McCarthy+Hearings+-+p5

Emily

__The McCarthy Hearings__

The McCarthy Hearings all started because of a comment made by Joseph McCarthy accusing the government of hiring communists. At the time, Joseph McCarthy was the senator of Wisconsin. On December 22, 1954, McCarthy was making a speech in Wheeling, West Virginia when he accused the government of employing Communists, on national television. The United States Army countercharged McCarthy and his staff of improper conduct. He was also charged by the senate for his conduct to the subcommittee that investigated his finances in 1952.

McCarthy’s comment was a big deal at the time because Communism was starting to become a problem in the United States. It got worse because of what the Soviet Union was doing, China’s fall to Maoists, the Soviets production of the atomic bomb a year earlier, and the United States finding out about two Soviet Spies. Many different people were accused of being Communists like, government employees, union activists, teachers, and people in the entertainment business.

To investigate McCarthy’s case, the senate created a committee. The members were three democrats and two republicans. The chairman was Millard Tydings. The Hearings were held publicly because McCarthy’s request to have closed hearings was declined. The Hearings were on public television from April 22 to June 17, 1954. Everyone found out very soon how dishonorable McCarthy’s plans really were. There were 32 witnesses that testified. McCarthy, Robert T. Stevens, the secretary of the Army, and Cohen, McCarthy’s chief counsel were some of the main testimonies.

Overall, McCarthy still kept his job as senator for a couple more years, but because he got so much negative publicity, not many people paid attention to him. At the end of one of the last trials, McCarthy was being questioned by the army’s attorney general, Joseph Welch.

Welch and McCarthy’s interaction on the thirtieth day of the hearings, Welch asked Cohen to give them McCarthy’s list of 103 Communists “before the sun goes down”. McCarthy stepped in to argue and Welch responded with this, "Until this moment, Senator, I think I never gauged your cruelty or your recklessness…” McCarthy interrupted, but Welch cut him off. “"Let us not assassinate this lad further, Senator. You've done enough. Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?" After that the court was called into recess.

Importance to History-

The McCarthy Hearings were important to history because it drew more attention to communism. It caused the American people to realize that it was not good for the United States government.