How Did Joseph Mccarthy Influence The Image Of Americans?

Former senator Joseph Richard McCarthy of Wisconsin was born to a poor Irish Catholic family in Grand Chute. McCarthy was well trusted by the American public for the simple reason that he was not a Washington insider and knew the struggles of being underprivileged. Unlike many other politicians, he did not waste time practicing social niceties and preferred to behave like the common American. He did not hesitate to present this type of image of himself to the public and as a consequence, he earned much support from Americans who felt underrepresented for a long time. American citizens were able to relate to McCarthy’s story and lifestyle and therefore, they felt that he was fit to represent them. Additionally, Joseph McCarthy had established a courageous and patriotic image of himself through service
Homosexuals were unmasculine and slaves to the desires of other men, as a result of their excessive sexual passion. Homosexual men would easily bend to their passions and follow the direction of other men, who may be enemies of the nation. This type of disloyalty was particularly unacceptable in the government and Joseph McCarthy, in addition to hunting communists, targeted homosexuals. However, the masculine identity that he had been promoting for a long time began to crumble as he became the target of journalists who accused him of supporting homosexuality. Some columnists even went as far as to allege that McCarthy was a homosexual himself. It is possible that some of these journalists were in direction of liberal and republican politicians who feared McCarthy’s influence and the excess of anti-communism; many simply believed that McCarthy was unethical. Liberals utilized lavender scare tactics to pursue their own ends and used gay-baiting to fight red-baiting by insinuating that their rivals were