Starting in the early 1950s, Senator Joseph McCarthy unleashed monumental carnage across the United States. Fearing government infiltration by communists, a wave of accusations swept the nation following the Wisconsin senator and helped create what is known as the Second Red Scare ("McCarthyism"). Joseph McCarthy was born November 14, 1908 in Grand Chute. , from Wisconsin to dairy farmers, lived an average life until the age of sixteen. At this time, McCarthy dropped out of school until 1929, when he decided to return and finish high school. After meeting general education requirements, McCarthy applied to practice law at Marquette University. After earning a law degree, he practiced law in the Wisconsin area from 1935 to 1939. When 1940 rolled around, McCarthy managed to land a spot on the circuit court as a judge ("Joseph R. McCarthy") . Taking a break from his position as a circuit court judge, Joseph McCarthy left to join the Marines during World War II. . Through this military branch, McCarthy rose to the rank of captain before returning to the United States to pursue a political career. Back home, McCarthy defeated Robert M. Follette Jr. for the Republican senatorial nomination. After winning the nomination, McCarthy won the position of senator against Democratic candidate Howard McMurray in 1946 ("Joseph Raymond McCarthy"). In four uneventful years, the most attention fell on February 9, 1950, when the senator delivered the Lincoln Day speech in Wheeling, Virginia. Through this speech, McCarthy claimed to have the names of more than 200 State Department employees who were members of the Communist Party. To follow the accusations, the Senator was further...... middle of paper ......d. Internet. February 17, 2014. Ferrell, Robert H. and Peter Szatmar. "The Villains of the 'Red Scares' of 1950." Phi Kappa Phi Forum 90.3 (2010): 10-11. Commercial source completed. Internet. February 17, 2014. Gray, Tom and Washington, DC. National Archives and Archives Administration. Telegram from Senator Joseph McCarthy to President Harry S. Truman. The constitutional community: the postwar United States (1945 to the early 1970s). np: 2000. ÉRIC. Internet. February 17, 2014. Miller, Arthur. “WHY I WROTE ‘THE CRUCIBLE’” The New Yorker. Np, and Web. February 16, 2014. Schwarz, Frederic D. “The Fall of the Demagogue.” American Heritage Nov.-Dec. 2004: volume 55, number 6. Web.Straight, Michael. “The fanaticism of Joseph McCarthy”. New Republic 130.26 (1954): 6-8. Full-text search file provided by the publisher. Internet. February 17. 2014.