Joseph McCarthy

Also known as Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy, Joseph Raymond McCarthy

American politician (1908–1957)

AI overview

Joseph McCarthy was a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin who, in the 1950s, led a controversial campaign accusing government officials, military officers, and entertainers of being communist sympathizers, causing widespread fear and damaging many people's careers and reputations. His actions and the political upheaval they caused became so significant that the term "McCarthyism" was created to describe unfounded accusations and aggressive investigations based on limited evidence.

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Wikidata facts

Instance of: human
Given name: Joseph
Family name: McCarthy
Gender: male
Citizenship: United States
Place of birth: Grand Chute
Place of death: Bethesda
Occupation: anti-communist
Position held: United States senator
Educated at: secondary school
Political party: Democratic Party (United States)
Languages spoken: English language
Native language: English language
Religion: Catholic Church
Award: Distinguished Flying Cross
Conflict: World War II
Military branch: United States Marine Corps
Military rank: lieutenant
Image: AAmarshallSenator Mcarthy.jpg
Work location: Washington, D.C.
Significant event: discourse

Show 13 more facts

cause of death: liver cirrhosis
Commons category: Joseph McCarthy
date of birth: 1908-11-14
date of death: 1957-05-02
birth name: Joseph Raymond McCarthy
Commons gallery: Joseph McCarthy
manner of death: natural causes
topic's main category: Category:Joseph McCarthy
writing language: English language
significant person: Alexander Wiley
name in native language: Joseph McCarthy
nickname: Big Joe
P12749: Mauna Loa

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Encyclopedic overview

Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican senator from Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visible public face of a period in the United States in which Cold War tensions fueled fears of widespread communist subversion. He alleged that numerous communists and Soviet spies and sympathizers had infiltrated institutions including the United States federal government and military, universities, and the film industry. Ultimately, he was censured by the Senate in 1954 for refusing to cooperate with and abusing members of the committee established to investigate whether or not he should be censured. The term "McCarthyism", coined in 1950 in reference to McCarthy's practices, was soon applied to similar anti-communist activities. Today, the term is used more broadly to refer to demagogic, reckless, and unsubstantiated accusations, as well as public attacks on the character or patriotism of political opponents.

Born in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, McCarthy commissioned into the Marine Corps in 1942, where he served as an intelligence briefing officer for a dive bomber squadron. Following the end of World War II, he attained the rank of major.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Joseph McCarthy” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.