Background Information
Joseph McCarthy became Wisconsin’s junior senator as the United States entered a Cold War with the Soviet Union. With increasing conviction in his anti-communist crusade, McCarthy recklessly attacked some of the country’s leading public officials. His ambition and independence became character flaws which led to a disastrous ending – his censure by Senate colleagues in 1954. MORE
Joseph McCarthy
Click on a Primary Source Document or a Classroom Activity
Book Excerpt from Chapter II of McCarthyism: The Fight for America by Joseph McCarthy, 1952.
Book Excerpt from The McCarthy Record, published by the Wisconsin Citizen's Committee on McCarthy's Record.
Political Cartoon "Afraid to come out, Joe?" from Wisconsin CIO News-Magazine, circa 1952.
Newspaper page "An Open Letter to Senator McCarthy," Appleton Post-Crescent, September 6, 1952.
Newspaper page "Dear Joe," Appleton Post-Crescent, September 8, 1952.
Newspaper article "There were Two McCarthys-The Senator and the Man," The Milwaukee Journal, May 3, 1957
Newspaper article "Joe Called 'Fallen Warrior' in Service to His Country," Appleton Post-Crescent, May 6, 1957.
Newspaper photograph of McCarthy's flag-draped coffin, Appleton Post Crescent, May 6, 1957.
Developed by the Outagamie County Historical Society with funding from Cooperative Education Service Agency 6, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and the U.S. Department of Education. © 2006 OCHS.
