Source: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/mccarthy-telegram/

Telegram from Senator Joseph McCarthy to President Harry S. Truman (modified)

(Page 1/6) (Page 6/6) (Page 4/6) Guiding Questions:

1. What do you think were McCarthy’s intentions for sending this telegram to the President? (Provide evidence from the text to support your thoughts.)

2. How do you think President Truman would react to this telegram? What evidence from the text supports this?

Source: http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/mccarthy-telegram/

Reply from President Harry S. Truman to Senator Joseph McCarthy (probably unsent)

Guiding Questions:

1. How would you describe Truman’s attitude and tone toward Senator McCarthy? What words from the text suggest this?

2. Why do you think Truman refers to McCarthy as having “little sense of responsibility”? How does this relate to the idea of McCarthyism?