McCarthyism and the Red Scare at Home

I. Harry Truman and Postwar Problems

a. Taft-Hartley Act
i. Restricts activities and power of labor unions
b. Election of 1948
i. Democrats are divided
1. Far left = Progressive Party
2. Conservative Democrats = Dixiecrats
II. The Red Scare at Home
a. Smith Act
i. Prohibited the advocacy of overthrowing the government
ii. Made advocacy of communist doctrines a federal crime
iii. Made it a crime to interfere with or impair the loyalty, morale, or
discipline of the armed forces
b. House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC)
i. Main objective was to investigate un-American or subversive
activities
ii. No prosecution ability
c. Hollywood Ten
i. Communist sympathizers producing films that show Soviets in a
good light
ii. 1947 Hollywood Ten told to testify about beliefs
1. Refused to testify before HUAC
iii. Cited for contempt of Congress
1. Prison for a year
iv. No one will hire them
III. The Trial of Alger Hiss
a. 1948, HUAC investigates rumors of spy ring in American state department
b. Alger Hiss
i. President of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
ii. Harvard educated lawyer
c. Whitaker Chambers
i. Time magazine editor
ii. Claims in 1930s was a member of communist party and shared
government documents he got from Hiss with Soviets
d. Hiss claims no knowledge of anything
i. Chambers knows everything about Hiss to prove they knew each
other
e. Richard Nixon
i. Thinks Hiss is lying
ii. Chambers goes on Meet the Press with proof
f. Hiss perjured himself
i. Prison for 4 years
ii. Still maintains innocence

IV. The Rise and Fall of Joseph McCarthy

a. McCarran Act
i. Required communist organizations to register with Attorney
General
ii. Members of these groups could not hold government office
b. Army-McCarthy Hearings
i. Media coverage hurt McCarthy
ii. Joseph Welch Armys lawyer
iii. McCarthy claims he has letter from FBI director with proof
iv. Senate sensors McCarthy
1. Strips him of power in Senate