History Resources

Inside the Vault: “Pathological liar”: Harry Truman and the rise of Joseph McCarthy in 1950

by Gilder Lehrman Institute Staff

In February 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy accused more than 200 staff at the Department of State of being members of the Communist Party. How did President Harry Truman respond to the attack on his administration? On December 7, 2023, our curators were joined by Dr. Barbara Perry of the University of Virginia’s Miller Center to discuss Harry Truman and McCarthyism.

View slides from the presentation here.

FEATURED DOCUMENTS

USE THE TIMESTAMPS BELOW TO JUMP TO THE TOPIC YOU WANT TO VIEW

  • 2:22–3:11: Today’s documents
  • 3:12–6:07: Key players
  • 6:08–8:56: Harry S. Truman to Dean Acheson, March 31, 1950
  • 8:57–12:48: Millard E. Tydings to Dean Acheson, March 28, 1950
  • 12:49–15:59: Truman and the Red Scare
  • 16:00–27:52: What’s going on at this time in the world?
  • 27:53–30:07: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg
  • 30:08–34:16: Robert F. Kennedy and the McCarthy Hearings
  • 34:17–46:06: Claude G. Bowers to President Harry Truman, August 28, 1951
  • 46:07–47:00: “Disclosure of Loyalty Files to the Tydings Subcommittee”
  • 47:01–48:53: President Harry S. Truman to A. Barr Comstock, October 18, 1951
  • 49:54–51:05: Albert Einstein to Rose Russell [in German], May 28, 1953
  • 51:06–59:55 What are other Americans saying?

RELATED RESOURCES