For the Republican Party in the 1940s and 1950s, the only means of attacking the Democrats was by inflating the fear of communism and accusing their rivals of treason. In 1951, following the dismissal of General Douglas MacArthur for challenging the authority of President Truman, Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin used the end of MacArthur's career to boost his own, and to suggest that it was the result of 'treason'.

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