Joseph Raymond McCarthy was born on a farm in Appleton, Wisconsin on November 14th, 1908. His parents were devout Roman Catholics and McCarthy was the fifth on nine children. After attending the local elementary school, he left school at 14 and worked as a chicken farmer. McCarthy later managed a grocery store in the nearby town of Manawa, where he was considered to be a popular person and the store was quite profitable. He was encouraged by his friends to attend high school and so in 1928, at the age of 20, McCarthy returned to school and completed the normal four-year high school curriculum in one year. He graduated in 1935 from the Marquette University in Milwaukee with a degree in law.
             After graduation, McCarthy set up a law practice in Waupaca, another nearby town. It is reported that McCarthy experienced very little success as a lawyer, only taking four cases in nine months. It is also reported that he supplemented his income through poker games. At that time, he went to work in Shawano for Mike Eberlein. The two worked together for three years until Joseph won the judgeship for the Tenth District of the Wisconsin Circuit Court. McCarthy was originally a supporter of the Democratic Party, but when he failed to become the Democratic Party's candidate for district attorney, he switched his support to the Republican Party. He shocked local officials by fighting a dirty campaign, which included publishing literature that falsely claimed that his opponent Edgar Werner was 73, senile, and implied Werner was guilty of financial corruption. McCarthy's misconduct earned him a reprimand from the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
             McCarthy was exempt from the military draft due to his public position, but in 1941, McCarthy abruptly quit the bench and enlisted in the Marine Corps. During his two years of service as first lieutenant, McCarthy engaged in numerous flying missions, although the majority were training missions...