Charles McCarthy (June 29, 1873 – March 26, 1921) was an American political scientist, public administrator, Progressive reformer, and briefly, a college football coach.

[4] McCarthy lacked the funds to pay for school, so he financed his education by working as a scene shifter and painter in theaters in Providence.

[6] He was interested in improving lawmaking from what he saw as a chaotic process largely controlled by lobbyists[2][6] to a systematic one that produced well-crafted legislation that could both survive court challenge and serve as a model for other states and the federal government.

In it, he decried the "corrupting influences of the concentrated wealth"[7] and called for political and economic reforms that would facilitate "the betterment, the efficiency and the welfare of each individual.

"[7] To accomplish this, McCarthy advocated the development of a science of public administration so that governments could be run with the same efficiency as businesses.

Other ideas described in the book include the direct accountability of politicians and government administrators to the electorate; the regulation of business, including railroads, utilities, stocks and bonds, insurance, and banking, for the public good; and the provision of service by public universities to the state via university extensions and adult education.

[7] In his introduction to the book, Theodore Roosevelt wrote: As Professor Simon N. Patten says: "Without means of attainment and measures of result an ideal becomes meaningless.

Mr. McCarthy's purpose is to impress not only every real reformer, but every capable politician, with the fact that the people are more concerned about "good works" than about "faith.

Many of the reforms he advocated were embodied in the platform of Theodore Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party, which McCarthy helped draft.

[1][6] Focused on removing corruption from politics and waste and inefficiency from government, the platform advocated the recall of judicial decisions, easier amendment of the Constitution, and women's suffrage as means to accomplish this.

In addition to his work with the Wisconsin legislature, McCarthy was an advisor to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, William H. Taft, and Woodrow Wilson.