The Crucible and Joe McCarthy

Senator Joe McCarthy might be described as overzealous, or lacking in charm, but there is no indication in the record of his speeches in the Congressional Record, or the testimony of his Senate Committee members, that he could be described as irrational or absurd. With the release of the recent Venona Transcripts (coded messages from Soviet agents in Washington and New York to their Moscow superiors), it is clear that McCarthy never accused anyone without hard evidence of security risk. McCarthy did not fault people for being communists. He was upset that communists had jobs in sensitive positions in the State Department. He had nothing to do with the House Committee on Un...