Joseph Raymond McCarthy was a Republican U.S. Senator who represented Wisconsin for 10 years from 1947 to 1957. A highly ambitious politician he would go to any length to defame his opponents in order to gain an upper hand. In fact, it was his anti-communist practices and the habit of accusing his opponents of wrongdoings that led to the coining of the term ‘McCarthyism’. He began his anti-communist tactics during the period when the fear of widespread communist subversion was at its peak by fuelling rumours that there were a large number of communist spies inside the U.S. government. He made several accusations on the character of his opponent Robert M. La Follette Jr. while running for the U.S. Senate in 1946, ultimately defeating him. He was a popular speaker and his fame reached phenomenal rise after a Lincoln’s Day speech at a Republican Women’s Club. Buoyed by his rising popularity, he continued to exploit the fear of communism in the minds of people by making false claims against the government without any concrete proof. He was also a homophobic and paralleled his anti-communist activities with an anti-homosexual campaign. His behaviour earned him a lot of criticisms and he was censured for his improper conduct.