My Name is Joseph McCarthy: The Senator Who Gave His Name to McCarthyism I was born in Grand Chute, Wisconsin, in 1908. I grew up on a farm in a large Catholic family, and I learned early that advancement depended upon determination. I left school as a young man, returned to finish my education at an accelerated pace, attended Marquette University, earned a law degree, and entered politics. I became a Wisconsin circuit judge while still in my twenties. When America entered Wo

The Soviet Union, once an ally against Nazi Germany, had become America's greatest international rival, communist governments were spreading across Eastern Europe, and fears grew that communism might also be gaining influence inside the United States. By the late 1940s, Americans were entering an era in which political beliefs, friendships, employment, and even entertainment could become matters of suspicion. From Wartime Ally to Communist Rival During World War II, the Unite

My Name is Elizabeth Bentley: Soviet Courier Turned American Informant I was born in New Milford, Connecticut, in 1908, and nothing about my childhood suggested that I would someday carry secrets for Soviet intelligence. I was educated at Vassar College and later studied languages in Europe and at Columbia University. I was intelligent, ambitious, and searching for something larger than myself. During the Great Depression, capitalism appeared to many Americans to be failing.

The Birth of the CIA and KGB: Building the Cold War’s Secret Armies When World War II ended in 1945, American and Soviet soldiers could look back on a war in which their nations had fought the same enemy. But beneath the celebrations, another struggle was already beginning. The United States and Soviet Union had dramatically different political systems and competing visions for the postwar world. As Soviet influence expanded across Eastern Europe and tensions increased over G