In A Conspiracy So Immense, Oshinsky states that McCarthy chose Marquette University rather than the University of Wisconsin–Madison partially because Marquette was under Catholic control and partially because he enrolled during the Great Depression, when few working-class or farm-bred students had the money to go out of state for college. See Oshinsky, David M. Free Press. A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy, 2005, p. 11. ISBN 0-19-515424-X.
Oshinsky explains this (p. 17) as resulting partially from the financial pressures of the Great Depression. He also notes (p. 28) that even during his judgeship, McCarthy was known to have gambled heavily after hours. Oshinsky, David M. Free Press. A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy, 2005, p. 17, 28. ISBN 0-19-515424-X.
Oshinsky describes the nickname "Tail-Gunner Joe" as the result of McCarthy's wish to break the record for most live ammunition discharged in a single mission.Oshinsky, David M. Oxford University Press. A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy, 2005, p. 32. ISBN 0-19-515424-X.
Mundt, Karl, Chairman «Testimony of Hon. Joseph R. McCarthy, a United States Senator from the State of Wisconsin». Special Senate Investigation on Charges Involving: Secretary of the Army Robert T. Stevens, John G. Adams, H. Struve Hensel and Senator Joe McCarthy, Roy M. Cohn and Francis P. Carr. U.S. Government Printing Office [Washington, DC], 17-06-1954, pàg. 2888.
; Bradbury, Ray; Campbell, John W.«Ticket to the Moon (tribute to SciFi)» (mp3). NBC Radio News, 04-12-1956. Arxivat de l'original el 9 de febrer de 2021. [Consulta: 2 febrer 2017].
The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library «The Wisconsin Blue Book». Wisconsin Blue Books. State of Wisconsin, 1940. Arxivat de l'original el 28 de febrer de 2021 [Consulta: 25 novembre 2013].
; Bradbury, Ray; Campbell, John W.«Ticket to the Moon (tribute to SciFi)» (mp3). NBC Radio News, 04-12-1956. Arxivat de l'original el 9 de febrer de 2021. [Consulta: 2 febrer 2017].
The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library «The Wisconsin Blue Book». Wisconsin Blue Books. State of Wisconsin, 1940. Arxivat de l'original el 28 de febrer de 2021 [Consulta: 25 novembre 2013].