A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy

623 Pages·1983·11.362 MB·English

by  David M. Oshinsky

A
Conspiracy
So Immense

A
Conspiracy
So Immense
The World of Joe McCarthy
David M. Oshinsky
THE FREE PRESS
A Division of Macmillan , Inc.
NEW YORK
Collier Macmillan Publishers
LONDON
Copyright © 1983 by The Free Press
A Division of Macmillan, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage
and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
Publisher.
The Free Press
A Division of Macmillan, Inc.
866 Third Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10022
Collier Macmillan Canada, Inc.
First Free Press Paperback Edition 1985
Printed in the United States of America
paperback printing number
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
hardcover printing number
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Oshinsky, David M.
A conspiracy so immense.
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. McCarthy, Joseph, 1908-1957. 2. Internal security
—United States—History—20th century. 3. Communism—
United States—1917- . 4. Legislators—United
States—Biography. 5. United States. Congress.
Senate—Biography. I. Title.
E748.M43073 1983 973.918'092'4 [B] 77-18474
ISBN 0-02-923490-5
ISBN 0-02-923760-2 pbk.
For Kathy

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
1. Beginnings 1
2. G. I. Judge 21
3- Gunning for the Senate 36
4- The Pepsi-Cola Kid 53
5- Rock Bottom 72
6. The Red Bogey in America, 1917-1950 85
7- Wheeling 103
8. Battle of the Billygoats 115
9- Stand or Fall 130
10. The Lattimore Connection 139
il. Declaration of Conscience 158
12. The Fourth Estate 17 9
J3- “An Infamy So Black . . . ” 191
14. “Slimy Creatures” 203
J5- Tydings’s Revenge 214
16. Ike 226
27- Gearing for Battle 247
18. Voices Within the Voice 265
19. Of Diplomats and Greek Ships 286
20. Friends and Enemies 301
vu
viii Contents
21. A Discouraging Summer 315
22. The Monmouth Hearings 330
23. White House Blues 345
24. Who Promoted Peress? 355
25. The Chicken Luncheon 372
26. “The Fault, Dçar Brutus” 390
27. Setting the Ground Rules 405
28. The Hearings Begin 416
29. Executive Privilege 435
30. The Eleven Memoranda 446
31. “So Reckless, So Cruel” 457
32. Censure 472
33. Final Years 495
Notes 509
Selective Bibliography 565
Index 581
Acknowledgments
I
BEGAN researching this project in 1975. Many people helped along
the way. Gerd Korman intensified my interest in McCarthy; John Roche
and Leonard Levy kept that interest alive. James Martin, Maurice Lee,
Richard L. McCormick, and Steven Whitfield read parts of the manu­
script and made valuable suggestions. Robert Amdur and William
O’Neill labored over the various drafts; their kind and creative assistance
can hardly be exaggerated. Robert Rutter and David Schmitz served
expertly as research assistants. I am deeply indebted to the librarians and
archivists at the Truman Library, the Eisenhower Library, the Kennedy
Library, the Princeton University Library, the Mundt Library, the Li­
brary of Congress, and the Wisconsin State Historical Society. In partic­
ular, I would like to thank Tom Soapes and David Wigdor for their
personal interest in the project.
My editors at The Free Press were skillful and supportive. Charles
Smith displayed more patience than I deserved. His interest in the proj­
ect was contagious. Joyce Seltzer read the manuscript with great care.
Her comments and insights made for a much better book. George Row­
land was both a critic and a friend. I relied on him every step of the way.
My wife Kathy was the indispensable one. Her support, her enthusi­
asm, and her love sustained me through seven difficult years. She is, in
every sense, a full partner in this project.