Join us for a riveting book talk presented by author Rodger McDaniel on the tragic story of Wyoming Senator Lester Hunt.
Lester Hunt was the kind of person we’d all want to be a part of our government. Kind and empathetic, decent, honest and hardworking. Though a Democrat in a deeply Red state, Hunt never lost an election. He served in the state legislature, as Secretary of State and Governor before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1948. Hunt was easily the most popular politician in Wyoming.
However, as one of his eulogists said, Lester Hunt was “ill-prepared for the cruel, brutal, rough aspect of national partisan politics.” Soon after arriving in Washington, he had a confrontation with Senator Joe McCarthy that would eventually contribute to the destruction of both men.
“Joe McCarthy’s Cold War witch-hunts targeted people with same-sex attractions as much, maybe more than those with Communist sympathies.” This introduction to Rodger’s book sets the stage for a story of the most wretched political blackmail in American history. It led to Hunt taking his own life in his Senate office in 1954. It was largely hidden from history until Rodger’s book told the tragic story. While Hunt’s death was tragic enough, readers will find even more about which to lament upon learning of his extraordinary life.
“Dying for Joe McCarthy’s Sins” is not only Lester Hunt’s story. It’s the story of America during the virulent years of the early Cold War, of McCarthyism, and how the voluntary death of a Wyoming senator helped to bring the curtain down on Joe McCarthy’s act.
Like all USCHS programs, this webinar is free and open to the public; registration is required.
