At the end of World War II the United States and Soviet Union became involved in a series of largely politcal and economic clashes known as the Cold War. THe rivalry between the two raised concerns in the United States that Communists an leftist sympatizers inside America might work as SOviet spies and pose a huge threat to the United States security. On March 21, 1947, President Truman issud Executive Order 9835, which was also known as the Loyalty Order, madated that all federal employees to be analyzed to determine whether they were loyal to the government. The House Un-American Activities Committee was formed in 1938 and was used for investigations frequently focused on exposing Communists working inside federal government or other subversive elements working in the Hollywood film industry. The committee gained better momentum following World War II. Thats when the Cold War began. Movie executives created blacklists that turned away suspected radicals from employment. There were other industries that also created their own blacklist to turn away radicals. …show more content…
McCarthy became an anticommunist crusader. McCarthy used intimidation and hearsay to make himself as powerful and feared figure in American politics. J. Edgar Hoover, who was the director of the Federal Bearu of Investigations, helped many of the legislative investigations of the communist activities. J. Edgar Hoover's agency compiled many files on suspected subversives through the use of wiretaps, surveillance and the infiltration of leftist groups. The information that the FBI aquired proved essential in high-profile legal cases. In 1949, they convicted 12 leaders of the American Communist Party on charges that they were going to try and overthrow the
Formed in 1938 allowed The Speaker of the House to appoint a special committee made of seven members for the purpose of conducting investigations. The Committee conducted investigations on the un-American propaganda in the United States also the un-American propaganda that originates from foreign countries and attacks the principle of American capitalistic ways and the free society guaranteed by the Constitution. In October 1947, more than 40 people that had connections to the movie industry were given subpoenas to appear before The House Un-American Activities Committee on suspicion of having communist ties or being involved in “subversive activities”. During the hearings, members of The House Un-American Activities Committee grilled the witnesses about their past and present connections with Communist. The witnesses knew that their answers would ruin their reputation and career so most of the witnesses sought leniency by working with investigators or they would not speak and use their Fifth Amendment right.
During the Second Red Scare in the United States, a congressional committee was formed known as the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). This group carried the sole purpose of looking into and eliminating pro-communist activities in the movie and film industry, the government, companies, and organizations. Similar to McCarthyism, it made accusations against hundreds without any legal evidence or proof. The party also attacked those who opposed their political views in government. “Furthermore, the hearings routinely punished liberals and leftists who
Senator Joseph McCarthy was the face of the Red Scare, accusing many for being communist. He grew with great power in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s He would go after the people in the State department. Not only would he go after the state department, but he would go after the US Army and started interrogating soldiers and accusing them of being communist. The Hollywood Film industry was also heavily targeted accusing many actors, writers, and producers.
In the 1940 's and 1950 's, an anti-Communist movement swept the United States of America. Fueled by the anti-Communist actions of Congress, particularly a Senator from Wisconsin by the name of Joseph McCarthy, the movement escalated and many people lost their jobs as a result of various blacklists. Congressional hearings, both in front of HUAC and McCarthy Senate committee were a study in organized persecution. The actions taken during the "Red Scare" were eventually given the general name McCarthyism. McCarthyism is the practice of making accusations of subversion or treason without proper regard for evidence.
The House of Representatives voted 346 to 17 to charge the Hollywood Ten with contempt of Congress. They were then sent to prison for 1 year in prison, $1,000 fines, and they were blacklisted in front of the general public. During the beginning of the prison term Edward Dmytryk broke and gave the names of 26 communists. He was released from jail. The blacklist then slowly grew until about 500 names were on the list.
Imagine the wicked House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) arrest an innocent man. The HUAC does not arrest the man because he has committed a murder, but because he is a communist. Many communists became victims of HUAC in the Red Scare crisis of the 1950s. These communists made the right decision to speak out for their freedom and against injustice. These communists also spoke out for their freedom of different beliefs.
Fresh off the tail of the hellish nightmare that was WWII, Americans were expecting unprecedented national unity and safety, but they would soon come to find the exact opposite. Following the American defeat of fascism, they quickly set their sights on a new evil ideology, communism. The United States and the Soviet Union quickly devolved into a cold war, which, if either side was pushed too far, could end with the annihilation of the human race as a whole. Stateside, communist paranoia was rampant and many were quick to point fingers at people they suspected of being communist spies. The most infamous finger-pointer of the time was Wisconsin Republic Senator Joseph McCarthy.
This is a prime example of the repercussions of the numerous and baseless accusations made by The House Un-American Activities Committee reaction to the fear of the rise of the Communist Party. Since everybody was considered a suspect by their neighbors and friends, mass suspicion and mistrust arose within America and led to fragmentations in the bonds of friendship between the people. These fragmentations later evolved into accusations from which one was called to the stand in order to prove their innocence. More often than not these names would be of people who many years ago had attended an event vaguely related to Communism or had nothing connecting it at all, but since they were called to the stand the only way to save themselves would be to supply other names to the court. These actions would only continue the cycle of accusations and hysteria within society; resulting in more and more of society becoming affected by the spreading
Under pressure from the Comintern, however, the party broke off relations with both groups in 1924. As far back as 1848, when Karl Marx published the Communist Manifesto, many Americans viewed communism as an alien ideology. His reign of terror came to an end in 1954, when the news media revealed his unethical tactics and he was censured by his colleagues in Congress. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, HUAC’s relevance was in decline, and in 1969, it was renamed the Committee on Internal Security. The suggestion that Communist agents had infiltrated senior levels of the U.S.
People thought that because the Russian czar had been overthrown and executed by strikes that the labor unions of America were being taken over by Communist immigrants with the same goal in mind. Soon, people became obsessed with the Communistic threat coming from Russia following World War II which led to violence and disregard of civil liberties. “The U.S. government, mainly the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) led by Democratic congressman Martin Dies, Jr., had launched an investigation designed to target suspected Communist Party members in all areas of life, including government, educational institutions, labor unions, and the entertainment industry. The repression engendered a climate of fear throughout the country, as people were afraid to speak out as the accused found their names on blacklists, which hindered their employability and ruined many lives.” (Travino, Marcella Bush. "
In 1949, the Democrats regained the majority in the Congress; however, it had not much influence on the implementation of Truman’s policy. Fellow party members agreed with the need to extend the existing programs of the New Deal, but they were strongly braking the establishing of government’s control in other spheres of the American life. Another sticking point in their relationships was the communist activity in the United States. In 1950, the Congress passed the Internal Security Act, known as McCarran-Wood Act, which was directed against the Communist Party. It warranted the establishment of special department for control over subversive activities, and for identifying persons who might be the members of communist or fascist organizations aiming to install total dictatorship in the US.
There were several different groups of people that were thought to be communists during these trial. One of the largest groups of people that were thought to be communist allies, were homosexuals. The government's reasoning for this was they believed they could be blackmailed easily because of their sexaulity, and let out secret infromation. This made it hard for them to get any kind of job for decades. Another group of people that were challenges were the movie directors and writers of hollywood.
Imagine the wicked House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) arrest an innocent man. The HUAC does not arrest the man because he has committed a murder, but because he is a communist. This horrendous crime was a routine in the Red Scare crisis of the 1950s. Since this situation involves one's rights to be in threat, the man should speak out for his freedom. Many communists in America made the right decision to speak out for their freedom during the period of the McCarthy “witch” hunts.
In addition, this organization was established around 1938 and this origination was established because of the red scare and the overwhelming fear of communism spreading to the west. The primary Purpose of H.U.A.C.( House Un-American Activities Committee) was to investigate communistic influences and put an end to it. A common question most people would hear, if they were interrogated by of H.U.A.C was, " Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communistic Party? " This origination would go around excusing a lot of people being Communists or communist sympathizers, many of these people were even communist or communist sympathizers. The H.U.A.C was known for running carriers one of these carriers was Arthur Miler.
They also believed that movies and television shows were attempting to get Americans to support communism by using propaganda. Screenwriters, musicians, actors, directors, and other entertainment professionals were subpoenaed by the HUAC because of their suspected political beliefs or associations. If they rejected answering questions in investigations by “pleading the Fifth”, they were blacklisted. When someone in Hollywood was blacklisted they were denied employment and banned from work. Nobody wanted to employ anyone who was suspected of being affiliated with the communist party.