"A MEETING WITH SENATOR McCARTHY"
Ravenscroft Senior Commons
Periods 2, 5 and 8
Wednesday May 18th and Thursday May 19th
Starring:
VICTORIA YOUNG AS SENATOR JOSEPH McCARTHY
Ryan Johnson AS ROY COHN
DaviD Ruzicka aS THE SENaTOR’S HENcHPERSON
and
STEPHANIE RUSE, LAUREN JANSON and HUNTER BRATTON
as Joseph Welch and his staff
and
MEREDITH GILLESPIE, DIEGO LUND, AND PETER MANGANO
as SENATOR KARL MUNDT, CHAIRMAN AND
Technical Advisor/Creative Consultant/Moderator
OVERVIEW
Thanks to the magic of cryogenics, we at Ravenscroft will have the opportunity to be visited by one of the
most notorious and controversial characters of the twentieth century: Senator Joseph McCarthy (RWisconsin). Despite the passage of fifty years and, well, the end of the Cold War, the Senator remains
convinced that monolithic communism will be the destruction of American society. He has come back to
warn us of the dangers of communism, to answer questions about his career, and to root out any leftleaning godless pinko Leninists in our school. Some of you should be worried.... very worried. But this is
America, and even in Senate hearings, accused people have the right to a defense. And defending the
honor of you and your classmates, just as he defended the honor of Americans back in the Army-McCarthy
hearings will be Mr. Joseph Welch. For every half-baked generalization and accusation the Senator makes,
Mr. Welch will work to undo the damage and prove your innocence. And to ensure fairness, the whole
proceeding will be moderated by Senator Karl Mundt (R-South Dakota). Expect the sparks to fly.
HOW IT WORKS
During the course of the next week or so, your task should you choose to accept it and you must accept it
will be to investigate, conduct research, and gather as much information you can on Senator McCarthy and
the phenomenon of McCarthyism. You will then have two written responsibilities: (1) complete a paper
answering one of the following questions:
 To what extent were the strategies and tactics employed by Joseph McCarthy an appropriate
response to the Communist threat in the United States?
 To what extend did Joseph McCarthy reflect the social, political, economic, and/or cultural
values of the post-war age?
and (2) complete a list of eight or ten good questions you would like to ask the Senator and or Mr. Welch.
After you have completed your written assignments, you will then be called before the Senate Permanent
Sub-Committee on Investigations, chaired by Senator Karl Mundt but dominated by Joseph McCarthy.
Every student will have the opportunity to ask the Senator and Mr. Welch questions, but the Senator will
determine the order in which the questioners will appear.
But just as you will have come to the hearing well prepared, so too will the Senator (portrayed by Victoria
Young) and his staff, including pugnacious little Roy Cohn (portrayed by Ryan Johnson). Not being
saddled with the responsibility of writing a position paper (in fact, no one playing a role in this simulation,
including the Senators, Mr. Welch, and their respective staffs will have any written assignment), the
Senator and his staff will spend their time looking for evidence to prove that the Ravenscroft junior class is
overrun by Communists. Their evidence might be genuine, circumstantial, or just plain made up, so be
ready for anything when your time comes. The Senator will present evidence against no fewer than six
students in all... but that's twenty percent of Mr. Laskowski's AP students! That's a veritable revolution!
Defending the accused will be the famed lawyer Mr. Joseph Welch (portrayed by Stephanie Ruse, Lauren
Janson, and Hunter Bratton). Mr. Welch will examine the evidence, ask questions, and seek to prove that
the accused is a loyal American and that the Senator is out of line. While all of this is happening, the
committee chairman, Senator Karl Mundt (portrayed by the power trio of Meredith Gillespie, Diego Lund
and Peter Mangano) will attempt to keep order and to keep things moving.
Each student, whether accused by McCarthy or not, will have the opportunity to confront the Senator for
about five minutes, asking tough questions or seeking to clarify statements. Make sure that you have your
position paper and your list of questions prepared by Thursday!
TIMETABLE
This Week:
Background Research and Initial Writing
This week we will begin conducting research on the subject. You should begin gathering information,
either from the web or from the numerous books written on the subject of McCarthy. Remember that a
good paper will require a considerable number of good sources. Naturally, you will need to provide a
bibliography and footnotes. During this week, the major role players should be determining who is going to
get targeted, how, and what kind of evidence should be used; they should also begin gathering their
evidence. We will spend a bit of time in the library, but much of the work will have to be done on your
own. Remember, even if you have AP exams, your work will still be due at the same time, so get to work
as soon as you can.
Next Monday and Tuesday:
Research and Writing
This week, we will spend a little bit of time in the library, but the majority of preparation will have to be
done on your own. The major role players complete their "evidence gathering" and establishing the
schedule and setting up the Senior Commons for Wednesday and Thursday’s proceedings. Remember,
papers are due at 12:05 on Thursday!
Wednesday, May 18th: Day One
Today we will meet in the Senior Commons during class time. Also, during lunch, there will be a
Historical Overview session. The Historical Overview is mandatory for all students in both 2nd and 8th
period classes, and it will begin promptly at 12:00, so get your lunch and bring it over. You will need to
turn in your final paper at this time, so be sure to bring an extra copy of your questions for the Senator. The
Chairman will introduce the topic, explaining the need for investigating un-American activities. Then the
Senator will have between five and fifteen minutes to give an overview of his positions, provide
biographical information, and give us a taste of what's to come. Then the Senator will call upon students to
address the committee in the order he chooses. If you are not present when the Senator calls for you to
testify, you will be branded a godless Communist and deported to Cuba (barring illness, you will also get a
zero on the oral portion of your project grade). If the Senator has evidence against you, he may present it
before or after your five-minute question session. As a rule, all students must attend the 5th period meetings
as well as the meetings held during their class time.
Thursday, May 19th: Day Two
Again we meet in the Senior Commons. 2nd Period will meet during 2nd Period, 8th Period will meet during
8th Period, and both classes will meet during the lunch period. The lunch session will begin promptly at
12:00, and students in periods After all the students have had a chance to ask their questions, the Senator
may then make offer any evidence he wishes against Mr. Welch and his staff. Mr. Welch will have an
opportunity to defend himself. At the end of the final period, Senator Mundt will close the meeting, and
we will all go on our way.
GRADING
10
Preparation
Use of class time, quality of research
50
Written Assignment #1: Research Essay
Use of materials, quality of argument, proper documentation, quality of writing
20
Written Assignment #2: Questions for the Senator
Use of materials, sophistication of questions, creativity of questions
20
Oral Assignment: Hearing
Respectful behavior while others are being questioned, quality of questions, originality of
questions and follow-ups, grace under pressure
100
Total Points Possible
WORDS OF WISDOM
“I have here in my hand a list of two hundred and five that were known to the Secretary of State as being
members of the Communist Party and who are nonetheless still working and shaping the foreign policy of
the State Department.”
--Sen. Joseph McCarthy
“I really believe that nothing will be so effective in combating his particular kind of troublemaking as to
ignore him. This he cannot stand.”
--President Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953
"The tragedy of Joe McCarthy isn't that he had so little, but that he had so much and did so little with it...
He was a sometimes brilliant, frequently likeable demagogue who destroyed many a good thing by the
intensity of his hatred for the bad things."
--Leroy Gore
"He was an opportunist who happened to stumble onto an idea. He climbed on a political horse and rode it
to death, his own included."
--Ralph Zwicker
"He was one of the great crusaders of his age. His courage and sincerity in battle against all subversive
elements were great contributions to the protection of our American way of life. History will record him as
one of our outstanding American patriots."
--Styles Bridges
"Joe McCarthy became the center of the century's most scandalous fracas because he had the strength and
the defects of organic innocence."
--William S. Schlamm
"Joe McCarthy--and he was Joe to everyone who knew him--was compounded of many elements. He had
strength. He had great courage. He had daring. Joe McCarthy had a rare quality which enabled him to
touch the hearts and the minds of his fellow men."
--President Lyndon B. Johnson
“McCarthyism is Americanism with its sleeves rolled.”
--Joseph McCarthy
I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER