This thesis analyzes how the Republican Party profited from the actions of Senator Joe McCarthy, looking at the 1950s' senatorial elections and party politics of the same year. It argues that he...Show moreThis thesis analyzes how the Republican Party profited from the actions of Senator Joe McCarthy, looking at the 1950s' senatorial elections and party politics of the same year. It argues that he was a Faustian bargain the party accepted because they could profit from him. In addition, the thesis provides the reader with an account of the anticommunist tradition before McCarthy. Furthermore, the thesis criticizes the role of the media in sustaining the power of McCarthy, and looks at how McCarthy manipulated and used the press as his weapon to spread the anticommunist sentiment. Finally, the thesis draws lines between the Trump era and the McCarthy era.Show less
