Joseph Mccarthy Trial Essay

The Cold War was a period of fear and mistrust for most Americans. Our government continually warned us about the growing threat of Communism and even stated that members of the party were infiltrating our own country. Senator Joseph McCarthy, the self-proclaimed “Sherlock Holmes” of internal communist threats, stood before Congress accusing a number of Army officers of communist relations during one of the most recognized trials of the 20th century: the Army-McCarthy hearings. McCarthy had recently come under fire for continual red-baiting, but was permanently censured after a witty retort by Joseph N. Welch, the Army's attorney, was thrown at him. “Have you no sense of decency, sir? At long last, have you left no sense of decency?”
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In return, the Army not only denied these claims, but counter-sued McCarthy and his assistant, Roy Cohn, for giving preferential treatment to a recent army recruit, who happened to be Cohn’s gay lover. For their representative, the Army called upon Joseph Welch for pro-bono attorney services in the case against McCarthy. This trial was one of the first government proceedings to be aired live on public TV and was broadcasted daily for its two month span. During the hearings, McCarthy was notorious for elaborate accusations and convincing charisma, while Welch remained calm and sincere. On June 9th, however, McCarthy accused Welch of hiring a young communist attorney at his firm, named Fred Fisher. This blindsided Welch because not only was this an unrelated personal attack, but McCarthy’s accusations could ruin Fisher’s career. Welch then reluctantly clarified that, while at Harvard, Fisher was indeed part of the National Lawyers Guild, an FBI accused communist group, but has since vindicated this association through his social status. Welch also noted that McCarthy’s accusations were the exact reason why he had decided to not bring Fisher to the hearing. McCarthy continued to regurgitate the Fisher claim until Welch interjected with his famous “decency” quote. Almost immediately, the audience applauded Welch for making such a well resonating statement.