JOSEPH R. MCCARTHY

Marshall was one of the greatest soldiers who ever served America. He was the Chief of Staff throughout the Second World War and then served as Secretary of State. It was he who devised and implemented the Marshall Plan. McCarthy accused thousands of people of being disloyal including Marshall. He claimed to have lists of communists in the Army and other agencies of government, but never produced such lists. In addition to being a overbearing demagogue, he suffered (and died from) from a serious case of alcoholism. McCarthy’s false and irresponsible attacks eventually caused the Senate to censure him. That and his drinking destroyed his career. Marshall is remembered as one of America’s great figures.

McCarthy had turned hyperbole into an art form.

Bundy had been a member of the same law firm as Hiss's brother. He, like other members of the firm, had made financial contributions to Hiss's legal defense. Bundy was completely cleared of any wrongdoing or disloyalty later.

Referring to Senator Ralph E. Flanders who introduced the Senate resolution that led to McCarthy's censure:

Referring to State Department staff:

Referring to Secretary of State Dean Acheson:

McCarthy was one of the most interesting political phenomena of politics in the 1950s. He was an alcoholic megalomaniac who made wild accusations about communists everywhere and that the Secretary of State and other politicians were communists. He claimed to have a list of thousands of communists in high positions of government. His accusations were so dramatic that most people assumed that there were facts behind them otherwise no rational man would say such things. But it turned out that not a single accusation was ever proven. When McCarthy was esposed, he was censured by the Senate and he lost most of his political credibility and shortly thereafter died as a result of his severe alcoholism.

At the time McCarthy made this statement he was suffering from an advanced state of alcoholism. He was censured. See {619921}.

McCarthy accused thousands of people of being communists and disloyal. He claimed to have lists of communists in universities, the Army and other agencies of government, but never produced such lists. In addition to being a overbearing demagogue, he suffered (and died from) from a serious case of alcoholism. McCarthy’s false and irresponsible attacks eventually caused the Senate to censure him. That and his drinking destroyed his career. Not a single person “exposed” by McCarthy was ever convicted of anything. Many had their careers destroyed however. A number of universities fired Professors because at an earlier phase of their careers, they had been a member of an organization that was communist or affiliated with communists, and then left. These firings led to intensive efforts to strengthen the rules of tenure and academic freedom so that the McCarthy abuses could never be repeated. McCarthy could not be sued for his defamatory lies as he always made his accusations from the floor of the Senate where there is absolute protection even for malicious and irresponsible statements.

Goodpaster served as Staff Secretary and Defense Liaison Officer to President Eisenhower from 1954–1961. McCarthy accused many competent, loyal Americans of disloyalty, incompetence and treason. The reason that this particular quotation was noteworthy was that it particularly offended President Eisenhower and galvanized him into action to stop McCarthy’s excesses. See {632334}.