Senator Joseph R. McCarthyEven though he had humble beginnings, Joseph Raymond McCarthy, a single man, had a profound effect on the entire United States throughout his career. By following his life and what shaped McCarthy as an individual, one is able to understand the cause of his false accusations. In the year 1908, in the northeastern region of Wisconsin, on a struggling farm, a devout Roman Catholic couple brought their son, Joseph Raymond, into the world. The McCarthys, an Irish-American family, were hard-working and industrious on their farm in a rural area of ​​Wisconsin. As a boy, Joseph attended a one-room school. He was known to be a very intelligent child and finished primary school early. He was observed as an exuberant and extroverted child who sometimes even intimidated other children due to his aggression and tendency to fight for the sake of it. Joseph started his own chicken farm and in a very short time became very successful in his business. Several years later, however, his luck took a turn for the worse and he had to give up. He started working at a grocery store in Appleton, where he moved up to a manager position and was transferred to a store in Manawa, Wisconsin. In Manawa, Joseph made the store a huge success. He attracted all kinds of customers by going around the city and all his attention to his customers. It was shortly after he moved that he decided to go back to school. McCarthy put so much effort into his studies that he completed high school in one year, even with extracurricular activities such as hiking, basketball and school errands. He went on to Marquette University in the fall... middle of paper... States Army and lost. He was discredited, and Congress voted on whether or not to oust McCarthy from office. He did not lose his seat, but McCarthy's career was in decline. After the vote, McCarthy was continually barred from the White House, senatorial committees, and the press. Lacking the public attention he needed, McCarthy turned to an old habit of his: drinking. During the summer of 1956, McCarthy was repeatedly hospitalized for detoxification, and in 1957 he was hospitalized again for liver disease due to alcohol abuse. At the age of 49, on May 2, Senator Joseph R. McCarthy died at Bethesda Naval Hospital. Works Cited Klingaman, William K., Encyclopedia of the McCarthy Era. New York: Facts on File, c1996.Reeves, Thomas C., The Life and Times of Joe McCarthy: A Biography/Thomas C. Reeves. New York: Stein and Day, 1982.