Ann Whitman Recounts Events Leading to McCarthy’s Break with the Eisenhower Administration (1954)

Date: December 7, 1954

Created By: Ann Whitman

Original or Replica: Original

Era: McCarthyism and the Red Scare, The Presidency

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Papers as President, Administration Series, Box 25, McCarthy Letters; NAID #16702984

In this December 7, 1954 memorandum, President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s personal secretary Ann Whitman records events surrounding the administration’s public praise of Senator Arthur Watkins and the resulting controversy with Senator Joseph McCarthy. Following the Senate’s censure proceedings against McCarthy, presidential adviser Sherman Adams told Whitman that Senator Prescott Bush believed Watkins deserved recognition for successfully handling the difficult censure effort. Whitman suggested that Eisenhower invite Watkins to an upcoming stag dinner, but Attorney General Herbert Brownell Jr. cautioned that such an invitation might draw too much attention. Instead, Eisenhower arranged a private White House meeting with Watkins.

During the meeting, Eisenhower personally praised Watkins for the way he had handled the censure proceedings. Press Secretary James Hagerty subsequently described the meeting to reporters, resulting in prominent newspaper coverage and photographs of Watkins at the White House. Eisenhower later told Hagerty that he had not expected his private remarks to become public, although Whitman records her impression that the president was not particularly displeased with the publicity.

Whitman concludes by noting that the matter remained there until December 7, when McCarthy made his “famous break” with Eisenhower. The memorandum provides a revealing behind-the-scenes account of White House handling of the McCarthy controversy and illustrates the administration’s delicate efforts to distance itself from McCarthy while recognizing those responsible for his Senate censure.