In 1950, Joseph McCarthy accused Owen Lattimore of being a "top Russian spy." Lattimore's experience defending himself explains how the anti-communist system worked. | American Experience | PBS

By 1950, it seemed that Joseph McCarthy, the junior Senator from Wisconsin, was doomed to fade into obscurity. But with a single speech in Wheeling, West Virginia on February 9 of that year, he ignited a firestorm that would forever change American politics—and carve out his space in history. Speaking before a small Women’s Republican Club, McCarthy claimed to have a list of 205 "known communists" in the State Department, sparking a nationwide hysteria over subversive elements in the United Stat

💭 Do you remember? On this day in 1954, Senator Joe McCarthy began televised hearings investigating the U.S. Army. Did you watch? 📺 🎥 America in Color: The 1950s. For more, follow Smithsonian Channel Aviation Nation. https://bit.ly/3pNech8 | Smithsonian Channel Aviation Nation