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. A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy. New York: Free Press. 2005: 11 [1983]. 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. A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy. New York: Free Press. 2005: 17, 28 [1983]. 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. A Conspiracy So Immense: The World of Joe McCarthy. Oxford University Press. 2005: 32 [1983]. ISBN 0-19-515424-X.
Phillips, Steve. 5. Martin Collier, Erica Lewis (编). The Cold War. Heinemann Advanced History. Oxford: Heinemann Educational Publishers. 2001: 65 [2008-12-01]. ISBN 0-435-32736-4.
Collins, Susan and Levin, Carl. Preface(PDF). Executive Sessions of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations. U.S. Government Printing Office. 2003 [2006-12-19]. （原始内容(PDF)存档于2020-05-17）.
The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library. The Wisconsin Blue Book 1940. Wisconsin Blue Books (Madison, WI: State of Wisconsin). 1940 [2015-03-06]. （原始内容存档于2021-02-28）.
Collins, Susan and Levin, Carl. Preface(PDF). Executive Sessions of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations. U.S. Government Printing Office. 2003 [2006-12-19]. （原始内容(PDF)存档于2020-05-17）.
The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library. The Wisconsin Blue Book 1940. Wisconsin Blue Books (Madison, WI: State of Wisconsin). 1940 [2015-03-06]. （原始内容存档于2021-02-28）.
