Charles McCarthy

Charles McCarthy (June 29, 1873 – March 26, 1921) was an American political scientist, public administrator, Progressive reformer, and briefly, a college football coach. He is credited with founding the first legislative reference library in the United States. McCarthy was active in policy formation, with special interests in agricultural cooperatives and adult and vocational education. He authored The Wisconsin Idea, a summary of Progressive philosophy and thinking.

Early years McCarthy was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, to John McCarthy, an engine tender in a shoe-factory, and his wife, Katherine O’Shea Desmond, who kept a boarding house. He was the only one of their three children to survive childhood. While at sea, he read the books available in the ship's library, obtaining the equivalent of a high school education.

Eager to obtain more education, he tried to enter Brown University, but was denied admission. After appealing directly to the president of the university, his entrance to the school was arranged. Although the position was designed to provide legislators with reference materials, McCarthy ultimately expanded its scope to include researching legislation from around the world and drafting legislation. He was interested in improving lawmaking from what he saw as a chaotic process largely controlled by lobbyists and called for political and economic reforms that would facilitate "the betterment, the efficiency and the welfare of each individual."

Progressivism One of McCarthy's ideals was that the law should embody the public will. During World War I, when Herbert Hoover became head of the U.S. Food Administration, McCarthy became his chief aide. A bronze plaque of McCarthy was placed in the assembly chamber of the capitol.

Works The Antimasonic Party: A Study of Political Antimasonry in the United States, 1827-1840. 1901. The Wisconsin Idea. New York: Macmillan, 1912.

Head coaching record