Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower's Secret Campaign Against Joseph McCarthy

In the mid-1950s, Sen. Joseph McCarthy (1908–57) made a name for himself through a combination of self-promotion and accusations of communist subversion within the U.S. government. President Dwight Eisenhower has often been portrayed as ineffectual or idle in his actions, refusing to confront the senator. Columnists at the time castigated Eisenhower for not directly opposing McCarthy. In his latest work, historian Nichols (Eisenhower 1956) maintains that Eisenhower, instead, organized an effective campaign behind the scenes, using trusted aides and confidants. The results of this campaign led to McCarthy being reduced from arguably the most powerful member of the Senate to censure and disgrace within 18 months. Part of the strategy was to refuse to mention the senator's name in public. Many books on Eisenhower concentrate on his war experiences, but Nichols shows how his quiet, effective crusade against a demagogue turned the nation away from a domestic threat. Heavily annotated with both primary and secondary sources, this day-to-day narrative is detailed and telling.