Westbrook Pegler

Westbrook Pegler is a right-wing journalist in the book’s biographical reference material, identified by his newspaper column, his attacks on the Roosevelts and the New Deal, and his open hostility toward Jews. His profile links popular political commentary to a wider current of anti-Jewish agitation and to later anti-Communist investigations.

Identity and Career

Pegler’s column, “As Pegler Sees It,” appeared in William Randolph Hearst’s newspapers from 1944 to 1962. In 1941, he won a Pulitzer Prize for exposing labor racketeering. The entry thus places him both in mass-circulation journalism and in a public career recognized for investigative reporting.

Political Views and Associations

Pegler was a fierce critic of the Roosevelts and the New Deal, which he characterized as Communist-inspired. The reference entry also explicitly describes him as openly hostile toward Jews, distinguishing that hostility from his broader opposition to Roosevelt-era politics. He later became a close supporter and friend of Joseph McCarthy and an adviser to McCarthy’s investigating committee, carrying his influence from newspaper commentary into political investigation.

Place in the Narrative

Pegler’s profile appears among the book’s biographical entries rather than as a character with a developed sequence of scenes or a narrated personal arc. Its compact chronology connects his 1941 recognition, decades-long newspaper presence, and later alliance with McCarthy. Together, these details situate him as a figure through whom the reference material records the persistence of right-wing journalism, antisemitism, and anti-New Deal politics across changing political campaigns.