Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower's Secret Campaign against Joseph McCarthy

by David A. Nichols

The full, little-known story of how President Dwight Eisenhower masterminded the downfall of the anti-Communist demagogue Senator Joseph McCarthy is “a gripping, detailed account of how the executive branch subtly but decisively defeated one of America’s most dangerous demagogues” ( The Washington Post ).

They shook hands for the cameras, but Dwight Eisenhower privately abhorred Senator Joseph McCarthy, the powerful Republican senator notorious for his anti-Communist campaign. In spite of a public perception that Eisenhower was unwilling to challenge McCarthy, Ike believed that directly confronting the senator would diminish the presidency. Therefore, the president operated—more discreetly and effectively—with a “hidden hand.”

In “a thorough, well-written, and surprising picture of a man who was much more than a ‘do-nothing’ president” ( Kirkus Reviews , starred review), David A. Nichols shows how the tension between the two men escalated. In a direct challenge to Eisenhower, McCarthy alleged that the US Army was harboring communists and launched an investigation. But the senator had unwittingly signed his own political death warrant. The White House employed surrogates to conduct a clandestine campaign against McCarthy and was not above using information about the private lives of McCarthy’s aides as ammunition.

By January 1954 McCarthy was arguably the most powerful member of the Senate. Yet at the end of that year, he had been censured by his colleagues for unbecoming conduct. Eisenhower’s covert operation had discredited the senator months earlier, exploiting the controversy that resulted from the televised Army-McCarthy hearings. McCarthy would never recover his lost prestige. In Ike and McCarthy , Nichols uses documents previously unavailable or overlooked to authenticate the extraordinary story of Eisenhower’s anti-McCarthy campaign. The result is “a well-researched and sturdily written account of what may be the most important such conflict in modern history….Americans have as much to learn today from Eisenhower as his many liberal critics did in 1954” ( The Atlantic Monthly ).

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Biography, American History, Presidents

400 pages, Paperback

First published March 21, 2017

Reviews

[Taryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

"As it is now, the President is trying to produce confidence in the face of the Soviet menace, and McCarthy is stirring up fear; Eisenhower is trying to draw the parties together, and McCarthy is setting them apart; Eisenhower is urging cooperation with the allies, and McCarthy is attacking their policies and purposes; Eisenhower is trying to bury the past and McCarthy is trying to resurrect it." - James Reston, New York Times, February 14, 1954

In the 1950s, Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy (Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Senate Government Operations Committee) began his relentless search for communist spies within and outside the United States Government. He questioned people in one-senator, closed-door hearings and used senatorial privilege to protect himself from libel accusations. He doctored evidence, made baseless or exaggerated accusations, declared people guilty by association, and attacked those who wished to invoke their Fifth Amendment rights.

When the chief consultant of the subcommittee, David Schine, was drafted by the army, McCarthy and the subcommittee's chief counsel Roy Cohn sought out special privileges for him. Cohn and McCarthy acted on threats to "wreck the Army" when their requests were ignored. McCarthy made a critical misstep in targeting the United States Army. The private threats were documented and publicized, leading to the Army-McCarthy hearings. The hearings were the beginning of the end for McCarthy's unchecked power in the Senate. In Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower's Secret Campaign against Joseph McCarthy, David A. Nichols shatters the notion that President Dwight D. Eisenhower sat idly by while McCarthy wreaked havoc on American institutions.

"Whenever, and for whatever alleged reason, people attempt to crush ideas, to mask their convictions, to view every neighbor as a possible enemy, to seek some kind of divining rod by which to test for conformity, a free society is in danger. Wherever man's right to knowledge and the use thereof is restricted, man's freedom in the same measure disappears." (Address at the Columbia University National Bicentennial Dinner, New York City. May 31, 1954)

This thorough and well-researched book mostly covers the time period between the beginning of Eisenhower's presidency in 1953 and the end of the Army-McCarthy hearings in June 1954. Eisenhower is an interesting figure because he was courted by both Democrats and Republicans to run for president. (“I don’t believe in bitter partisanship. I never believe that all wisdom is confined to one of the great parties.”) He ultimately decided to run as a Republican. When he took office in 1953, Americans had many fears: the intentions of the Soviet Union, weapons of mass destruction, another economic depression, and communist subversion. The fears of a communist conspiracy were further agitated by "the Soviet occupation of Eastern Europe, the communist takeover of China in 1949, and the North Korean invasion of South Korea."

If you imitate your enemy, you risk becoming like him. And if that is not who you really are, you will be supremely incompetent in carrying it out.

Eisenhower sought to ease the public's fears by "protecting American democracy from extremism and avoiding another, more cataclysmic world war." Senator Joseph McCarthy chose to stoke those fears and divide the country into "us vs. them," going as far as accusing previous administrations of treason. Eisenhower's administration had legitimate concerns about Soviet infiltration in the government, but the president believed the threat should be dealt with inside the court system and within the bounds of the law. Unfortunately, Eisenhower made a few of his own missteps in proving his Communist-fighting credentials—there were fears that McCarthy would bring the fight directly to Eisenhower because of his own communist "associations" in the aftermath of World War II.

"We must, even in our zeal to defeat the enemies of freedom, never betray ourselves into seizing their weapons to make our own defense. A people or a party that is young and sober and confident and free has no need of censors to purify its thought or stiffen its will. For the kind of America in which we believe is too strong ever to acknowledge fear--and too wise ever to fear knowledge." Address at the New England "Forward to '54" Dinner, Boston, Massachusetts September 21, 1953

Ike and McCarthy is the story of the behind-the-scenes machinations, secret meetings, and planned leaks that led to the Army-McCarthy hearings and Joseph McCarthy's downfall. Eisenhower was criticized for ignoring the McCarthy problem, but he was managing the crisis in his own way. Great care was taken in keeping the president above the fray and ensuring the White House wasn't implicated in undermining an elected United States Senator. He saw McCarthy "as a symptom, not a cause," so attacking the senator directly would not effectively end the problem. Publicly demonizing McCarthy would make him “a hero and a martyr.” His public criticisms of McCarthy's methods were subtle and never personal.

"Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you are going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book, as long as that document does not offend our own ideas of decency. That should be the only censorship. How will we defeat communism unless we know what it is, and what it teaches, and why does it have such an appeal for men, why are so many people swearing allegiance to it?" - Remarks at the Dartmouth College Commencement Exercises, Hanover, New Hampshire. June 14, 1953

One of Eisenhower's methods for dealing with McCarthy was refusing to mention him by name. He insisted on discussing “principles, not personalities.” Eisenhower knew that if he did not give McCarthy the attention he craved, he would soon self-destruct. He had to be careful about singling out McCarthy, because the entire Senate would rally around their fellow senator (not really a concern these days!). Criticism of McCarthy had to come from the Senate, not the White House. He was patient in waiting for public opinion to shift against McCarthy, while he "actively stage-managed the buildup toward action against McCarthy." His gamble paid off. According to a January 1954 Gallup poll, McCarthy’s favorable-to-unfavorable ratio was 50% to 29%. In the midst of the Army-McCarthy hearings in May 1954, it was 35% to 49% (History of McCarthy's support on Wikipedia). The 36-day hearings were televised. McCarthy came off poorly on television, so the lengthy televised hearings hastened his downfall. (Note: After watching Good Night, and Good Luck, test audiences complained that the actor playing McCarthy was too over-the-top. It wasn't an actor—the filmmakers used the actual footage.)

“We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men – not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular” - Edward Murrow "See It Now" on CBS - March 9, 1954. "A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy"

After contentious Senate hearings, the Senate voted 67 to 22 to censure McCarthy on December 2, 1954. The story of the escalating tensions between Eisenhower and McCarthy shows how far we’ve come, how far we’ve fallen, and how much has stayed the same. It was remarkable how much of this book reflected contemporary arguments, right down to Eisenhower being accused of playing golf and vacationing rather than leading. It was impossible not to draw parallels between the temperaments of Joseph McCarthy and the current United States president, though McCarthy was much more ideological. Imagine if he had access to Twitter! McCarthy is thought to have had presidential aspirations and Eisenhower knew a man like McCarthy should never make it to the Oval Office. He was aware that a public fight between the moderate and reactionary wings of the Republican Party would give the Democrats the advantage during midterm elections, but pursued the fight anyway. He chose country over party, because some values are too important to betray because of party allegiance.

“There is a certain reactionary fringe of the Republican Party,” he said, “that hates and despises everything for which I stand or is advanced by this Administration.” He pondered that the Republican Party might have to face “the complete loss of the fringe of Old Guarders,” except for procedural matters. However, he concluded, “I, for one, have always thought that we cannot afford to appear to be in the same camp with them.”

There's a lot to learn from Eisenhower's deft handling of a demagogue and intraparty conflict. There was so much drama surrounding the McCarthy problem, it's incredible to think about how it wasn't the only major thing on the president's plate. I was also amazed by how much the Republican Party has changed over the decades. If you are interested in the nitty-gritty of politics and fly-on-the-wall accounts, this book is perfect for you. I found all the details of the political drama endlessly fascinating! As a warning, it does reflect the prejudices of the time, especially towards gay men. Many of the key players make innuendo about why Cohn was so concerned with Schine's treatment. The author David A. Nichols is a leading expert on the Eisenhower administration. He also wrote A Matter of Justice: Eisenhower and the Beginning of the Civil Rights Revolution, which I want to read someday.

Side note: One of my favorite parts of the book was the sometimes strained relationship between the media and the White House:

Ike had often complained that the press had a guilty conscience about McCarthy. Having built him up, the media wanted the president to destroy a monster of their own making. His address was chock full of references to “the facts,” employing the term a dozen times. He accused the papers of placing “a premium upon clichés and slogans. We incline to persuade with an attractive label; or to damn with a contemptuous tag. But catchwords are not information. And, most certainly, sound popular judgments cannot be based upon them. . . . Freedom of expression is not merely a right,” the president concluded, “its constructive use is a stern duty. Have we, have you as publishers, the courage fully to exercise the right and perform the duty? Along with patriotism—understanding, comprehension, determination are the qualities we now need. Without them, we cannot win. With them, we cannot fail.” (Address at the Dinner of the American Newspaper Publishers Association, New York City. April 22, 1954)

Further Reading/Viewing:
The Real Joe McCarthy By Ronald Kessler (Wall Street Journal) - Was McCarthy proven right? "Efforts to vindicate McCarthy overlook the fact that he did not help the cause of dealing with the spy threat. Rather, he gave spy hunting a bad name. In sanctioning McCarthy's intimidating tactics and dishonest charges, revisionists dangerously invite history to be repeated."
Have You No Sense of Decency - Footage from the Army-McCarthy hearings
Edward R. Murrow: "A Report on Senator Joseph R. McCarthy"
What Donald Trump Learned From Joseph McCarthy’s Right-Hand Man - Roy Cohn took a special interest in Donald Trump and set out to cultivate his career. “That bravado, and if you say it aggressively and loudly enough, it’s the truth — that’s the way Roy used to operate to a degree, and Donald was certainly his apprentice.”
United States Capitol Shooting Incident in 1954 - I never heard of this incident, but it's really interesting! On March 1, 1954, Puerto Rican nationalists opened fire in House of Representatives chamber of the United States Capitol. Five congressmen were wounded. The shooters were pardoned in 1979.


___________
I received this book for free from Netgalley and Simon & Schuster. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. It's available now!

[robin friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

David Nichols On Eisenhower And McCarthy

In his recent book, "Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower's Secret Campaign Against Joseph McCarthy" (2017), historian David Nichols examines a controversial aspect of Eisenhower's presidency: Eisenhower has been criticized for being too slow and indecisive in fighting against the demagogic, smearing tactics of Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin in what McCarthy said was his fight to root out communism in government. McCarthy's notoriety began in 1950 during the Truman Administration. It continued and perhaps intensified until, following nationally televised hearings involving the Army and McCarthy, McCarthy's actions were condemned by the Senate. McCarthy lost his influence, and he died shortly thereafter.

I had earlier learned a good deal from Nichols. Early in his academic career, he wrote a still-valuable book "Lincoln and the Indians" (1978) about President Lincoln's Indian policy. Nichols subsequently became a scholar of the presidential administration of Dwight Eisenhower. In line with other scholarship about Eisenhower beginning about 1980, , Nichols argues that Eisenhower was a stronger, more effective leader than he had been portrayed to be in the years shortly after his presidency, and that Eisenhower was a master of leading by indirection and by action rather than by rhetoric. Thus, in his book, "A Matter of Justice" (2007), Nichols argued that Eisenhower's "gradualist" approach towards civil rights accomplished more than is sometimes realized. In "Eisenhower 1956: The President's Year of Crisis -- Suez and the Brink of War", Nichols discussed Eisenhower's handling of the Suez Crisis and other difficult issues in foreign affairs and argued that Eisenhower's leadership and actions were stronger and wiser than they are often portrayed by critics.

In researching his recent book on Eisenhower and McCarthy, Nichols had access to a large collection of documents, many "eyes-only", located in the Eisenhower Presidential Library, Abilene Kansas, that Eisenhower had ordered collected and preserved that set out in detail Eisenhower's dealings with McCarthy .Thus, rather than constituting a revisionist approach to an already-available body of information, Nichols' book relies on facts that had not been generally used by other researchers. The book shows the development in Eisenhower's approach to McCarthy as Nichols argues persuasively that the president and his most trusted associates worked behind the scenes to bring about McCarthy's destruction.

Nichols makes no secret of his own disdain for McCarthy and his demagoguery. His discussions of the course of events between Eisenhower and McCarthy is careful, nuanced, and measured. The book begins with Eisenhower's decision under pressure from his staff while campaigning in Wisconsin in October, 1952, to take out a paragraph from his prepared speech in praise of George C. Marshall, Eisenhower's mentor and one-time commander, whom McCarthy had vilified. Nichols does not try to justify this decision. In many places in his book, Nichols he is critical of Eisenhower's actions. But the book shows that Eisenhower was in control of the situation, disliked McCarthy, and knew what he wanted. His actions led directly and by design to McCarthy's fall.

Nichols captures the tense nature of American life in the early 1950s with its fear of communism and of further war or depression, and with its homophobia. These fears were broadly shared by both political parties and by the administration. In addition, Eisenhower had the narrowest of legislative margins when he assumed the presidency -- and a number of the Republican majority in the Senate were supporters of McCarthy. Thus Eisenhower had to act carefully.

After describing some early conflicts between Eisenhower and McCarthy, the focus of the book turns to McCarthy's attack on the Army. A major cause of this attack was counsel Roy Cohn's and McCarthy's attempt to secure special treatment for David Schine, a friend of Cohn's who worked for the committee. The relationship between the two was ripe with homosexual overtones which were acknowledged but rarely discussed in these days. Cohn and McCarthy began investigating alleged communist infiltration of the army and tied their investigation in to the army's refusal to grant special treatment to Schine. Among many other things, Nichols shows how Eisenhower behind the scenes gathered together a record documenting the Cohn-Schine matter and released it at the most propitious time to bring McCarthy into disgrace -- all the while denying involvement. This led to the famous Army-McCarthy hearings.

As the hearings proceeded, Eisenhower resisted attempts to bring the hearings to a quick close because he realized how McCarthy was destroying himself in full view of the American people. Eisenhower and his attorney general promulgated a long memorandum setting forth a strong doctrine of Executive Privilege to avoid bringing the White House into the hearings. In fact, in Nichols account, some of the witnesses in the hearing came close, at the least, to perjury in denying White House involvement. In his own public statements at the time, Eisenhower lied, in Nichols' account, about his own and about his staff's involvement in bringing about the hearings and in McCarthy's demise.

Far from the passive, avuncular golf-playing executive as Eisenhower is still sometimes portrayed, Nichols portrays a tough, canny, hard leader, not above misdirection, as one would expect from the Commander of the Allied Forces at Normandy. The book shows a difficult time for our country and shows as well a strong leader, flaws and all. The book tells a gripping story and works to a climax in prose that tends towards the stolid and the matter-of-fact. I was moved in reading this book to follow-up on the Army-McCarthy hearings and watch a nearly two-hour extract available on media. I was glad to revisit Nichols and his studies of Eisenhower. I was reminded of McCarthyism and learned a great deal about Eisenhower and his presidency from this book.

Robin Friedman

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently read David A. Nichols book “Eisenhower 1956: The President’s Year of Crisis Suez and the Brink of War” 2012. I was so impressed with Nichols as a historian and with his writing ability that I decided to read “Ike and McCarthy”.

Eisenhower and Truman are two presidents that were mocked and scorned during their terms in office but time and analysis have shown them to have strategic abilities, strong values, and prudent statesmanship that became clearer with the passage of time. In the 1950s the public was angry with Eisenhower for not confronting Joseph McCarthy. Nichols points out that McCarthy loved attention so Eisenhower chose to ignore him and never spoke his name. The author said Eisenhower studied the man and used subtle methods to attack him and never lowered himself to McCarthy’s level.

The book is well written and researched. Nichols shows a Machiavellian side of Eisenhower and also reveals that he was engaged in the fight against McCarthy. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.

I read this book in its hardcover format. It is 400 pages and published in 2017 by Simon and Schuster.

[Ron · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Always take your job seriously, never yourself.” DDE

This is what history is supposed to be. Minutely researched, but cogently told. Facts clearly delineated from opinion. Yes, Nichols has and expresses his opinions, but he does not disguise them as facts.

“We can’t defeat communism by destroying the things in which we believe.” DDE

This book is only 400 pages, not 800 like the fashionable historical biographies being peddled today. The footnotes equal a third of the text.

“Eisenhower’s penchant for camouflage contributed to the myth that he would rather play golf than pay attention to weighty matters.” Nichols

Eisenhower may have been the last progressive Republican, of the ilk of Theodore Roosevelt. The nation is the loser for their passing.

“I don’t believe in bitter partisanship. I never believe that all the wisdom is confined to one of the great parties.” DDE

Ike lied. Yes, he did. All politicians lie. It’s part of being a politician because sometimes telling lies serves the greater good. Sometimes it protects, not destroys. Ike lied to protect the nation, not himself.

“The easiest thing to so with great power is to abuse it--use it to excess.” DDE

Sadly, Richard Nixon apprenticed under Eisenhower but may have drawn many of the wrong lessons. Watergate could very easily have been his attempt to emulate his mentor. Not only did he fail tactically, but his cover-up was unworthy of the nation.

“Politics is not the frosting on the cake; it is the egg in the cake.” Henry Cabot Lodge

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower's Secret Campaign against Joseph McCarthy
By David A Nichols

Joseph R. McCarthy was a junior senator beginning in 1950. He used methods without thinking or caring about the consequences, not supported or proven by evidence which caused a great deal of disturbance, confusion and uncertainty in the U.S. His targets were citizens and Government employees accusing them of being Soviet Agents. Ignoring the truth his inability to satisfy his appetite for news coverage, eager to harm reputations. Continuing this quality or characteristic undermined the power and authority of the U.S. with the Soviet Union and cold war.

As the result of Eisenhower becoming president in 1953 McCarthy obtained a new platform for his expedition. The Republicans held a one vote majority in the Senate making McCarthy'designated chair of the Government Operations Committee and its remaining investigative subcommittee. In that position of power McCarthy subpoenaed witnesses, behaved in such a manner to call One-Senator hearings, charged witnesses of guilt by association and giving information about U.S., "obvious communist" a person who chose to cite constitutional protections against incriminating themselves.

Eisenhower decided to bring McCarthyism to an end since he was more than an annoyance, he brought damage to Eisenhower's foreign policy goals and legislative programs. So Eisenhower set in motion secret facts and conditions producing an action causing general public outrage to McCarthy. His reputation was exposed and damaged by Edward R Notrow's very well known See It Now television program. On this television program McCarthy's reputation of accusing people of being a communist exposed his reputation. The American public witnessed McCarthy and did not show approval of his methods. McCarthy was shown as being argumentative with Attorney Joseph Nye Welch at the Army-McCarthy hearings. The final blow expressed severe disapproval in the vote by the U.S. Senate on December 2, 1954, which McCarthy lost 67 to 22.

The book shows that Eisenhower chose that by ignoring McCarthy and by using 6 trusted peers to identify McCarthy's methods of accusing anybody he opposed as being a communist. Many people thought that Eisenhower stood by and let McCarthy accusations continue. That was not the case. Eisenhower enlisted 6 leaders to secretly defeat McCarthy insulating himself from publicly using the presidency in accomplishing to derail McCarthy. Eisenhower's strategy worked. He had already proved in 1944 his devoted skill in outmaneuvering the Germans in World War II. Eisenhower's Operation Fortitude used fake armies and dummy aircraft. This was used to confuse the Germans of the location where the U.S. military where planning to invade. Eisenhower used deceptive radio transmissions giving the wrong location making the U.S. invasion successful.

Eisenhower used the same strategies to defeat McCarthy politically. Only six reliable aids knew what his plans really were. It is a myth that Eisenhower allowed McCarthy to destroy honest civilians and government agents by accusing them of communism. He was not a detached president. He was preoccupied with protecting the oval office as the source of defeating McCarthyism. Ike didn't think using the presidency to make speeches would expose McCarthy, he instead used six reliable aids to administer his plans. Those who thought Eisenhower unacceptable thinking he took to long to expose McCarthy were wrong because they didn't know of his plans to have his trusted aids accomplish this mission.

This book was really interesting because of it illuminating the wrong public opinion of Eisenhower's active role behind the scenes. The public opinion of Eisenhower for more than two decades didn't know how much Eisenhower defeated McCarthy. Speeches were not going to be effective in exposing McCarthy. By using his six trusted aids to carry out his goals were what brought an end to McCarthy and his prior ability to tarnish reputations by falsely accusing innocent people of being communists.
I didn't know before reading this book how much Eisenhower was involved in discrediting McCarthy and much of the public has a false interpretation by thinking that Eisenhower didn't orchestrate and put into action the end of McCarthyism. This book ends the myth that Eisenhower didn't take action. I liked and enjoyed the history and have a deeper respect for Eisenhower and his secret strategies while protecting the presidency.

Thank you to Net Galley, David A. Nichols and Simon & Schuster for providing me with my digital copy for a fair and honest review.

[Jim Cullison · Rating 5 out of 5]

This engrossing work of political history could easily have been entitled, "Ike's Killshot." Nichols reveals an Ike who presented himself to the world as a bland, bewildered golfer with all the passion of inert gas and all the political skill of the genial amateur. Behind the scenes however, Ike could have easily been Mario Puzo's model for Vito Corleone: a cold-blooded political assassin with terrifying patience and Machiavellian guile to spare. Nichols makes the highly persuasive case that Ike orchestrated the entire destruction of Joe McCarthy and left no fingerprints for the media of the day to discover. You will come away from this spellbinding book utterly awestruck by Eisenhower's lethal political jujitsu. A great and timely read.

[Steve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked it well enough. Ike is something of a slippery cat, performing bureaucratic ju-jitsu via surrogates while he practiced chip shots on the White House lawn. The author did a fine job getting down into the weeds (as much as is possible) to see just how McCarthy was brought down. (Today's politicians may want to take notes on Ike's approach to demagogic blowhards.) The McCarthy-Roy Cohn-David Schine "affair" is a strange one, where you don't even have to pencil in the details. You're just amazed at the ongoing stupidity of it. In the end McCarthy was his own worst enemy. He would be dead in a few short years. Karma or something like that.

[Sarah W. · Rating 3 out of 5]

The dynamics between President Eisenhower and Senator Joe McCarthy are worthy of examination, but this history came up short for me. The author has an argument, but I felt like he never really made his case. Instead, this book read like a recitation of events, sometimes without the context or interpretation that can help one make sense of events. I hope to find other books about this pivotal period in American history, but I think I'll steer clear of this author going forward.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

The television set in the corner of our small dining room was tuned, day after day, to the McCarthy hearings. Still in elementary school, I resented the intrusion at the time and couldn't understand what the fuss was all about. David A. Nichols' book "Ike and McCarthy" focuses on what was going on in the White House behind the scenes to put a stop to the cruel maneuvering of the Senator from Wisconsin and how, drawing on the military strategy he knew so well, Ike finally put him out of business.

[Abby Pechin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book about the relationship between Eisenhower and McCarthy. There were many facts and incidents discussed in this book that I was unaware occurred in history. I would recommend reading this book for anyone interested in the subject matter or wishing to learn more.

[Brian Mandel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nichols provides a very detailed account of a semi-clandestine White House initiative that sought to undermine Joseph McCarthy. There are a lot of great facts in here and a very thorough narrative.

However, I do wish the book delved a little more into the thematic elements and the stakes involved. It never really wrestles with the question of what the main motives of either Eisenhower or McCarthy are. Eisenhower makes clear multiple times that he personally dislikes McCarthy and finds his "tactics" troubling. But he also at times makes compares him to Hitler. Did Ike really worry McCarthy was a fascist interested in seizing the power of the American government? Was he more worried about the electoral prospects of the Republican party? Similarly, did McCarthy himself seek that power? Was he really just a meglomaniac? Did he see Eisenhower as a tool he could use to his own ends, or was he actually distrustful of him and his past "connections?"

Ultimately the book spends all of its time on a day by day accounting of meetings and memo among Eisenhower's lieutenants - with the sole purpose of defending Eisenhower's legacy from those who claim that he inadequately stood up to McCarthy. I am certainly convinced that Eisenhower had a personal disdain for McCarthy. But I wish the book talked more about why this mattered - or even examined whether his behind-the-scenes machinations were the most effective strategy for confronting him.

We do get an occasionally fun portrait of the various players involved in this "mission." Would make a great political film!

[Richard Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Ike and McCarthy, author David Nichols asserts that President Eisenhower undermined and destroyed the Senatorial career of communist-hunter Joseph McCarthy by directing his associates behind the scenes. Nichols points to the actions and speeches by members of Eisenhower cabinet and staff members (Nixon, Adams, Stevens, Dulles, and Seaton as well as McCarthy's foes in the Senate) as being coordinated by the commander-in-chief. While others openly opposed McCarthy's aggressive and destructive methods of rooting out communist in the government, Eisenhower's personal tact was never to attack or even mention McCarthy in public while letting others do the work. Unfortunately for Nichols thesis, the facts and speeches in the book tend to bear out just the opposite: that Eisenhower, while finding McCarthy's methods personally distasteful, sought to distance himself from the fight against McCarthy while others with more to lose did the dirty work to end the Senator's menacing communist witch hunts. Even in Eisenhower's letter in Reader's Digest well after McCarthy's death, the then-former President declined to condemn McCarthy in the open. In truth, as Nichols points out, with the Republicans' narrow hold in the Senate, Eisenhower's decision not to attack McCarthy in the open was politically motivated and an attempt to preserve his relative status in the Oval Office above McCarthy. Ultimately, it seems, it was McCarthy's decision to attack the nation's most powerful bureaucracy, the Army, and the Democrats' victories in the 1954 midterm elections that stalled McCarthy's drive for fame and deprived him of his committee chairmanships and perhaps a shot at the Presidency itself. While the lack of direct statements from Eisenhower himself hinders Nichols' central assertion, the work is an informative piece on the intrigues and divisive struggle in Washington to remove Joseph McCarthy.

[Steven Meyers · Rating 4 out of 5]

"RIDDING DEMOCRACY OF THE WISCONSIN PARASITE"

Mr. Nichols states in the Preface, “This is the story of strategic deception, a realm in which Dwight Eisenhower was demonstrably expert.” In the world of politics, President Eisenhower was playing Machiavellian chess while Joe McCarthy was messing around with checkers. Our newly elected president rightly loathed the demagogic Wisconsin senator. ‘Ike and McCarthy’ upends the standard history of President Eisenhower meekly doing nothing while the Wisconsin demagogue ruined reputations and destroyed careers simply for his own aggrandizement. Think of Senator McCarthy as an earlier manifestation of the Trump ethos but without an ugly, orange, fake tan and freaky comb-over hairdo. Both McCarthy and Trump were buddies/workmates with the sociopath lawyer Roy Cohn. THAT says a lot.

‘Ike and McCarthy’ reminded me of Bob Woodward’s play-by-play books. There is very little backstory of the key players or a vivid explanation of the cultural mood which enabled the self-aggrandizing McCarthy to ride that fear horse until he was hobbled by superior politicians. He and the gremlin Cohn never cared how many innocent lives they destroyed in pursuit of their personal desires. The reader will appreciate Mr. Nichols’s book much more if they have a good understanding of how the Cold War and the Red Scare fueled national paranoia and allowed McCarthy to exploit it. Man, many citizens thought there were communists hiding in every bush and crawling around Washington D.C.’s bureaucracy like the mother of all cockroach infestations. Much like today with Trump, many Republicans secretly hated and feared McCarthy but felt he was a helpful tool for their own political welfare. ‘Ike and McCarthy’ will remind you that lying was and still is as common in our nation’s capitol as breathing. Politics at the national level is not for the faint-hearted but sure is a playground for blowhards. The book includes eight pages of helpful black-and-white photos.

McCarthy’s and Cohn’s tactics were a harbinger of Trump’s future political success and I viewed ‘Ike and McCarthy’ as a good example of how, as Mark Twain said, “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes.” Neither Eisenhower nor McCarthy comes out of this book smelling like roses. However, the Wisconsin senator’s guilt-by-association, damn-a-person’s-civil-rights, bullying, lying tactics far exceed Eisenhower’s skullduggery. Our 34th president had solid patriotic principles and understood the threat McCarthy was to democracy. McCarthy and Cohn were simply two very selfish, unethical bulls in America’s china shop. While I cringed at some of President Eisenhower’s actions that are explained in ‘Ike and McCarthy,’ the World War II general rescued our nation from the Wisconsin parasite. Mr. Nichols’s book is an easy-to-read fair assessment that I found absorbing and educational.

[Dominic · Rating 5 out of 5]

In recent years, President Dwight Eisenhower's reputation has undergone considerable revision, from doddering old grandfather to shrewd bureaucratic tactician. Historian David A. Nichols has been at the forefront of that revision, writing a series of revisionist histories showing how Ike's "hidden hand" often operated behind the scenes to get stuff done on civil rights and foreign policy. In this book, Nichols tackles one of the most controversial topics of Ike's presidency: McCarthyism.

At the time, many commentators have criticized Ike's response to Senator Joe McCarthy's abuses as tepid. Some still consider it a stain on the former president's record. It is true that Ike never engaged in a forceful denunciation of McCarthy by name. However, as Nichols shows, that was largely by design, part of a tactic to avoid elevating McCarthy by engaging with him directly. Nichols shows how Ike criticized McCarthy indirectly while making his meaning clear.

More importantly, Ike waged a bureaucratic battle against McCarthy behind the scenes. He ordered subordinates to keep a record of McCarthy and chief counsel Roy Cohn's abuses during the Army hearings, particularly how Cohn attempted to intimidate the Army into giving his lover, David Schine, more favorable postings during the latter's tour of duty. The release of that report ultimately led to McCarthy's downfall. Ike also encouraged senators to give speeches denouncing McCarthy and tried to use his own speeches to deflect attention away from McCarthy. Throughout it all, Ike was careful to hid his involvement.

Aside from the extent of Ike's maneuvering against McCarthy, I was also surprised (pleasantly) by the depth of Ike's animosity against McCarthy and McCarthyism. Ike's denunciations of McCarthy are some of the most forceful I've ever read. However, they were all made in private to close colleagues and confidents, which meant the American people never heard about them.

Looking back, Ike's approach to McCarthyism - as well as civil rights - raises some important questions about ethics in public service. How important is it for our political leaders to speak out against moral wrongs? What is the appropriate tradeoff between efficacy and transparency? Ike's "hidden hand" approach could probably not work in the 21st century, where we often demand immediate gratification from political leaders and have less patience for long-term strategic thinking.

I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in Eisenhower or 20th century American history. It seems especially relevant today because of all the comparisons in the media between Eisenhower and the current occupant of the White House, who like McCarthy also engages in hyperbole and prevarications (not coincidentally, Roy Cohn used to work for Donald Trump).

[Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.]

[Joe Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very interesting book about an interesting period in US History. As we get farther away from the Eisenhower years (disclaimer: I was born during his second term), Ike's reputation has been transformed. From the serene and distant grandfather who spent so much time on the golf course, we are seeing a more accurate portrayal of an involved chief executive who was quite adept at bureaucratic infighting if it was necessary to accomplish his goal.

One of the biggest complaints about Eisenhower was his silence on McCarthyism. In this book we see how Eisenhower actually responded to McCarthy: Ike basically refused to fight it out with McCarthy in the open because he believed that even mentioning him by name would increase McCarthy's prestige. Instead Eisenhower worked behind the scenes to undermine McCarthy with the televised Army-McCarthy hearings delivering a fatal blow to McCarthy's career. Eisenhower (and his subordinates) made some mistakes along the way - certainly Ike believed he erred by not defending General George Marshall earlier - but the behind the scenes plan worked, and virtually no one at the time suspected that Ike had anything to do with McCarthy's downfall.

The author has done a good job of combining multiple stories and points of view to show Eisenhower in action against McCarthy. There are many footnotes to primary and secondary sources; this is the way that history should be written. If you're interested in this period of history, I highly recommend this book.

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars might give the wrong impression on how I felt about this book. I enjoyed reading it. it's really a solid 3.5 stars. It's a very detailed account of the Army/McCarthy hearings in 1954. A fair amount of political posturing lead up to the hearings, but the main thing was Roy Cohn's maneuvering to get his bestie David Schine cushy treatment after getting drafted by the Army. Cohn overplayed his demands for getting preferential treatment for Schine, ultimately getting McCarthy to charge the Army of harboring communists within its ranks. The theme of the book is that Eisenhower took a much more proactive stance against McCarthy's demagoguery than history tells us. That could be true but there does seem to be a bit of hindsight interpretation going on by Nichols in exactly how much of an active role Eisenhower took in bringing down McCarthy. But it's possible. The book is well sourced however, so it's possible that Nichols is correct. Still, you're left wishing that Eisenhower took a more aggressive and open approach against an obvious bully who ruined careers and lives with unfounded smears and accusations of redbaiting. It's a good look at the drama and personalities of the men involved in the whole fiasco. You can youtube the best parts of it if inclined.

[Joshua Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a highly entertaining, well-researched and well-written book that covers the relationship between President Dwight Eisenhower and Senator Joseph McCarthy from the period running from Eisenhower's 1952 Presidential campaign through the Army-McCarthy hearings and the subsequent Senator condemnation of McCarthy that would follow.

While I was familiar with the Eisenhower Presidency to a small degree and understood McCarthy's historic place in the US Cold War era, the connection between them was somewhat mysterious to me. I knew that Eisenhower was often viewed as a somewhat weak, hands-off President and that the common understanding of his treatment of McCarthy was that he hadn't done enough to stop the demagogue. Nichols forcefully argues the exact opposite in this book, laying out Eisenhower's visceral dislike of the Senator and showing how Eisenhower appears to have engineered the takedown of McCarthy. It's a compelling account and I have little reason to doubt it.

This book is a fast read, well-paced, and thoroughly covers its subject matter. Well worth reading for anyone who enjoys this era in history.

[Kenneth Barber · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book sheds a different light upon the presidency of Dwight Eisenhower. He was often portrayed as more of a caretaker of the presidency rather than being actively involved in events. The history of Ike’s involvement in the McCarthy controversy shows him in an entirely different light. Ike chose not to confront McCarthy head on so as not to give him the attention he craved. Ike never mentioned McCarthy’s name in any public forum. Ike always just deplored extremism and the harm it did to the people who were attacked and unjustly accused.
The book describes in detail how Ike worked behind the scenes to destroy McCarthy. Like the field general he was, he used subordinates to carry out his strategy to bring down McCarthy. We learn how Ike had to tread carefully to stop McCarthy while not harming his party and bucking public opinion which at the time supported McCarthy.i Ike had to show he was acting vigorously against communist influence while protecting the rights of citizens.
The book is an interesting look at extremism and how it can be exploited for personal gain. Direct parallels can be drawn between McCarthyism and our political climate today.

[Dan Dundon · Rating 3 out of 5]

Without a doubt the author, David A. Nichols, knows his subject, Dwight Eisenhower, very well. He has previously written two highly-regarded books about the 34th president. In this case, Nichols examines the difficult relationship between Eisenhower and Sen. Joseph McCarthy. The book's cover calls it "Dwight Eisenhower's secret campaign against Joseph McCarthy." This may be overstating the actual relationship between the two men. While Nichols documents Eisenhower's secret efforts to discredit McCarthy toward the end of the senator's reign of terror, he sheds little light on the president's reluctance to come to the defense of his long-time friend Gen. George Marshall. This failure to criticize McCarthy was a major reason for the deterioration in the relationship between Eisenhower and his predecessor Harry Truman. While Eisenhower may have had a secret plan to destroy McCarthy, he apparently developed it after this pivotal failure. Perhaps Eisenhower's guilt about failing to come to the defense of his friend played a role in the formation of such a plan.

[Therese Schmieg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eisenhower was brilliant and ruthless. I grew up in a culture which required that I never tell a lie. For half my life, I believed absolute truth was essential.
I idealized family members, politicians I supported, religious leaders, etc., etc.
Although, I learn to accept the reality that all humans are flawed, but I still held myself to a rigid standard and expected those in authority to be truthful in their messages to me.
After reading this book, I kept asking myself, If Eisenhower lied, and Lincoln (A Team of Rivals), lied, how could I discern who to trust, who to support? (Please excuse my naivete. In some ways, I'm still a simple, country girl from Ohio.)
I am left with the understanding that I can make my decision base on "the fruits of their labors," and the effect of their actions on the vulnerable, the earth, the environment.
I am very grateful for the insight I gained from reading this book.

[Douglas Armstrong · Rating 4 out of 5]

History can often provide unexpected perspectives. David A. Nichols' book on Dwight Eisenhower's role in bringing down Wisconsin's demagogue senator, Joe McCarthy, is an interesting read and a reminder of how far we've drifted to the right and into slash-and-burn partisanship since Dwight Eisenhower's presidency. He was the Republican's first president in 20 years, but his legislative agenda for the nation would be considered to the left of center today. His rhetorical tone also feels like unearthing fossils. I recall he was considered bland and oblique even in his own time, but I was amused by this remark to an aide at moment he was said to be "greatly disturbed" by a development in the McCarthy rampage to uproot Communists in Ike's beloved Army. Ike said, "If they are cooking up another statement, then, by God someone is going to hear from me--but good."

[z]

- Eisenhower proved his political shrewdness by how he dealt with McCarthy: ignoring him and attacking only when McCarthy erred
- David Nichols' book has a major oversight though: the book tries to parade Eisenhower as this hero who targeted the national "problem" that was McCarthy, and beyond a paragraph or two, completely AVOIDS framing the conflict as politics: that McCarthy was a rival Republican and potential presidential candidate. In other words, Ike wasn't trying to take out McCarthy and thus remove a blemish from a great country, but was trying to take out a possible opponent in the 1955 presidential election. And Nichols' book, although interesting in part, addresses this aspect inadequately. hey Nichols, your bias is showing.

[Gina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detail to the point of tedium. But this event had always fascinated me. How was McCarthy exposed for the petty demagogue that he truly was? This book explains how Eisenhower covertly arranged his downfall. Eisenhower's refusal to acknowledge or mention McCarthy was a noteworthy tactic. Interesting read. Author's list of documented sources was much appreciated.Ike and McCarthy: Dwight Eisenhower's Secret Campaign against Joseph McCarthy

[Dave Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Being in service when Joe, the jr. Senator from Wis. was riding high, finding commies under ever bush, and desk in Wash. D.C. probably didn't follow the tragedy. It was good to weed out the Reds wanting to do the US harm, but this 3rd degree separation (some churches practice it too) where if you happen to know someone, who happens to know someone who might have attended a labor, or subversive meeting, Joe was down on you, ruining your life. A General., hero in WW2 he reduced to rubble. Sad. Ike would not get in the gutter with Joe, but bided his time, then as a good military strategist struck.

[Easyreader · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a special-interest review: anyone familiar with the alcoholic personality, from med school or personal experiences, will recognize familiar behaviors throughout this book. Yes, the scene was political, and the national stakes were high: but the egotism, the demands for center stage, the "emotional, often impulsive" responses seem to me to be the drivers, the national situation merely the convenient stage for action. And McCarthy, who died young from liver failure, was not the only one afflicted. We now return to more conventional and perceptive political analyses.

[Nancy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, which came highly recommended. However, the reading did become a little dry and drawn out about 80% of the way through. I also needed a cast list sometimes to keep the characters straight. This may have been an outgrowth of trying to read it while packing to move. Sitting and reading it in a shorter timeframe is probably better. Nice addition to the Ike, and Joe McCarthy knowledge base.

[Marianne Douglas · Rating 3 out of 5]

3+. A very detailed account of the action behind the scenes during the McCarthy hearngs. Even in those days, Washington was a hotbed of deal making and back stabbing. I applaud Eisenhower for not getting in the sewer with McCarthy, but it's very interesting to read how much he was controlling the strings. There are no mincy words here -- it's strictly history, and a story we should all pay attention to.

[John E · Rating 4 out of 5]

An almost daily review of the two years from Eisenhower's first inauguration to the fall of McCarthy told from the administration's point of view. Eisenhower's avoidance of "getting into the gutter with McCarthy" did not mean he was not aware of and opposed to McCarthy's philosophy and tactics. In fact, the author argues that Eisenhower led a subtle, yet persuasive, effort to neutralize McCarthyism. Well worth the read.

[Dan Cotter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book about the clashes of Ike and Joe McCarthy, a time not too long ago when Russians were the enemy and consorting and befriending them was highly suspicious and subjected the people to government firing etc. Ike used Executive Privilege for workers. Nichols has written several books on Ike and he is a very good writer who tells the story well.

[Robert S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Completely engrossing and breezy read about President Eisenhower's covert moves to take down Joseph McCarthy at the height of the Cold War.

Eisenhower has seen a recalibration in the public square in recent years thanks to research and books like this one that showcase how Eisenhower was not as hands off on some of the more momentual issues of his Presidency.

Definitely worth reading.