DOCSLIB.ORG

Reactions of Congress to the Alger Hiss Case, 1948-1960

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Reactions of Congress to the Alger Hiss Case, 1948-1960 Soviet Spies and the Fear of Communism in America Reactions of Congress to the Alger Hiss Case, 1948-1960 Mémoire Brigitte Rainville Maîtrise en histoire Maître ès arts (M.A.) Québec, Canada © Brigitte Rainville, 2013 Résumé Le but de ce mémoire est de mettre en évidence la réaction des membres du Congrès des États-Unis dans le cadre de l'affaire Alger Hiss de 1948 à 1960. Selon notre source principale, le Congressional Record, nous avons pu faire ressortir les divergences d'opinions qui existaient entre les partisans des partis démocrate et républicain. En ce qui concerne les démocrates du Nord, nous avons établi leur tendance à nier le fait de l'infiltration soviétique dans le département d'État américain. De leur côté, les républicains ont profité du cas de Hiss pour démontrer l'incompétence du président Truman dans la gestion des affaires d'État. Il est intéressant de noter que, à la suite de l'avènement du républicain Dwight D. Eisenhower à la présidence en 1953, un changement marqué d'opinions quant à l'affaire Hiss s'opère ainsi que l'attitude des deux partis envers le communisme. Les démocrates, en fait, se mettent à accuser l'administration en place d'inaptitude dans l'éradication des espions et des communistes. En ayant recours à une stratégie similaire à celle utilisée par les républicains à l'époque Truman, ceux-ci n'entachent toutefois guère la réputation d'Eisenhower. Nous terminons en montrant que le nom d'Alger Hiss, vers la fin de la présidence Eisenhower, s'avère le symbole de la corruption soviétique et de l'espionnage durant cette période marquante de la Guerre Froide. iii Abstract This masters thesis examines the reactions of members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to the Alger Hiss case starting in 1948 until the end of 1960. Through analysis of the Congressional Record, a striking contrast in political opinions emerged. While Northern Democrats denied the possibility of Soviet infiltration during the HUAC hearings, Republican‟s used the Hiss scandal to demoralize the Truman administration. The election of Dwight D. Eisenhower to the presidency in 1952 changed the way both parties reacted to the communist issue and the repercussions of the Hiss case. Whereas Democrats had previously contradicted accusations of Soviet espionage in the State Department, they began criticizing the Republican administration of being soft on communism in an attempt to recreate the same atmosphere of distrust that had plagued Truman‟s time in office. By the end of Eisenhower‟s presidency in 1961, Alger Hiss‟ name came to represent Soviet espionage of the Cold War era. v Table of Contents Résumé ............................................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ................................................................................................................................................v Table of Contents .............................................................................................................................. vii Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................................. xi Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................1 CHAPTER 1-A Traitor in their Midst: Hiss, Chambers and the Conspiracy Revealed to the House Un-American Activities Committee, 1948 .........................................................................................19 The path towards communism: Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers ...........................................21 1.1-House of Representatives .........................................................................................................27 1.1.1-Democrats .........................................................................................................................27 1.1.2-Republicans .......................................................................................................................35 1.2-Senate .......................................................................................................................................38 1.2.1-Democrats .........................................................................................................................38 1.2.2-Republicans .......................................................................................................................40 CHAPTER 2-Seeing Red: Congressional Reactions to the Infamous Hiss Perjury Trials, May 1949- January 1950 ......................................................................................................................................45 2.1-House of Representatives .........................................................................................................45 2.1.1-Democrats .........................................................................................................................46 2.1.2-Republicans .......................................................................................................................49 2.2-Senate .......................................................................................................................................63 2.2.1-Democrats .........................................................................................................................64 2.2.2-Republicans .......................................................................................................................65 CHAPTER 3-Alger Hiss, the New Benedict Arnold: His Evolution from State Department Red Spy to Symbol of Cold War Treachery, 1950-1960 ..................................................................................71 3.1-House of Representatives .........................................................................................................72 3.1.1-Democrats .........................................................................................................................72 3.1.2-Republicans .......................................................................................................................83 3.2-Senate .....................................................................................................................................104 3.2.1-Democrats .......................................................................................................................105 3.2.2-Republicans .....................................................................................................................109 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................123 Bibliography .....................................................................................................................................129 vii In loving memory of my grandfather Earl Larocque. Your strength will always be an inspiration. ix Acknowledgments First, I would like to thank my supervisor Bernard Lemelin for his invaluable insight, suggestions and encouragement throughout this process. Thank you to my parents, Gilles and Colette and to my siblings, Amélie and Joey. Your support and long distance phone calls kept me connected to home from so far away. Thank you to my best friends, Breigh and Karah. Though we may not see one another often, our enduring friendship means everything to me. Finally, a big thank you to Louis, whose humor and boundless support these last few years made accomplishing this goal that much easier. This journey would not have been as enjoyable without you. Je t‟aime. xi Introduction Anti-communist sentiment ran rampant in the United States during the years of the Cold War. This „anti-red‟ hysteria was the product of both internal fears and external struggles such as the nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union, the Berlin blockade and the Cuban missile crisis. Nonetheless, the abhorrence of socialist principles in the U.S. can also be explained by the subversive activity of Communist party members. Several „red‟ spies succeeded in attaining prominent government positions for the sole purpose of stealing classified intelligence. Well-known agents include Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed for sending atomic secrets to the Soviet Union1, Elizabeth Bentley, who defected from the communist underground and supplied information to the American authorities2, as well as Judith Coplon, a Department of Justice employee suspected on several occasions of transferring restricted material to a Soviet contact.3 Similar to the notoriety of the Rosenberg case, the perjury trials of ex-State Department official and New Deal lawyer Alger Hiss forced Americans to rethink their preconceived notions of „red‟ spies. His extensive career was put into question after he was publicly accused in 1948 of subversive activity for the Communist party based in Washington. His accuser, Whittaker Chambers, had been a member of the same covert organization, conducting courier duties between sources and his superiors, only to leave in the late 1930‟s once he realized his principles no longer aligned with the party‟s objectives. Allen Weinstein and Alexander Vassiliev‟s The Haunted Wood: Soviet Espionage in America-The Stalin Era recounts that Chambers began collecting stolen documents from his informants before his break in order to use as insurance to
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Shameful Years; Thirty Years of Soviet Espionage in the United States
    tWpQopgpQQca KBgaaaaeesfift '*>.••• v .-... .,'•-•.. !>' -.: : ',••'".. i : '."'.,•..•./. '•;•"..•.. ^ >> - : .• . I __ r^ * Given By ' t ' ^ \ M ry/ Union Calendar No. 398 8 2d Congress, 2d Session House Report No. 1229 THE SHAMEFUL YEARS THIRTY YEARS OF SOVIET ESPIONAGE IN THE UNITED STATES DECEMBER 30, 1951 (Date of original release) JANUARY 8, 1952.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed. Prepared and released by the COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES, U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES WASHINGTON, e/.C. UNITED STATES <* GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE nr S WASHINGTON : 1952 * \ 22?J f /f/5P. ' AfVvi^~* COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES United States House of Representatives JOHN S. WOOD, Georgia, Chairman FRANCIS E. WALTER, Pennsylvania HAROLD H. VELDE, Illinois MORGAN M. MOULDER, Missouri BERNARD W. KEARNEY, New York CLYDE DOYLE, California DONALD L. JACKSON, California JAMES B. FRAZIER, Jr., Tennessee CHARLES E. POTTER, Michigan Frank S. Tavenner, Jr., Counsel Lodis J. Russell, Senior Investigator . John W. Carrington, Clerk of Committee Raphael I. Nixon, Director of Research II CONTENTS Page Foreword 1 Introduction 3 Soviet espionage activities in the United States between World War I and World War II: Ludwig Martens 5 Amtorg Trading Corp 5 Nicholas Dozenberg 7 Albert Feierabend 11 Moische Stern 11 Corp. Robert Osman 12 Valentine Gregory Burtan 13 Gaik Badalovich Ovakimian 13 Mikhail Nikolaevich Gorin 19 The Far Eastern Fur Trading Co 20 Soviet espionage in the United States During World War II 22 Soviet Government Purchasing Commission 22 The Canadian spy case 24 Ignacy Witczak 25 Vassili M. Zubilin 28 Steve Nelson 29 The Nelson-Zubilin meeting : 30 • Nelson-Weinberg 31 Arthur Alexandre vich Adams 32 .
    [Show full text]
  • 1 MWF 10:30-11:30 Fall, 2014 Swarthmore College Department Of
    MWF 10:30-11:30 Fall, 2014 Swarthmore College Department of History Professor M. Murphy History 45 History Department 211 Trotter email: mmurphy1 Ext. 8091 Office Hours: Wed 2-4 History 45: America Since 1945 This course is a survey of social, political and cultural history of the United States since 1945. Topics include: The Cold War, McCarthyism, Civil Rights, Rock n’ Roll, TV, Baby Boomers, JFK, Gender, LBJ, the Viet Nam War, Nixon and Watergate, The Oil Crisis, The rise of the New Right, Ronald Reagan, George Bush I & II; Bill Clinton, 911, the Iraqi War. We will use the presidencies to help generalize the political climate, discuss the sensibility of each era and select some cultural and social events. The entire era is heavily documented with film of actual events, especially the Atom Bomb, McCarthyism, Civil Rights, the Vietnam War, Ronald Reagan, and the Gulf War, the Election of 2000. We will view portions of these documentaries in class and you are urged to finish viewing them in the library. Papers: There are four written assignments in the class: first a 7 page essay on McCarthyism based on the Ellen Schrecker documents and readings in class; then a mid-term which consists of one essay and ten identifications; Third the analysis of a set of documents on 9/11, 7-10pp.; fourth a final examination consisting of two essay questions and ten identifications. No late papers will be accepted for any reason. Ample time has been provided for the completion of these essays on the due date. Requirements: Reading the weekly reading material, preparing carefully for class and participation in class discussions are also part of the requirement.
    [Show full text]
  • H-Diplo Article Roundtable Review, Vol. X, No. 24
    2009 h-diplo H-Diplo Article Roundtable Roundtable Editors: Thomas Maddux and Diane Labrosse Roundtable Web Editor: George Fujii Review Introduction by Thomas Maddux www.h-net.org/~diplo/roundtables Reviewers: Bruce Craig, Ronald Radosh, Katherine A.S. Volume X, No. 24 (2009) Sibley, G. Edward White 17 July 2009 Response by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr Journal of Cold War Studies 11.3 (Summer 2009) Special Issue: Soviet Espoinage in the United States during the Stalin Era (with articles by John Earl Haynes and Harvey Klehr; Eduard Mark; Gregg Herken; Steven T. Usdin; Max Holland; and John F. Fox, Jr.) http://www.mitpressjournals.org/toc/jcws/11/3 Stable URL: http://www.h-net.org/~diplo/roundtables/PDF/Roundtable-X-24.pdf Contents Introduction by Thomas Maddux, California State University, Northridge.............................. 2 Review by Bruce Craig, University of Prince Edward Island ..................................................... 8 Review by Ronald Radosh, Emeritus, City University of New York ........................................ 16 Review by Katherine A.S. Sibley, St. Josephs University ......................................................... 18 Review by G. Edward White, University of Virginia School of Law ........................................ 23 Author’s Response by John Earl Haynes, Library of Congress, and Harvey Klehr, Emory University ................................................................................................................................ 27 Copyright © 2009 H-Net: Humanities and Social Sciences Online. H-Net permits the redistribution and reprinting of this work for non-profit, educational purposes, with full and accurate attribution to the author(s), web location, date of publication, H-Diplo, and H-Net: Humanities & Social Sciences Online. For other uses, contact the H-Diplo editorial staff at [email protected]. H-Diplo Roundtable Reviews, Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Biographyelizabethbentley.Pdf
    Tseng 2003.10.24 14:06 6655 Olmsted / RED SPY QUEEN / sheet 1 of 284 QUEEN RED SPY Tseng 2003.10.24 14:06 6655 Olmsted / RED SPY QUEEN / sheet 2 of 284 3 of 284 6655 Olmsted / RED SPY QUEEN / sheet RED SPY QUEEN A Biography of ELIZABETH BENTLEY Kathryn S.Olmsted The University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill and London Tseng 2003.10.24 14:06 4 of 284 © 2002 6655 Olmsted / RED SPY QUEEN / sheet The University of North Carolina Press All rights reserved Set in Charter, Champion, and Justlefthand types by Tseng Information Systems, Inc. Manufactured in the United States of America The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Olmsted, Kathryn S. Red spy queen : a biography of Elizabeth Bentley / by Kathryn S. Olmsted. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 0-8078-2739-8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Bentley, Elizabeth. 2. Women communists—United States—Biography. 3. Communism—United States— 1917– 4. Intelligence service—Soviet Union. 5. Espionage—Soviet Union. 6. Informers—United States—Biography. I. Title. hx84.b384 o45 2002 327.1247073'092—dc21 2002002824 0605040302 54321 Tseng 2003.10.24 14:06 5 of 284 To 6655 Olmsted / RED SPY QUEEN / sheet my mother, Joane, and the memory of my father, Alvin Olmsted Tseng 2003.10.24 14:06 Tseng 2003.10.24 14:06 6655 Olmsted / RED SPY QUEEN / sheet 6 of 284 7 of 284 Contents Preface ix 6655 Olmsted / RED SPY QUEEN / sheet Acknowledgments xiii Chapter 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Letter from Senator Joseph Mccarthy to the President of the United States
    Letter from Senator Joseph McCarthy to the President of the United States This letter from Senator Joseph McCarthy, Republican representative of Wisconsin, to President Harry Truman was written three days after McCarthy’s famous Wheeling Speech. This speech signaled McCarthy’s rise to influence, as he gained national attention by producing a piece of paper on which he claimed he had listed the names of 205 members of the Communist Party working secretly in the U.S. State Department. McCarthy was, at the time of this letter, beginning to exploit national concerns about Communist infiltration during the Cold War. This fear of infiltration was intensified by the Soviet Union’s recent development of the atomic bomb and the coming Communist takeover of China. “McCarthyism” however was not yet at its peak. Senator McCarthy here at first encourages President Truman to commit more resources to the war of containment being fought in South Korea, and secondly questioned the legitimacy and effectiveness of Truman’s loyalty program, signed into effect by Executive Order 9835 in 1947. This program required the FBI to run checks on almost anyone involved in the U.S. government and subsequently to launch investigations into any government employee with what could be presumed as questionable political associations. The Loyalty Program was not enough to satisfy Senator McCarthy, who suspected that a number of subversives had slipped through the investigation and remained in the State Department. President Truman made it clear that he would not take McCarthy’s accusations seriously and that the Senator was “the best asset the Kremlin has.”109 July 12, 1950 The President The White House Washington, D.
    [Show full text]
  • Courses Taught at Both the Undergraduate and the Postgraduate Levels
    Jadavpur University Faculty of Arts Department of History SYLLABUS Preface The Department of History, Jadavpur University, was born in August 1956 because of the Special Importance Attached to History by the National Council of Education. The necessity for reconstructing the history of humankind with special reference to India‘s glorious past was highlighted by the National Council in keeping with the traditions of this organization. The subsequent history of the Department shows that this centre of historical studies has played an important role in many areas of historical knowledge and fundamental research. As one of the best centres of historical studies in the country, the Department updates and revises its syllabi at regular intervals. It was revised last in 2008 and is again being revised in 2011.The syllabi that feature in this booklet have been updated recently in keeping with the guidelines mentioned in the booklet circulated by the UGC on ‗Model Curriculum‘. The course contents of a number of papers at both the Undergraduate and Postgraduate levels have been restructured to incorporate recent developments - political and economic - of many regions or countries as well as the trends in recent historiography. To cite just a single instance, as part of this endeavour, the Department now offers new special papers like ‗Social History of Modern India‘ and ‗History of Science and Technology‘ at the Postgraduate level. The Department is the first in Eastern India and among the few in the country, to introduce a full-scale specialization on the ‗Social History of Science and Technology‘. The Department recently qualified for SAP.
    [Show full text]
  • Flynn,John T.- While You Slept (PDF)
    While You Slept Other Books by John T. Flynn THE ROOSEVELT MYTH THE ROAD AHEAD: AMERICA'S CREEPING REVOLUTION While You Slept OUR TRAGEDY IN ASIA AND WHO MADE IT by JOHN T. FLYNN THE DEVIN-ADAIR COMPANY New York · 1951 Copyright 1951 by John T. Flynn. All rights reserved. Permission to reprint material from this book must be obtained in writing from the publisher. For information write: The Devin-Adair Company, 23 East 26th St., New York 10, N. Y. First Printing, November 1951 Second Printing, November 1951 Third Printing, December 1951 Fourth Printing, January 1952 MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Contents I While You Slept 9 II The Red Deluge 13 III China's Two Wars 14 IV Two Great Designs 25 V Architects of Disaster 30 VI The Road to Korea Opens 44 VII The Great Whitewash 54 VIII The Pool of Poison 59 IX The Hatchet Men 71 X Left Thunder on the Right 82 XI The Press and Pink Propaganda 88 XII Red Propaganda in the Movies 98 XIII Poison in the Air 108 XIV The Institute of Pacific Relations 116 XV The Amerasîa Case 134 XVI The Great Swap 145 XVII The China War 151 XVIII The Blunders That Lost a Continent 157 XIX America s Two Wars 178 References 187 While You Slept I While You Slept As June 1950 drew near, America was giving little attention to a place called Korea. Secretary General Trygve Lie of the United Nations was urging that Chiang Kai-shek's govern- ment be expelled from the United Nations to make room for the Chinese Communist government of Mao Tse-tung.
    [Show full text]
  • Espionage Against the United States by American Citizens 1947-2001
    Technical Report 02-5 July 2002 Espionage Against the United States by American Citizens 1947-2001 Katherine L. Herbig Martin F. Wiskoff TRW Systems Released by James A. Riedel Director Defense Personnel Security Research Center 99 Pacific Street, Building 455-E Monterey, CA 93940-2497 REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE Form Approved OMB No. 0704-0188 The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Department of Defense, Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports (0704- 0188), 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington, VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to any penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. PLEASE DO NOT RETURN YOUR FORM TO THE ABOVE ADDRESS. 1. REPORT DATE (DDMMYYYY) 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED (From – To) July 2002 Technical 1947 - 2001 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER Espionage Against the United States by American Citizens 1947-2001 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT NUMBER Katherine L. Herbig, Ph.D. Martin F. Wiskoff, Ph.D. 5e. TASK NUMBER 5f. WORK UNIT NUMBER 7. PERFORMING ORGANIZATION NAME(S) AND ADDRESS(ES) 8.
    [Show full text]
  • House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
    Cold War PS MB 10/27/03 8:28 PM Page 146 House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) Excerpt from “One Hundred Things You Should Know About Communism in the U.S.A.” Reprinted from Thirty Years of Treason: Excerpts From Hearings Before the House Committee on Un-American Activities, 1938–1968, published in 1971 “[Question:] Why ne Hundred Things You Should Know About Commu- shouldn’t I turn “O nism in the U.S.A.” was the first in a series of pam- Communist? [Answer:] phlets put out by the House Un-American Activities Commit- You know what the United tee (HUAC) to educate the American public about communism in the United States. In May 1938, U.S. represen- States is like today. If you tative Martin Dies (1900–1972) of Texas managed to get his fa- want it exactly the vorite House committee, HUAC, funded. It had been inactive opposite, you should turn since 1930. The HUAC was charged with investigation of sub- Communist. But before versive activities that posed a threat to the U.S. government. you do, remember you will lose your independence, With the HUAC revived, Dies claimed to have gath- ered knowledge that communists were in labor unions, gov- your property, and your ernment agencies, and African American groups. Without freedom of mind. You will ever knowing why they were charged, many individuals lost gain only a risky their jobs. In 1940, Congress passed the Alien Registration membership in a Act, known as the Smith Act. The act made it illegal for an conspiracy which is individual to be a member of any organization that support- ruthless, godless, and ed a violent overthrow of the U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • The Impact of the Cold War and the Second Red Scare on the 1952 American Presidential Election
    Eastern Kentucky University Encompass Online Theses and Dissertations Student Scholarship January 2019 The Impact of the Cold War and the Second Red Scare on the 1952 American Presidential Election Dana C. Johns Eastern Kentucky University Follow this and additional works at: https://encompass.eku.edu/etd Part of the Political History Commons, and the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Johns, Dana C., "The Impact of the Cold War and the Second Red Scare on the 1952 American Presidential Election" (2019). Online Theses and Dissertations. 594. https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/594 This Open Access Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Scholarship at Encompass. It has been accepted for inclusion in Online Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Encompass. For more information, please contact [email protected]. STATEMENT OF PERMISSION TO USE In thispresenting thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a Master of Arts degree at Eastern Kentucky University, I agree that the Library shall make it available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this document are allowable without special permission, provided that accurate acknowledgements of the source are made. Permission for extensive quotation from or reproduction of this document may be granted by my major professor. In [his/her] absence, by the Head oflnterlibrary Services when, in the opinion of either, the proposed use of the material is for scholarly purposes. Any copying or use of the material in this document for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Signature: X Date: q/ \ \ 9/ \ THE IMPACT OF THE COLD WAR AND THE SECOND RED SCARE ON THE 1952 AMERICAN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION BY DANA JOHNS Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Eastern Kentucky University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS 2019 © Copyright by DANA JOHNS 2019 All Rights Reserved.
    [Show full text]
  • Inventory for Congressional Period Collection
    Congressional Period. Work File. – House Committee on Un-American Activities. (PPS 205) (Materials in bold type is available for research) [Boxes 1-10 covered under Congressional Collection Finding Aid] Box 11 : Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – Index. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1947, July 22 – Abraham Brothman. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1947, July 31 – FBI agent. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1947, July 31 – Harry Gold. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1947, Nov. 24 – Louis Budenz. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1947, Nov. 25 – FBI agent. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1947, Nov. 25 – Julius J. Joseph. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1947, Dec. 2 – Norman Bursler. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1947, Dec. 3 – FBI agent. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1947, Dec. 3 – Mary Price. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Jan. 20 – FBI agent. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Jan. 20 – Solomon Adler. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Feb. 10 – FBI agent. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Feb. 10 – FBI agent. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Mar. 16. – FBI agent. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Mar. 16 – Alger Hiss. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Mar. 23 – FBI agent. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Mar. 24-25 – Harry Dexter White. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Mar. 30 – Elizabeth Bentley. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Mar. 31-Apr. 1 – Lement Harris. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Apr. 6 – Elizabeth Bentley. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Apr. 7 – Maurice Joseph Berg. Hiss case: Grand Jury testimony – 1948, Apr.
    [Show full text]
  • ABSTRACT Title of Document: from the BELLY of the HUAC: the RED PROBES of HOLLYWOOD, 1947-1952 Jack D. Meeks, Doctor of Philos
    ABSTRACT Title of Document: FROM THE BELLY OF THE HUAC: THE RED PROBES OF HOLLYWOOD, 1947-1952 Jack D. Meeks, Doctor of Philosophy, 2009 Directed By: Dr. Maurine Beasley, Journalism The House Un-American Activities Committee, popularly known as the HUAC, conducted two investigations of the movie industry, in 1947 and again in 1951-1952. The goal was to determine the extent of communist infiltration in Hollywood and whether communist propaganda had made it into American movies. The spotlight that the HUAC shone on Tinsel Town led to the blacklisting of approximately 300 Hollywood professionals. This, along with the HUAC’s insistence that witnesses testifying under oath identify others that they knew to be communists, contributed to the Committee’s notoriety. Until now, historians have concentrated on offering accounts of the HUAC’s practice of naming names, its scrutiny of movies for propaganda, and its intervention in Hollywood union disputes. The HUAC’s sealed files were first opened to scholars in 2001. This study is the first to draw extensively on these newly available documents in an effort to reevaluate the HUAC’s Hollywood probes. This study assesses four areas in which the new evidence indicates significant, fresh findings. First, a detailed analysis of the Committee’s investigatory methods reveals that most of the HUAC’s information came from a careful, on-going analysis of the communist press, rather than techniques such as surveillance, wiretaps and other cloak and dagger activities. Second, the evidence shows the crucial role played by two brothers, both German communists living as refugees in America during World War II, in motivating the Committee to launch its first Hollywood probe.
    [Show full text]