Joseph Mccarthy And The Red Scare

Hysteria, pandemonium, chaos, words that attempt to describe the state of America during the horrific period known to history as the "Red Scare". A coup of power in American life was recently completed in Senator Joseph McCarthy's rise to national attention as "judge, jury, prosecutor, castigator, and press agent, all in one." (Army-McCarthy Hearings) The Wisconsin Republican Senator was successfully trampling the State Department and other federal agencies, filling each day's headlines with new accusations of Communists inside American society. Perhaps the biggest change in communication, the television, was just now coming into trend. Notably successful in spreading both news and hysteria, it would prove to be crucial during McCarthy's
reign and his subsequent downfall. McCarthy's unceasing avalanche of panic came at a time where many Americans were indeed concerned with or totally in fear of Communism. Less than a year after the conclusion of combat in Korea, the American nation was increasingly on the lookout for possible "Reds". (Joe McCarthy) The recent electrocutions of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg for espionage during World War II had hardened American's beliefs about espionage. America's once kind neighborhoods had been transformed into hardened trench lines full of false accusations and neighbor's turning one another in as possible Communist infiltrators. (Morgan, 290)
In reality, no American was safe, not even the highest government officials from the grasp of Senator McCarthy. Yet the saving grace of America lay in a quiet yet firm Boston lawyer, Mr. Joseph Nye Welch. In the spring of 1954, McCarthy commenced the now famous Army-McCarthy hearings, during which he made charges of lax security at a top-secret military facility. It was during these crucial hearings when Welch boldly stood his ground against the perceivably unstoppable Senator. Therefore, due to Welch's stand against McCarthy America was liberated from McCarthy's reign. The days following the hearing's conclusion resulted in an eruption of support and gratitude for Welch's work well done. (Oshinsky, 170) McCarthy's once mighty engine of power and control suddenly run out of steam. Before the important proceedings of June 9th 1954 can be analyzed, it is beneficial to understand the general atmosphere of America during the era of McCarthyism. In full swing was the practice of bomb drills, construction of the hydrogen bomb, and fear of "Godless communism". (Schrecker, 198) It was under these circumstances that Senator McCarthy thrived and rose to immense power in the nation's eyes. (Cohen, 24) Internationally speaking, the United States of America was in a constant state of action. The "Domino Theory" was the main reasoning behind America's outpouring of troops, supplies, and money to nations on the verge of collapse to hated Communism. With the recent ending of the War of Liberation in China ending in the Communists prevailing, America was determined to ensure no other beneficial foreign powers succumbed to the "red side". (Joe McCarthy) The Korean had also taken its toll on our nation, being only one of the conflicts attributed to the proxy war between the United States and the Soviet Union. This nearly unanimous fear of communist expansion and influence in our world is what empowered Senator McCarthy; as he used the public's emotion to his advantage in his quest for dominance in the federal government.
In 1938, Congress had created the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). (The Second "Red Scare") The committee's ensuing attack on Hollywood saw the creating of infamous "blacklists" which labeled anyone possibly of being "sympathetic to Communism". (Herman, 220) Investigations performed by McCarthy's own committee, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations (PSI), were notorious for their prying and ruthless demoralization of suspects effectively ruining the lives of most whom were convicted, despite a verdict of innocence. (Doherty) So compelling and powerful were the committee's hearings that an engineer, Ray Kaplan, was driven to suicide in the face of accusations against him. (Herman, 222) McCarthy's political rampage was characterized by Newsweek's description of the "political scalps dangling from his [McCarthy's] belt." (Cohen, 79)
Relentless and unflinching in his pursuit of dominance over the American political landscape, McCarthy turned his attention to an Army base by the name Fort Monmouth, located in New Jersey. Once his assistant, Ray Cohn, caught wind of a supposed "leak" in security at the Army base, it was only a matter of time before the hungry Senator sought to devour the Army's reputation. Another glitch in security was one too many for McCarthy as he poured both his proven tactics and an ambitious attitude into the investigation. McCarthy's PSI produced innumerable subpoenas and harassesed witnesses along with the help of his essential duo of Ray Cohn and David Schine. (Herman, 239) Complimentary to the ongoing investigation at Fort Monmouth was the widely known "fact" that the Soviets had infiltrated military bases and stolen "atomic secrets". Though there were apparently legitimate reasons for McCarthy's accusations against the Army base at Fort Monmouth, another possible, and highly probable, reasoning exists.
On the brisk, sunny morning of October 20th 1953, Senator McCarthy, his assistant Ray Cohn, Secretary of the Army Stevens and other congressmen and Army personnel paid a visit to Fort Monmouth. The primary goal of McCarthy's visit had to do with his allegations that a suspected "Communist spy ring" had materialized at the base following the conclusion of WWII. (InfoAge) Fort Monmouth had been the base where Julius Rosenberg had worked prior to his execution for espionage. Questionings of his past co-workers and affiliates failed to reveal any concrete evidence of a spy ring operating out of the base. (InfoAge) As the party toured the base, they were stopped by security as they prepared to enter the Evans radar laboratories. Lacking proper badges for access to the top security buildings, Secretary Stevens made a decision that only elected officials of the U.S. government would be permitted access. This decision excluded an enraged Mr. Cohn, as he later promised to "get the Army for this affront." (InfoAge) This specific happening, though not ever mentioned during the hearings, certainly may have been a justifiable cause in the eyes of the Senator. Appearing equal to previous investigations by the PSI, the approaching struggle between the United States Army and Senator McCarthy brought forth a televised spectacle and an emergence of a largely unsung national hero. From April 22nd to June 17th, 1954, a political "circus" held the spectacle of millions of Americans as two bold and ambitious men converged in one of the most heated and immortalized disputes in the American nation's history. The famous Army-McCarthy hearings were a congressional inquiry of charges presented by McCarthy on the United States Army and vice versa. (McCarthy-Welch Exchange) Senator McCarthy's assault on the "compromised" security at Fort Monmouth was answered with charges on the Army's behalf that a member of McCarthy's staff, Schine, had been sought preferential treatment by his partner, Cohn, to avoid his draft to over sea's military operations. The largely debated speculation that Cohn and Schine were lovers is not important to the case at hand, needing only to be noted for as the possible reasoning behind Cohn's lobbying for preferential treatment of Schine. (McCarthy-Welch Exchange) The gallant leader of the Army's case and Special Counsel was appointed as Mr. Joseph Welch, relatively unknown prior to the hearings. His usage of tenacious wit and cunning actions, gained him national attention as he confronted the notorious Senator. (Did Welch Set Up McCarthy?)
Mr. Joseph Welch, born a poor, humble farmer boy in Iowa, was both persistent and confident in his work. (Did Welch Set Up McCarthy?) He was a kind and colorful character of a grandfatherly nature, well known for his fondness of neckties. (Did Welch Set Up McCarthy?) The critical point in the case between Welch and McCarthy is how the older, wiser, and patient lawyer was able to efficiently dismantle McCarthy in front of millions of Americans. The contributing role television played through out the hearings was evidenced by the "gavel to gavel" airings on the ABC and DuMont from April 22nd to June 17th. (Army-McCarthy Hearings) As events unfolded in the congressional halls, crowds of interested Americans huddled around local electronics stores, in neighbor's living rooms, or if they were lucky enough to own a television set, their own households.
After many inconclusive days in the hearings, the climax of events in the proceedings arrived on June 9th, 1954, during which McCarthy attacked a lawyer on Welch's staff in a deliberate attempt to damage Welch. (Herman, 274) As Welch was in the process cross-examining Cohn concerning his previous proposition that over fifty supposedly known communists were working in the federal government, McCarthy interjected. Likely under the influence of alcohol, the belligerent Senator broke a deal made between the two parties concerning not recalling any known member to have had Communistic ties from either party during the hearings. The senator attempted to shame Fred Fisher, a member of Welch's staff, by "bringing to the attention of Mr. Welch" the fact that Mr. Fisher had been a member of the Lawyer's Guild, a known Communist front during his college years.
Effectively breaking the "gentlemen's agreement" between the two parties, not only infuriated Mr. Welch; it was equally appalling to members of McCarthy's own party. After seeing their leaders' belligerent outburst, many members of the senator's committee turned their eyes away, correctly anticipating an obnoxious remark. With a cold hearted and careless tone, McCarthy rambled on about the past of Mr. Fisher as millions of Americans had their attention affixed to their televisions, eagerly awaiting a pivotal moment in the hearings. The amount tension and suspense released in the answering of McCarthy's accusations by Army Chief Counsel Mr. Welch.
The reply by Mr.
Welch was nothing short of remarkable, as with great poise he rose up in indignation and ridiculed the Senator. (Oshinsky, 240) He concluded his rebuttal with the now immortalized lines, "Have you no sense of decency sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" The effects were catastrophic for McCarthy, as he dumbly continued to rant on unaware to his own demise which every other viewing American had just witnessed. The rotten attack had certainly back fired onto the Senator, and effectively destroyed millions of American's faith in his works As the hearings were called to an early conclusion, Welch was encircled in a massive surge of reporters and camera men, quickly to become known as the man who had stood up against and ousted McCarthy. (United States Government Printing Office) A meeting with President Eisenhower followed in which congratulations were given on a job indeed well done. (Joseph
Welch)
The essential and critical point arising from these hearings is not just their results but the manner in which they were performed.
How could a perceivably meek and largely unknown Boston lawyer up root and heave the mighty McCarthy out of his undisputable throne and into the gutter? The confrontation of the two bold men was not merely an act of coincidence but a carefully calculated and perhaps well "acted" role played out by Mr. Welch. Much debate has arisen on the topic of Welch's usage of "acting" in his dialogue with McCarthy. Despite if Welch's performance had indeed been a sham, its effects were certainly premeditated and well executed. (Morgan, 351)
The cleverness of Welch along with his more extensive knowledge of television's power, allowed him to ensnare and belittle the once unstoppable Senator. Regardless of his intentions, Welch's mixture of emotion, being noted with tears streaming upon his exit of the Senate room, and cleverness proved to be the kryptonite to McCarthy's invincibility. Though the Army-McCarthy hearings reached no technical conclusions, it was evident that McCarthy was the big loser. (Cohen, 105) Welch had successfully symbolized McCarthy as the hatred for all who fear the exposure of communism. (Cohen,
112)
A distinct parallelism between the main protagonist of Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John Proctor, and Mr. Welch exists; concerning Proctor's hope for order and restoration in his town, caught up in the blunders of the Salem witch trials. The same spirit is embodied in the actions of Welch, his capability to see through the hysteria and seek to uncover the truth amidst the chaos of McCarthyism. Deserving of no less than the highest appreciation, Welch will forever be immortalized in "Have you no sense of decency sir?" which commenced the end of both Senator McCarthy and McCarthyism in America. Overnight, McCarthy's immense national popularity evaporated. Censured by his Senate colleagues six months later, ostracized by his party, and ignored by the press, McCarthy died three years later, forty-eight years old and a broken man. (Army-McCarthy Hearings) The unsuspecting hero, Welch, had indeed slain the Goliath of America's "Red Scare". Though he did retain the national spotlight for his brilliant actions in the Army-McCarthy hearings, most of the nation forgot about the tall and charming old man, who had indeed done so much for his nation, only to die without much credit to his name except his immortalized words. (Joseph McCarthy) Due to Welch's stand against Senator McCarthy, America was indeed liberated from the reign of America's most hated senator.
More importantly, Mr. Welch had not just stood for his client, the United States Army, but he had also effectively stood for the American people. He had embodied all the fear and hatred for communism of the American public into his bold words. The effects of his actions reverberated through out the nation, essentially the flame that eventually burned down McCarthyism in American. (Herman, 287) Whether or not the true purpose behind the hearings was an actual attempt to uncover security implications in a military base or reveal an embarrassing relationship, the possibility of Cohn's grudge against the Army leading to the actual hearings is apparent. Much more than a formal congressional proceeding, the Army-McCarthy hearings was a clashing of two brilliant minds amidst the nation's view. A swirl of emotions and unethical actions combined to form one of the most profound and important televised congressional events in American history. McCarthy's fall from grace following the trials denoted the return of moral order and political sanity in America, both of which can be attributed to Welch's actions.
A framed motto over McCarthy's desk once displayed, "…when I go down, let me go down like an oak tree felled by a woodsman's ax." (Herman, 252) Indeed the senator had fallen, fallen hard at the hands of a woodsman's ax, an ax which belonged to a man named Mr. Joseph Welch.

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