U.S. Senator (Wisconsin) Joseph McCarthy owned this house when he passed away in 1957. He was elected to the Senate in 1946 and served until his death. McCarthy lead the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations hearings into communist infiltration and subversion in the 1950's. The hearings lead to prison sentences for some and blacklisting in certain industries for others, most famously in the motion picture industry. McCarthy himself was censured by the Senate in 1954 for behavior that was "contrary to senatorial traditions." The hearings were televised beginning in 1954 and captivated the nation.