On December 2, 1954, the Senate voted to censure Senator Joseph McCarthy, who had led the fight in Congress to root out suspected Communists from the Federal Government. The censure described his behavior as "contrary to senatorial traditions."
The early years of the Cold War saw the United States facing a hostile Soviet
Union, the "loss" of China to communism, and war in Korea. In this
politically charged atmosphere, fears of Communist influence over American institutions
spread easily. On February 9, 1950, Joseph McCarthy, a Republican Senator from
Wisconsin, claimed that he had a list of 205 State Department employees who
were Communists. While he offered little proof, the claims gained the Senator
great notoriety. In June, Senator Margaret Chase Smith of Maine and six fellow
Republicans issued a "Declaration of Conscience" asserting that because
of McCarthy’s tactics, the Senate had been "debased to the level
of a forum for hate and character assassination." However, McCarthy took
advantage of the Cold War atmosphere of fear and suspicion and with strong support
in the opinion polls, McCarthy’s attacks and interventions in senatorial
elections brought defeat to some of his party’s Democratic opponents.
After Republicans took control of the White House and Congress in 1953, McCarthy
was named chairman of the Committee on Government Operations and its Subcommittee
on Investigations. From these posts he continued to accuse Government agencies
of being "soft" on communism, but he was now attacking a Republican
administration. In 1954 McCarthy’s investigation of security threats in
the U.S. Army was televised. McCarthy’s bullying of witnesses turned public
opinion against the Senator. On December 2, 1954, the Senate voted to censure
him, describing his behavior as "contrary to senatorial traditions."
Republican Senators Ralph Flanders of Vermont, Arthur Watkins of Utah, and
Margaret Chase Smith of Maine led the efforts to discipline McCarthy. Flanders
introduced two separate resolutions against McCarthy, one removing McCarthy
from his chairmanships and the other calling for his censure. The censure resolution
moved forward with debate beginning July 30, 1954. The full Senate took up the
resolution on November 5. This copy of the resolution catches the debate on
November 9 as the Senate refined the wording of its resolution. The substance
of the first count, charging McCarthy with failure to cooperate with a Senate
subcommittee, remained unchanged in the final resolution. The second count was
dropped for a condemnation of McCarthy’s attacks on the very members of
the committee that considered his censure.
For more information, visit The National Archives' Treasures
of Congress Online Exhibit.
