Angela Brown

During the Great Depression thousands of Americans joined the Communist party.

After WWII most American Communist quit the party.

New Red Scare = pasts came back to haunt them Fears of overthrown government launched an

anti-communist crusade that violated the civil liberties of many.

Government officials launched programs to root out any element of communism

Exposure of a number of spy rings in 1946 increased American anxiety – (Soviet spies gathered info on U.S. nuclear program to advance its own)

Truman established federal employee loyalty program in 1947 – FBI checked files of existing government employees for evidence of suspicious activities – accused went before a Loyalty Review Board

The accusations alone made it hard to clear their names (only a few hundred of millions of employees were removed from jobs)

The House Un-American Activities Committee established in 1938 to investigate disloyalty before WWII

Began a postwar probe of communist infiltration of government agencies and the Hollywood movie industry

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Claimed movies had tremendous power to influence public – stated many filmmakers had communist leanings or had been communist party members

With government encouragement had produced some movies favorable to the Soviet Union during war while Allies.

October 1947 called a number of writers, directors, actors and producers to testify

Committee Chairperson, Rep. J. Parnell Thomas of New Jersey allowed witnesses to make accusations based on rumors and flimsy evidence and then called accused

10 of the accused declined to answer questions – the Hollywood Ten were cited for contempt of Congress and served jail terms of six months to a year.

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The studios compiled a black list – list of people employers agreed not to hire.

Others were added to the list because they seemed subversive or opposed the blacklist.

Studios resisted all films dealing with social problems and concentrated on pure entertainment .

Senator McCarran headed Senate hunt for communist – convinced most disloyal Americans immigrants from communist dominated parts of world.

1952 Congress passed McCarran Walter Act – established a quota system for each country – discriminated against immigrants from Asia, Southern and Central Europe.

Congress passed over President Truman’s veto.

In 1948, HUAC investigated Alger Hiss – high ranking State Department Official

Whittaker Chambers, a former communist and Time magazine editor accused Hiss of being a communist in the 1930s and a Soviet spy.

Hiss denied charge and sued Chambers for slander.

After two trials, Hiss was convicted of perjury for lying in the slander case.

1950 sentenced to four years in prison.

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Julius and Ethel Rosenberg – members of communist party were accused of passing atomic secrets to Soviets

Convicted of espionage and executed in 1953 Both cases inflamed anti-communist passions and

focused on a possible internal threat to the nation’s security.

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Work by historians in once classified American records and in secret soviet records opened at the end of the cold war indicate that both Alger Hiss and Julius Rosenberg were guilty.

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Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin held a press conference and claimed a list of 205 known communist were currently in the State Department.

List was nothing more than names of those accused of disloyalty under Truman’s federal employee loyalty program – reduced number to 57 when pushed.

Attacked former Secretary of State George Marshall

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1954 charged army full of communists Army officials charged McCarthy with

seeking special treatment for an aide who had been drafted.

The Army’s McCarthy hearings in late 1954- democrats ask for hearing to be televised to expose McCarthy to public.

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Most Americans horrified by McCarthy’s bullying tactics and baseless allegations.

End of hearing had lost all supporters, condemned by senate for reckless actions – remained in Senate but died three years later a broken man.

2nd red scare subsided but nation damaged by era’s suppression of free speech.

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Murrow sought to expose McCarthy to the United States at considerable risk to his own career.CBS newscaster

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Arthur Miller – Mirrored McCarthy’s crusade in the Crucible.

It dramatization of Salem Witch trials; Miller was a target of HUAC hearing.

Crucible was poorly received in 1953 Broadway opening.

Today its Miller’s most powerful frequently produced play.

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