while in action, when he recalled later. So it was partly fabrication of truth that also reflected later in his accusation that communists have infiltrated the government of US.2. What was McCarthy's career in the Senate like before he began his political attacks on suspected communists?McCarthy’s early years in senate were quite unremarkable to say the least, though he was a powerful speaker and spoke on an array of topics. He was not liked by his fellow senators who found him impatient, ill-tempered. He was active on labor front in post warperiod. But he became famous for lobbying against the death sentence awarded to a group of Waffen-SS soldiers for 1944 Malmedy massacre. He even accused US army ofjudicial cover up without presenting any evidence. 3. What added credibility to McCarthy's charges that there were communist spies in the federal government?In his speech on February 9, 1950 McCarthy alleged that a list was made known to the then Secretary of State. They were the names of people who were members of the Communist party and were working in the State Department. He referred to a letter written by the Secretary in 1946 that said State Department Security investigations resulted in recommendation against 284 persons and 79 of these have been removed from their jobs. By the time McCarthy gave his speech, in fact, only 65 of them were stillwith the department and they too had gone further security checks.

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What was Joseph McCarthy Afraid of?Part 2: McCarthy's SpeechUse information from Site 3 to answer the following questions:1.According to Joseph McCarthy, why were Americans still threatened after the victory in World War II?Post World War II, the labor movement was still quite strong in the United States and the Communist Party was pretty active. In the United States of America, communism was an important concern. The concern grew as Soviet Union expanded its influence in Eastern Europe. Simultaneously, in civil war of china communist party turn out be victorious. The then Soviet Union had developed nuclear weapon and it was considereda major threat to the United States. McCarthy used these events to drive home the pointthat America was under threat of Communism.2.What evidence did McCarthy provide to argue that communism is a growing force around the world?The critics of McCarthy points out that he scarcely presented any evidence to that effect. He extrapolated the events that were shaping up post World War II and painted them as growing influence of Communism across the world. He was deeply frightened by establishment of communist rule in Eastern Europe after the Warsaw Pact. McCarthy have this fear that Soviet Union intends to unfurl communism across the world. He used to saw peril at all the places even when there is nothing to worry about, and seriously believed that USA is full of communist spies and soviet supporters, who were secretly planning to destabilize the government of US.3.What were some examples of McCarthy's use of dramatic language?McCarthy was known for his powerful and dramatic speeches. One of the most dramatic one was his Lincoln day speech in West Virginia in 1950, where he produced a piece of paper and claimed it detained a list containing names of well-known Communists workers working for the state. He said that, the state department is full of communists and he have the list of total 205 names. This list consists of names that were made familiar to the Secretary of the state, who were

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