Question

What did Senator Joseph McCarthy do in 1950 that lifted him from relative political obscurity to national prominence?

Answer 1

McCarthy was initially a quiet and ordinary senator. He rose to fame in February 1950 when his public accusation—in a speech in West Virginia—that two hundred five communists had subverted the State Department made a commotion & tossed him into headlines across the nation

Beginning in 1950, Joseph McCarthy became the most noticeable public face of a phase in the U.S. in which Cold War tensions kindled apprehensions of extensive Communist infiltration. McCarthy is recognized for alleging that several Soviet spies / sympathizers had subverted the U.S federal government, film industry, universities, etc. Finally, the smear tactics which he utilized led him to be condemned by the American Senate. The terminology ‘McCarthyism’, created in 1950 related to his practices, was soon used for similar anti-communist acts. Today, the terminology is utilized in relation to what are considered manipulative , reckless, unproven accusations, and also public attacks on the patriotism/ character of political opponents.