John Mccarthy Essay, Research Paper
John McCarthyDemocracy is a form of government that is ruled by the people, usually through electedrepresentatives. It epitomizes the concepts of freedom, justice, and equal opportunity by giving rights to each citizen and by protecting those rights throughout a fair judiciary system. It stands at the top of the ladder of government evolution and allows a nation to prosper and grow. However, it has a very powerful and unreasonable foe: communism. Communism in the post world war two era is a form of government in which the people are ruled, used, and controlled by a totalitarian government. Its true form would give the power to the people as well as the ownership of all property, but true communism could not be realized outside of a perfect world. Unfortunately, many sought to chase the dream of true communism, causing its presence to appear in territories disrupted by the war. That a government ruled by power and blind to justice was growing created a paranoid fear among nationalists that the world would be dominated by totalitarians and dictators. However, this paranoia created a new, very potent fear that took precedence over foreign problems: that the United States of America, the flagship of democracy, had been infiltrated and subversively abused by communist spies and sympathizers, and that they were spying on us from within our national government. Joe McCarthy, to whom a decade of fear was named, amplified this fear through his numerous and extravagant charges that there were communists in the U. S. government. The people listened to him because of the implications of this problem and because they received comfort in knowing that a great man rose up in a crusade to rid the government of an evil pestilence. However, his allegations created only suffering and chaos. His victims were, for the most part, innocent, yet he persistently conducted the “witch hunt” that would leave prominent people blacklisted, government officials under constant suspicion, and a nation choked with fear. In the end, Joe McCarthy failed toexpose a single communist; not even one. His crusade on communism created nothing but conflict,controversy, and a decade of fear. Almost comparable to the Salem witch trials, Joseph RaymondMcCarthy used intimidation, aggressive verbal assaults, and the innermost fears of the people tomanipulate minds and destroy careers, leaving behind a legacy of destruction and pain that would becomeknown as the nightmare decade: the decade of McCarthyism. But he was not always the evil man he hadbecome. It was his way of looking ahead that did him in, and he simply lost the ability to look back andsee what he’d done. Because of his own personality and the way he saw life, Joe McCarthy created pain,but he did not see it; he was a great man capable of great accomplishments, but he used his brilliant mindand determination in the wrong ways, essentially wasting all that he had worked for. Upon closer examination of his character, McCarthy was like two separate people. “He couldturn of Irish charm like water from a spigot — and in the next instant he could be a ruthless predator”(Cook 75-76). His peers in the Senate disregarded the majority of this tongue-lashings as if they weresome wild force of nature that were unstoppable but finite, and would eventually fizzle away like atornado. It was just something to be endured, and no one was brave enough to take action or oppose hisviews because they all feared his wrath and because they could easily be communists, themselves, ifMcCarthy wished it. An unnamed psychologist relating his analysis of McCarthy through observation ofhis daily life to Richard Rovere said that he saw “the elements of classical paranoia in McCarthy’s actions: life was a series of conspiracies, the most fiendish of which were directed at him.” Thus, McCarthyappears to be very concerned with his welfare, to the extent that he must now allow himself to be defeated. Throughout his entire life, Joe had been very popular and successful, so losing was a thing very unfamiliarto him in most areas. A concern for victory seemed evident in him, as his peers in the Senate noticed. This could also suggest ambitious intent, as McCarthy had proven himself to be self-conscious and waryof his competition. Arthur Eisenhower detested McCarthy, and stated to the press when asked if hethought McCarthy had an ultimate objective that “Of course he has. He wants to keep his name in thepapers at all costs. He follows the old political game which is ‘whose name is mentioned the most inpolitics is often selected for the highest office.’” Ambition, therefore, could have been a trait of JoeMcCarthy. Joseph’s early years do not contribute much to his reason for fame nor his peculiar personality,but played a major role in the direction of his life while demonstrating the kind of tasks he is capable ofaccomplishing. Of Irish descent, Joe was born on November 15, 1908 into a “close, happy family — hardworking, very religious, proud of their ancestry…” (Reeves 3). He attended Underhill School in hishometown of Appleton, and was one of the brightest students in his class, completing both seventh andeighth grade in a single year while earning top marks in the school. His teachers remembered hisretentive mind and one “called him ‘a lovable sort of guy’” (Reeves 3). Had his family affected hispersonality, it was only for the better. He, at this stage in his life, showed no signs of any negativeattitudes or suspicion of his peers. After elementary school, Joe was very popular and always doingsomething. He also knew how to laugh at himself, enjoying pranks at his expense as much as the otherkids, but he was very aggressive. Taught to box at twelve, he loved a good scrap and would wrestle withlocal boys at picnics, but that was considered normal. He eventually became bored with his current life,and, still in his teens, with sixty five dollars he had earned working for an uncle, started a chicken farm. The farm grew to about 12,000 chickens and was successful until he became ill with the flu and theneighborhood boys that were in charge of his chickens carelessly allowed coccidiosis to kill thousands ofthem. After this loss Joe, then 20 years old, acquired a job as a clerk in an Appleton Cash-Way store. Hequickly worked his way up to the position of manager and was soon transferred to a town called Manawa,thirty miles away, to a new Cash-Way market, where he was installed as manager. Joe’s store grew tolead the twenty four other Cash-Way stores in profit because of a new idea he employed. He would walkup and down country roads, introducing himself to farmers and inviting them to the store to shop and sayhello. He also encouraged his customers to wait on themselves, a practice considered a privilege to thecustomer and a sign of trust. His store became very popular, and the townspeople would remember him asbeing polite, always courteous, and kind. However, he was nervous around young women, couldn’t dance,and did not participate in local social events. He was very religious, though, and attended mass regularly. He also befriended a priest, who would later help Joe learn Latin. Most importantly, Joe never forgot thefinal words of his father, Tim McCarthy: “Don’t forget to say your prayers, Joe.”Joe then decided that a higher level of education would be necessary for the achievement of morethan just a small-town grocery store position, and went to Leo Hershberger, principal of Little Wolf HighSchool in town, explaining to him that Joe wanted to get through the school as quickly as possible, andthat he felt himself capable of the task. Hershberger took an immediate liking to Joe and admitted him asa freshman that fall. Right away, Joe requested A and B level (the most difficult in a scaled set ofcurricula) and worked diligently into every night, grabbing only a couple of hours of sleep before openinghis store. Mrs. Osterloth, and old widow in whom’s house Joe was renting a room, encouraged Joe andkept him full of coffee during those times. Joe soon began to call her his “second mother.” Soon he wasforced to put his full devotion to his studies when a Cash-Way official delivered an ultimatum requiringJoe to choose between that and his job. He studied before school at five in the morning every day, andworked on his assignments until the school closed twelve hours later. Eventually, his teachers allowed
him to simply work alone in study hall with a textbook and class outline, reporting to them when he felthe was ready to be tested. He completed first year algebra and Latin in six and seven weeks, respectively. He was a sophomore by Thanksgiving, a Junior by mid-year, and by Easter had risen to senior level work. The majority of his grades were A’s. Despite all of the work, Joe still managed to find time for hiking, playing basketball on the townbasketball team, and teaching boxing to several students chosen by Hershberger. He also made time forparticipation in school affairs, as vice president of the freshman class, president of the “We’re Citizens”society, member of the entertainment committee for the school Halloween party, and a candidate for”Most Lovable Man” at a dance in the gym. He gave a speech entitled “Education is Power” duringNational Education Week. He always mad the honor roll, and would study every day. The MilwaukeeJournal published its first story on Joe about his progress in school. Joe McCarthy desired to study engineering at Marquette University but would need advancedAlgebra for admission. Principal Hershberger and Joe’s teachers saw this as a perfect opportunity to see ifthey had been too easy on him or if he was simply brilliant. A correspondence course was arranged whichhe took at home, provided with a teacher for guidance. He asked only one question of the teacher, and, aweek before graduation, he took the final exam in Hershberger’s front room. He scored ninety three out ofa possible hundred. His teachers ceased to doubt his abilities. In the spring of 1930, Joe received hisdiploma, having completed four years worth of high school in nine months. Hershberger said at theceremony while giving Joe his diploma that “We never graduated a student more capable of graduating,”and that Joe was “the irresistible force who overcame the immovable object.” Hershberger and McCarthybecame life-long friends before Joe enrolled at Marquette. Joe’s attitude in high school hadn’t changed very much from his earlier years, so it is evident thatthese events hadn’t caused his future temper problems and drive for conviction. This shows that a changemust have developed in him after these days of accomplishment and popularity, and that the attitude hewould become famous for was not developed over his entire life; nor did it derive itself from hischildhood. Ironically, political opponents would later make up a very unflattering story about his childhood,saying that Joe was a weak little boy that would hide behind his mother’s skirt and fear his classmates. This was their attempt to explain his strange personality and set up allegations that he was a homosexual. Everything said in that “smear” campaign was completely contrary to the truth, and failed to explain hispersonality, anyhow. After college, Joe became a lawyer and was eventually hired by Mike Eberlein in Shawano. Atage 27, Joe began a new job as a lawyer under Eberlein, and some noticeable changes finally came abouthim. He would immerse himself in poker games, cheating only to see if he’s get away with it, andlaughing loudly when caught. People began to see him as being too aggressive, as he would make a habitof shaking many hands, making many introductions, and slapping many backs. He would familiarizehimself with individuals very quickly, using first names in almost any situation and always withconfidence. Some thought this to be like Joe, but overconfidence had seemed to overcome him a little. Hehad begun to seem cocky. McCarthy finally introduced himself to the political game when he joined and became presidentof the Young Democratic Clubs of the Seventh District, encompassing ten counties. Desiring publicity,Joe entered the race for district attorney on the Democratic ticket. This was pure ambition, as Joe did itonly to make his name known. He lost the primary, but had expected to and revised his stratagem toinclude slashing attacks on his opponent and devious methods. This increased his votes significantly, butnot enough to win the election. He had learned a lesson, though. Furious activity and harsh degrading ofhis opponent had proven successful, and it was this he would not soon forget. But Joe was still the same person outside of politics. He donated to charity regularly andcontinued with his usual polite, charming demeanor. He could call just about everyone in town by theirfirst name, and this won him a lot of support. And, of course, he always kept himself busy. Once, after anappendectomy, his doctor told him to stay in bed for a day or two. He was gone in less than an hour. Now it is noticed that McCarthy has “evolved” in his political game and his future character canfeasibly be traced to these beginnings. He was overconfident, cocky, aggressive, and passionate with hiswork. These are the traits that destroyed his career. Joe now set his sights on the position of judge in his fair town. The current judge was old, andJoe felt he was popular enough to run for the chair, but he was highly doubted. His old, stubborn ambitiontook over, though, and Joe ran if only to spite those that doubted his abilities. After a lot of traveling fromdoor to door and delivering speeches, Joe won in a large upset and had proven his aggressive, harsh styleof campaigning effective, once again, this time by exploiting his opponent’s old age. Ambition flowedfrom every pore of Joseph McCarthy, and it became evident that his change from the old, “good boy” Joeto the new, predatory Joe had started. The tragedy of Joe McCarthy isn’t that he had so little, but that he had so much and did so littlewith it… He was a sometimes brilliant, frequently likable demagogue who destroyed many a good thingby the intensity of his hatred for bad things. -Leroy GoreThis quote embodies Joe McCarthy’s fatal problem. He was a brilliant man, capable of just aboutanything, as he had already proven, but he wasted himself on the wrong cause. Perhaps this was anotherthing he felt he could accomplish. Perhaps his ambition fueled the vicious attacks. Maybe he hadforgotten how to accept failure. It has been argued in countless ways how Joseph McCarthy destroyedhimself and hurt everyone around him, but no one knows what did it. He learned from his campaigningtactics to use the American people’s feelings on the matter to his advantage, and he struggled to uproot thecommunists that were supposedly corrupting his country. He was a good man, and capable of remainingthat way, but something moved him to the point of no return, and he had never backed out of anything. That is why, upon issuing his declaration that he had, in his hand, a list of some two hundred or socommunists in the state department of the United States of America, he could not look back, he could notwaver in his stand, and he could not fail. Unfortunately for Joe, it was these convictions that caused hisalready lost crusade to begin. The trials that would determine whether or not he was correct killed him. After he lost those famous trials, he began to drink in rapid, suicidal succession. A great man wasreduced to a paranoid drunk, convinced that communists were tormenting him with phone calls andobscene messages, and he died a weak, worn out mess. True, Joe McCarthy created one of the biggestscares in all of United States history, but he hadn’t always been a cruel, heartless aggressor. He had thepotential to be someone with true leadership ability and applied intelligence, but wasted that potential,taking on the communism issue as if he was trying to break a rock with straw. No matter what, he wouldfail, but could not stop trying. If one was to think to him/herself about how it must feel to fight forsomething and begin to lose, but struggle on in desperation because he/she did not know how to quit, thatperson would know Joseph McCarthy. If one was to live with the possibility of seeing his/her lifecondemned tomorrow, that person would know Joseph McCarthy. He was capable of anything. He hadproven it, but had also, in the process, become a terrible man from the ambition, the over-confidence, andthe belief that he would only move forward. In the end, however, he had left a trial of injury and fear thathe brought forth because he spent all of his time defending his actions, planning his next accomplishment,and moving on. He never looked back. He never saw the consequences of his actions. He saw only theopportunities as they developed. Had he realized this was his problem, perhaps his life would not havebeen wasted.