Joseph McCarthy

Joseph McCarthy was arguably the most (in)famous Senator the United States has had. He created some of the biggest political accusations ever in America when he claimed that over 200 people in the United States government were communists.  However, McCarthy failed to have any legitimate evidence against the people he accused. In 1953, McCarthy investigated the army, but failed to uncover anything. This prompted the famous Army-McCarthy hearings which permanently scarred McCarthy's reputation.  He abused his power as a Senator. In 1957, he died of alcohol abuse.

I think McCarthy was a coward and someone that really wanted fame. He made accusations of evidence he did not have, just like in the Crucible. He should have just admitted that he had no reliable evidence, but decided to keep his accusations going.  He was fame-hungry and was willing to rat out people that probably did nothing just for some popularity.  He was a weak person in my mind.

http://www.apl.org/history/mccarthy/biography.html