Pride, Wrath, Glee, and Fear: Emotional Responses to Senator Joseph McCarthy in the Catholic Press, 1950-1954
American Catholics stood accused of monolithic support for Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist crusade in the early 1950s. Historians have disproved this myth by demonstrating that Catholics, like other Americans, divided between liberals and conservatives over McCarthy and his red-hunting...
| Published in: | American catholic studies |
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| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
American Catholic Historical Society
2009
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| In: |
American catholic studies
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| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | American Catholics stood accused of monolithic support for Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist crusade in the early 1950s. Historians have disproved this myth by demonstrating that Catholics, like other Americans, divided between liberals and conservatives over McCarthy and his red-hunting methods – though support was higher among Catholics than among other religious groups. Catholics on both sides of the issue had strong emotional reactions to McCarthy because he was the most prominent Catholic politician in the United States. This article explores uniquely Catholic emotional responses to McCarthy by surveying news reports, columns, editorials, and letters to the editor in leading Catholic newspapers and magazines of the early 1950s. The most prevalent emotions displayed in the Catholic press were (1) pride in McCarthy's religion, (2) wrath toward his Catholic critics, (3) glee in his choice of non-Catholic victims, and (4) fear of the backlash that McCarthy might provoke against the church. These findings uphold the historical portrait of American Catholics as divided over McCarthy, but add richness and nuance to that portrait by showing how Catholics responded as Catholics to McCarthy while arguing with each other about the most controversial public figure of the early 1950s. |
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| ISSN: | 2161-8534 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: American catholic studies
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