Searching for Communists on the Home Front

1. Searching for Communists on the Home Front In 1951, the federal government published a pamphlet listing 100 questions and answers about communism in the United States. Examples include: What is communism? A system by which one small group seeks to rule the world. What do communists want? To rule your mind and your body from cradle to grave. Where can a communist be found in everyday life? Look for him in your school, your labor union, your church, or your civic club. -"100 Things You Should Know About Communism in the U.S.A. 1951 This publication revealed that the United States fought the Cold War not only against communists in foreign countries-it also fought communism at home. The House Un-American Activities Committee held thousands of hearings in its hunt for subversives in American society. Here the committee questions a Hollywood executive about alleged communist influence in the film industry. Communists Come Under Suspicion at Home Not all Americans agreed with the government's definition of communism. Some people believed communism offered a much fairer organization of society than capitalism did. Under a communist system, everyone would share equally in what society produced, and the extreme disparity between wealth and poverty would dissolve. Supporters maintained that this would significantly increase human happiness. This utopian vision attracted many American supporters during the Depression. Some of these followers joined the Communist Party outright, while others became communist sympathizers, or people who believed in communist ideology but did not join the party. Even though Communist Party membership in the United States was just 43,000 in 1950, the building Cold War incited greater fears of communist subversion, or plots to overthrow the U.S. government and establish a communist dictatorship. To calm public anxiety, President Truman established the Federal Employee Loyalty Program in 1947. It required government employers to take loyalty oaths, or pledges of loyalty to the United States, as well as background investigations of employees with possible connections to subversive groups. In 5 million investigations, hundreds of government workers lost their jobs for being "potentially" disloyal, while several thousand others were forced to resign. HUAC Hunts for Communists in Hollywood and Beyond Meanwhile, Congress began its own investigation, led by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), which was formed in 1938 to investigate subversive organizations. In 1947, HUAC shifted its focus to communist influence in the film industry. "Large numbers of moving pictures that come out of Hollywood," charged one committee member, "carry the Communist line." The committee called on writers, actors, and directors to testify about their political beliefs Ten of these witnesses refused to answer the committee's questions. Called the Hollywood Ten, they argued that the Fifth Amendment afforded them the right to refuse to testify because their testimony might incriminate them, or make them seem guilty. The committee disagreed, charging them with contempt of Congress, or willful failure to obey the authority of Congress. When the House of Representatives voted to convict the Hollywood Ten of said crime, the group issued a joint statement that warned, "The United States can keep its constitutional liberties, or it can keep the [HUAC). It can't keep both." Heads of Hollywood movie studios became concerned about the impact of the HUAC investigation on their industry. Therefore, they pledged not to hire anyone with communist sympathies, creating a blacklist of people thought to be Communist Party members or communist sympathizers. Anyone whose name appeared on this blacklist could no longer find work in the film industry. After interrogating the film industry, HUAC moved to other groups. In 1954, it called on labor organizer John Watkins to testify about communist influence in labor unions. When Watkins refused to answer certain questions, HUAC convicted him of contempt of Congress. Watkins appealed his conviction, arguing that the Constitution does not grant Congress unlimited power to investigate the private lives of citizens, to which the Supreme Court agreed. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice Earl Warren ruled that Congress's power to investigate must be related to its business of making laws: There is no general authority to expose the private affairs of individuals without justification in terms of the functions of the Congress... Investigations conducted solely for the personal aggrandizement [glorification] of the investigators or to "punish" those investigated are indefensible. -Watkins v. United States, 1957 Spy Cases Raise New Fears Public fears about subversion deepened when Americans in important government positions were charged with working as spies for the Soviet Union. The Alger Hiss case involved a State Department official who had served as an adviser to President Roosevelt at the Yalta Conference. A former Communist named Whittaker Chambers accused Hiss of forwarding secrets to the Soviet Union. In 1950, a federal grand jury convicted Hiss of perjury, or lying under oath. Hiss maintained his innocence, but secret documents made public in 1995 indicate that Hiss probably had spied for the Soviet Union. 5. The Triumph of the Automobile On September 4, 1957, a new car appeared in Ford showrooms around the country. Consumers lined up in record numbers to view the latest Ford creation, the Edsel. Ford executives were thrilled until they realized that people were looking but not buying, since most people did not like what they saw. The Edsel was designed to be the biggest, flashiest, most luxurious Ford ever, but public response was less than enthusiastic. "One member of the media called it 'an Oldsmobile sucking a lemon," recalls a rare Edsel owner, "and another called it 'a Pontiac pushing a toilet seat." After three years of poor sales, Ford gave up on the Edsel. Such failures were rare in the 1950s, as automobile sales stayed strong throughout the decade, accounting for the growth of suburbs and increased demand for cars. Named after Henry Ford's only child, the Edsel sold poorly. Only 181,000 were produced over a three-year span. Today, the Edsel is considered a "poor man's collectors car." According to Edsel historian Phil Skinner, "There are a lot more Edsels out there than people who love them." The Middle-Class Dream: Two Cars in Every Garage Suburban life depended on automobile access. Because most suburbs lacked public transportation, fathers commuted by car to their jobs in nearby cities, while mothers drove to supermarkets and suburban shopping centers. After school, children relied on the family car to attend their music lessons or sports games. Suburban families found they needed not one, but two cars in their garage. Cars were more than a necessity in this booming consumer culture, as they also became a status symbol, or a sign of wealth and prestige. Automakers encouraged car owners to trade in last year's model for the newest one in order to keep up with their neighbors. Companies urged consumers to "move up" to ever-more-expensive cars to demonstrate their material success. The Edsel was introduced as "the smart car for the young executive or professional family on the way up," and a 1958 ad proclaimed, "They'll know you've arrived when you drive up in an Edsel." An Oldsmobile ad from same year enthused, Obviously this is a car to attract attention. Its precedent- breaking beauty fully deserves all the applause owners are giving it. Men and women who have just recently moved up to a '58 Oldsmobile from another make are the loudest in their praise... proudest of their new possessions.