Joseph Raymond McCarthy

McCarthy, Joseph Raymond (1908–57), U.S. Republican senator from Wisconsin (1947–57). The “McCarthy era” was born in the early 1950s as a result of his sensational investigations into alleged communist subversion of U.S. life. These investigations were first made (1950) in federal departments, then in the army and among prominent civilians. McCarthyism became a word for charges made without proof and accompanied by publicity. After the Army focused national publicity on his activities during the McCarthy hearings (1954), McCarthy was formally censured by fellow senators, and his influence steadily diminished.