Pat
McCarran was
born in Reno, Nevada on 8th August, 1876. After graduating from the
University of Nevada he worked in farming. In 1903 he became a member
of the State legislature and after studying for a law degree he eventually
became district attorney of Nye County (1907-09).
McCarran was also Nevada Chief Justice (1917-18), chairman of the
Nevada State Board of Parole Commissioners (1913-18) and chairman
of the Nevada State Board of Bar Examiners (1919-32). A member of
the Democratic Party, McCarran, after
two unsuccessful bids in 1916 and 1926, was elected the U. S. Senate
in 1932.
After the Second World War McCarran established
himself as the Senate's most powerful anti-Communist. was the chairman
of the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee that investigated the
administrations headed by Franklin D.
Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman. In
September 1950 he was the chief sponsor of the Internal
Security Act. This legislation required registration with the
Attorney General of the American Communist
Party and affiliated organizations.
In June, 1952, McCarran joined Francis Walter
in instigating the passing of the McCarran-Walter
Act that imposed more rigid restrictions on entry quotas to the
United States. It also stiffened the existing law relating to the
admission, exclusion and deportation of dangerous aliens defined by
the Internal Security Act. Pat
McCarran
remained in the Senate until his death in Hawthorne, Nevada, on 28th
September, 1954.
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