Pat+McCarren


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 * Pat McCarran:**



Pat McCarran was United States senator from Nevada who hated communism. He was similar to Senator Joseph McCarthy, for he was a "red hunter." However, he was involved in the raids against communism before the McCarthy era. McCarran was born on August 8th, 1876. In addition to being a senator, he was also Nevada's Chief Justice. He inspired people like McCarthy to follow in his "red hating" spirits. McCarran also managed to persuade the government to pursue his actions and agree with his opinion. Therefore, he was able to put in action many of his plans to eliminate communists completely.

Since McCarran had lots of power and many followers, he had the ability to control the fight against communist. He was chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee which is a committee of senators that run the upper house of the United States Congress. He was also chairman of the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, or SISS, which investigated suspected spies and communists. Then in 1950, he also passed the "McCarran" Internal Security Act. This act required registration of communist organizations with the government. Later, he also formed the Subversive Activities Control Board which searched communists or people who were thought to be "un-american." If a person was convicted of this, they could not become a United States’s citizen. This led to the Communist Control Act in 1954. This act was signed by President Eisenhower on August 24, 1954 and it outlawed the Communist Party. It also punished the citizens who were involved in the Communist Party. McCarran also formed another act with his friend, Francis Walter, who was in the United States House of Representatives. Walter was from Pennsylvania. Together they formed the McCarran Walter Act, also known as the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1952. This act restricted the number of immigrants. McCarran established this because he thought that all immigrants were communist because they were from another countries. This was McCarran's way of eliminating communism all together.

Pat McCarran also accused many citizens of being communists without any proof. He accused sinologist (someone who studies Chinese culture) Owen Lattimore of perjury (lying under the oath). Lattimore was then sentenced to court because his writing were supposedly about communist techniques. While in the court, McCarran asked Lattimore unfair, irrelevant questions. Therefore, the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee said he was a Russian spy. Senator Joseph McCarthy later accused him of being the top Russian agent. Another person that McCarran persecuted was a man named Felix Frankfurter who was a immigrant from Austria. Frankfurter was a nominee for Supreme Court Justice. McCarran harassed him and thought he was a communist because of his foreign heritage. This was because McCarran's major two fears were foreign influence and its impact on the country and communism/socialism.

In conclusion, McCarran played a key role in political persecution in the time of the Red Scare by violating others’ rights. He established acts and organizations that investigated suspected communists and made sure that their rights were limited. In addition, he accused people of being communist just because he didn't agree with their heritage, home country, or various other insignificant reasons. In court, McCarran would ask unfair questions and not allow his defendant to have a fair trial. However, later in history, most of his acts and organizations were disassembled because they were found to be unjust. In 1965, the McCarran Internal Security Act was found to be unconstitutional. The McCarran Walter Act was turned over by the Immigration Act in 1965. Unfortunately, McCarran worked in the Senate until his death on September 28, 1957. Towards the end of his life, McCarran started accusing people in his own party of being communists. This led to a downfall of his reputation. Finally, after he died, people realized how despicable this man was for he made terrible accusations that were not true and punished people for their heritage and political beliefs.

“I believe that this nation is the last hope of Western civilization and if this oasis of the world shall be overrun, perverted, contaminated or destroyed, then the last flickering light of humanity will be extinguished. I take no issue with those who would praise the contributions which have been made to our society by people of many races, of varied creeds and colors. America is indeed a joining together of many streams which go to form a mighty river which we call the American way. However, we have in the United States today hard-core, indigestible blocs which have not become integrated into the American way of life, but which, on the contrary are its deadly enemies. Today, as never before, untold millions are storming our gates for admission and those gates are cracking under the strain. The solution of the problems of Europe and Asia will not come through a transplanting of those problems en masse to the United States. ... I do not intend to become prophetic, but if the enemies of this legislation succeed in riddling it to pieces, or in amending it beyond recognition, they will have contributed more to promote this nation's downfall than any other group since we achieved our independence as a nation.”
 * Words from Pat McCarran in response to the McCarran Internal Security Act:**


 * Michael Ybarra wrote the book, __Washington Gone Crazy: Senator Pat McCarran and the Great American Communist Hunt__**.

The book exposed McCarran so people could realize how terrible he was.




 * Jerome E. Edwards also wrote a book** **called __Pat McCarran, Political Boss of Nevada__.**




 * Bibliography:**

• Yarra, Michael. " The real witch hunter of the 1950s; A look at Pat McCarran of Nevada helps explain postwar Red Scare." Chicago Tribute. Jan 16, 2005:3

• "Pat McCarran." __Wikipedia.com.__ April 28, 2007. Wikimedia Foundation. May 10, 2007. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat McCarran.

• "McCarthy Era." __Profiles In American Histoy.__ 1995 Edition.

• http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/c/ce/Pat_McCarran.jpg/180px-Pat_McCarran.jpg

• http://bookweb.kinokuniya.co.jp/bimgdata/FC1586420658.JPG

• http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAmcclaren.jpg