HUAC

=House of Un-American Activities Committee=

By Michelle
Established in 1938 by the U.S. House of Representatives (under the leadership of Martin Dies Jr.) as a special committee, the House of Un-American Activities investigated the threat of communism, pro-Nazi organizations, fascism and other associations that threatened government and non-government safety. A little after the HUAC was started, the government was becoming more and more aware of the growing risk of communism in the United States. Dies stated that it did not matter if the Communists were violent or not, they were still dangerous to the United States. After this statement, Communists were forced to go into hiding, therefore blacklisting them and forcing them to flee. Then, in 1939, congress passed the Hatch Act, making it illegal for the government to hire communists.

At first, the HUAC claimed that the movie industry and labor unions were under Soviet influence. They said that the Soviets infiltrated Hollywood and the advertisements and propagandas were for the Soviet Union. In October of 1947, nineteen directors and writers in Hollywood were accused of communist activities. Ten of these nineteen actors, writers, directors, etc. refused to speak in front of Congress, therefore earning the name the Hollywood Ten. This list of ten Hollywood directors and writers included Dalton Trumbo, Ring Lardner Jr., and actors such as Orson Welles and Charlie Chaplin were all blacklisted, and even given jail time for not naming other members of left-wing groups.

Alger Hiss Trial

After World War II, the HUAC concentrated their efforts on communism and the main thing they searched for was communism influenced people in the government. They had had Communists working in the government before World War II and now the HUAC was taking action to keep other extremists out of the government. In 1950, the HUAC responded to Joseph McCarthy's red-scare tactics and sponsored an act to register foreign people, not give them passports, and excluding them from jobs in the government and defense-industry. This act became a law called the McCarran Act, though it was eventually abolished. Public disapproval eventually declined the power of the HUAC and "McCarthyism". In 1969, the HUAC was renamed the Internal Security Committee, but it never gained back the power it had in the 30s, 40s, and even the 50s. Finally, in 1975, the committee was abolished and their job was turned over to the House Judiciary Committee.

Quote by McCarthy



The HUAC is an important part in American history because they showed us how not to act during a desperate time. They were quick to accuse and harsh in their punishments. They had a lot of power, and followers who believed all of their accusations. The committee were ruthless when they were attacking left-wing groups and Communists, while some of them did not even have any part in the war in Europe. The HUAC showed us that when a country is in a time of crisis, it is easy to pass blame onto other people and persecute all of those within that group, even if they had absolutely nothing to do with it. The HUAC was a key organization to catch spies and agents working within the American government for the Soviets and Communists. It was a key part to post World War II.

=Citation:= G. Cunningham, Jesse, ed. The McCarthy Hearings. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Bonnie Szumski, 2003

Zeinert, Karen. McCarthy and the Fear of Communism. Springfield, New Jersey: Enslow Publishers, Inc, 1998

Glickman, Harvey. "Un-American Activities Committee." World Book Online Reference Center. 2007. [Highland Middle School. February 5th, 2007.] .

"Un-American Activities, House Committee on." Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. 2007. Grolier Online. 5 Feb. 2007 