![]() Supporters of the committee, on the other hand, believed that its efforts were justified given the grave threat to U.S. These critics argued that most people who were called before the committee had broken no laws, but instead were targeted for their political beliefs or for exercising their right to free speech. They lost their jobs and were effectively prevented from working in their chosen industry.Ĭritics claimed that HUAC’s tactics amounted to a witch hunt that trampled on citizens’ rights and ruined their careers and reputations. In addition, those who refused to cooperate were often blacklisted by their employers. Subjects of HUAC investigations had the option of invoking their right to avoid self-incrimination under the Fifth Amendment, but “pleading the Fifth” created the impression that they were guilty of a crime. Individuals who refused to answer the committee’s questions or to provide names could be indicted for contempt of Congress and sent to prison. Any additional figures identified in this manner also received subpoenas, widening the committee’s probe. During the hearing, the suspected Communist was grilled about his or her political beliefs and activities and then asked to provide the names of other people who had taken part in allegedly subversive activities. Typically, an individual who raised the suspicions of HUAC received a subpoena to appear before the committee. ![]() The committee employed several controversial methods to accomplish its goal of ferreting out suspected Communists. had infiltrated government, schools, the entertainment industry and many other areas of American life. Particularly after 1947, HUAC assumed new heights of prominence and notoriety, and the committee conducted a series of high-profile hearings alleging that Communists disloyal to the U.S. and the Soviet Union intensified following World War II (1939-45), the committee took up its investigations of communist activities with new vigor. Nixon played a prominent role in the Alger Hiss spy hearings in 1948 20 years later, he was elected the 37th president of the United States.Īs tensions between the U.S. representative from California named Richard Nixon. Roosevelt (1882-1945).ĭid you know? One of the members of HUAC in the late 1940s was a first-term U.S. Its defenders argued it uncovered vital information that bolstered national security, while critics charged it was a partisan tool bent on discrediting the New Deal programs of President Franklin D. From the outset, the committee proved to be a source of political discord. ![]() Upon its formation in 1938, the official role of the House Un-American Activities Committee was to investigate Communist and fascist organizations that had become active during the Great Depression, though it also examined the activities of other groups on the political left. The Cold War: Investigating the Red Menace
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