SEEING RED: PARANOIA, POLITICS, AND MCCARTHYISM IN THE 1950 FLORIDA DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR THE U.S. SENATE ________________________________________________________________________ A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences Florida Gulf Coast University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirement of the Degree of Master of Arts in History ________________________________________________________________________ By Paul Kenneth Chartrand October 11, 2013 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Arts ____________________________ Paul Kenneth Chartrand Approved: October 24, 2013 ____________________________ Michael Epple, Ph.D. Committee Chair / Advisor ____________________________ Irvin D. S. Winsboro, Ph.D. ____________________________ Erik Carlson, Ph.D. Abstract In 1950, Senator Claude D. Pepper and Representative George A. Smathers faced off in the Florida Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate in a battle that is deemed as one of the dirtiest campaigns in U.S. History, and for the first time in Florida history, resulted in the defeat of the incumbent. White Floridians supported and upheld the Southern traditions of Jim Crow racial discrimination and segregation. Meanwhile, the United States was adjusting to its role as a world power in the postwar era, attempting to introduce civil rights reform, and began formulating policies and strategies to deal with the perceived threats posed by the Soviet Union where both sides were capable of conducting war with nuclear weapons. This paper examines the background of each candidate, their upbringing, circumstances, environment, education, and life experiences as to how these influences contributed to the formation of each candidate’s character and political philosophy. Further, how their character and political philosophies, combined, with the important issues and events of the postwar and early Cold War era (1945–1950), to influence their decision making and the conduct of their individual campaigns during the primary, thus contributing to Smathers’s victory and Pepper’s defeat in 1950. © 2013 Paul Kenneth Chartrand ii To my Parents The late Jack K. Chartrand and Delcie McGowan Chartrand, for all your love, understanding and everything else you gave me. You live on forever in my thoughts, my words and in my heart. To my Wonderful Wife, Rebecca Lynn LeRoux Chartrand You have made all the high–points possible and every low–point bearable. I thank you and I love you. iii “Offices are as acceptable here as elsewhere, and whenever a man has cast a longing eye on them, rottenness begins in his conduct.”— Jefferson iv Contents Acknowledgements .… v Abbreviations …. viii Preface …. xi Introduction …. 1 Part I Pepper and Smathers: The Pathway to Politics Claude Denson Pepper: The Alabama Plowboy …. 4 George Armistead Smathers: The Judge’s Son …. 25 Part II McCarthyism, Communist Paranoia, and the 1950 Democratic Primary Shifting Sands: The Cold War and the Dawn of a New World Order …. 46 Communism, Race, and the Changing Landscape of the American Polity …. 66 “Red Pepper” “Gorgeous George “and the 1950 Primary Campaign in Florida …. 88 Conclusions …. 115 v Acknowledgements It is impossible to mention everyone who assisted me in developing this thesis from a notion to fruition, and equally impossible to ignore their contributions to my research efforts. To all of the library staff who did the laborious task of retrieving and returning numerous boxes of papers, and volumes of books to and from the shelves, I thank you for your hard work that helped make this project possible. The bulk of my research took place at the Claude Pepper Library in the Claude Pepper Center at the Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, Special and Area Studies Collections of the PK Yonge Library of Florida History in the George A. Smathers Libraries at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, Harry S. Truman Library, Independence, Missouri, and the Library–Archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society in Madison, Wisconsin. My appreciation goes to Robert Rubero, Supervisor of Operations Claude Pepper Library, John R. Nemmers, Assistant University Librarian, Dept. of Special and Area Studies Collections, Dr. James Cusick, Curator of the P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History at the George A. Smathers Libraries, Richard L. Pifer, Director of Reference and Public Services, Helmut Knies, Archives Collection Processing and Preservation, and to Harry Miller, Archives Reference Services at the Wisconsin Historical Society for all of their insight and expertise in assisting in my research and making me feel welcome during my visits. I wish to thank Dr. Randy Sowell, Head Archivist and James Armistead, Archivist at the Harry S Truman Library for their knowledge, expertise, and valuable assistance during my visit. I also wish to acknowledge the contributions of Rachel Tait, Senior Library Technical Assistant, and all of the staff at the Florida Gulf Coast University Library for their assistance in procuring vi books, newspapers, dissertations, and journal articles necessary to the research of this project. I am most grateful for the cooperation, assistance, guidance and patience of my advisor, Dr. Michael Epple, for allowing me to overcome a great deal of personal adversity to make this project successful. To Dr. Irvin D. S. Winsboro for his inspiration to look at Florida history with greater appreciation, to explore the depth of possibilities for historical research that Florida history has to offer, and for his passion and willingness to push students to achieve their greatest potential—I give my most profound thanks. To Dr. Nicola Foote, who helped me overcome the numerous hurdles of bureaucracy and challenged me to broaden my historical horizons, I thank you for your help and guidance. I wish to thank Dr. Paul R. Rivera for his confidence in my abilities as a budding scholar and his providing me with the confidence and inspiration to continue forward. I wish to thank Dr. Eric Strahorn for helping me to understand the importance of the philosophical roots of the discipline and to prepare me and others to meet the challenges of the profession beyond the classroom. I sincerely thank Dr. Michael Cole and Dr. Erik Carlson for encouraging and stimulating my intellectual curiosities while helping me to develop the skills necessary to be a historian. To Dr. John Cox for his mentoring, honest evaluation, and critique of my writing toward increasing the level of professionalism and scholarship in my work, I give my gratitude. I wish to thank every member of the History Department at Florida Gulf Coast University for their dedication, passion, level of professionalism and scholarship, and for setting a standard of excellence not only in the classroom, but more importantly, in the quality of their professional work. vii Finally, I wish to acknowledge Leonard and Tina Robbins, Peter and Suzanne Chartrand, Edward and Susan Chartrand, Victor and June LeRoux, Lorraine LeRoux, Ted Sutton, my wife Rebecca, and my parents, the late Jack K. and Delcie Chartrand—their constant love, encouragement, and support, made this project possible. viii Abbreviations AAA — Agricultural Adjustment Act ACL — Atlantic Coast Line ADA — Americans for Democratic Action AFL — American Federation of Labor CAA — Civilian Aeronautics Administration CCC — Civilian Conservation Corps CIO–PAC — Congress of Industrial Organizations Political Action Committee CWA — Civil Works Administration DSH — Division Subsistence Homesteads EBA — Emergency Banking Act ERP — European Recovery Plan (The Marshall Plan) FBI — Federal Bureau of Investigation FDIC — Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation FDR — Franklin Delano Roosevelt FEC — Florida East Coast Railway FERA — Federal Emergency Relief Administration FEPC — Fair Employment Practices Committee FEPC — Fair Employment Practices Commission FHA — Federal Housing Administration FLSA — Fair Labor Standards Act FRG — Federal Republic of Germany FSA — Federal Security Agency FSRA — Federal Surplus Relief Corporation GDR — German Democratic Republic HOLC — Homeowners Loan Corporation ix HICCASP — Hollywood Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions ICCASP — Independent Citizens Committee of the Arts, Sciences and Professions JAG — Judge Advocate General KGB — Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (Committee for State Security) NAACP — National Association for the Advancement of Colored People NATO — North Atlantic Treaty Organization NCPAC — National Citizens Political Action Committee NIRA — National Industrial Recovery Act NKVD — Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del (The People’s Commissariat for Internal Security) NRA — National Recovery Act NWLB — National War Labor Board OPA — Office of Price Administration PCA — Progressive Citizens of America PKWN — Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego (Polish Committee of National Liberation) PRRA — Puerto Rican Recovery Act PSF — President’s Secretary’s Files (Truman Papers, Truman Library) PWA — Publics Works Administration RFC — Reconstruction Finance Corporation SMOF — Staff Members and Office Files (Truman Library) SSA — Social Security Administration TVA — Tennessee Valley Authority UDA — Union for Democratic Action UN — United Nations USHA — United States Housing Authority USSR — Union of Soviet Socialist Republics x VE Day — Victory in Europe Day VJ Day — Victory over Japan Day VMB — Volar Marine Bomber WPA — Works Progress Administration WPB —