Digital History
Digital History: Kefauver Committee
In May 1950, at the very moment that Senator Joseph McCarthy was beginning his crusade against communist subversion, the U.S. Senate created a special committee to investigate another "enemy within": organized crim
American Rhetoric
American Rhetoric: Elizabeth Gurley Flynn: Statement at the Smith Act Trial
This is the text of the testimony of Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, a member of the USA Communist Party, who spoke in her own defense at her trial for being a Communist on April 24 1952, in New York.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Huac: Backlash and Implications
These videos and support materials explore the intense division experienced by those who testified before and blacklisted by HUAC during the Cold War, focusing on the testimony of Elia Kazan. The videos are from American Masters None...
Curated OER
History Matters: "Enemies From Within": Senator Joseph Mc Carthy's Accusations
Read a speech and a letter from Joseph McCarthy supporting his contention that there are Communists in the State Department.
Digital History
Digital History: Mc Carthy and Mc Carthyism [Pdf]
Read about one of the truly black eyes in American history when Senator Joseph McCarthy was able to make false accusations against politicians and ordinary citizens alike, claiming they had communist leanings and were enemies of the...
Digital History
Digital History: Margaret Chase Smith: The Conscience of the Senate
Margaret Chase Smith was the first woman elected to both houses of Congress. She was the first woman to enter the Senate without being appointed to the position. During World War II, she was the only civilian woman to go to sea in a Navy...
Other
Cpsu: J. Edgar Hoover Huac Testimony
Read the testimony of J. Edgar Hoover before the House Un-American Activities Committee where he explains the destructive nature of Communists in the United States.
Michigan State University
Michigan State University: United States History Since 1920: Truman Loyalty Oath, 1947
In March, 1947, President Truman issued an executive order requiring that all Federal employees take a loyalty oath swearing loyalty to the United States. This was a time of fear of Communists and the Soviet Union. Read the entire...
San Diego State University
San Diego State University: Internal Security Act of 1950 (Mc Carran Act) [Pdf]
The McCarran Act was passed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the words of the act "to protect the United States against certain un-American and subversive activities by requiring registration of Communist...
Teaching American History
Teaching American History: Executive Order 9835
Find the executive order from President Harry S. Truman which outlined the loyalty review program to examine the loyalty of federal employees. This was issued in response to anti-Communist hysteria at the time.
Department of Defense
Do Dea: Ap Us History: Unit 8: An Age of Confidence and Anxiety
This extensive learning module examines the United States' response to the global uncertainty and instability that followed World War II and the ways that marginalized groups challenged discrimination, and the counter-responses to their...
Other
Modern Times: Huac and the Censorship Changes
This site looks over the influence the HUAC had on Hollywood during the Red Scare of the 1950s.
George Washington University
Eleanor Roosevelt Papers Project: House Un American Activities Committee
A description of the genesis of the House Un-American Activities Committee and the bullying inquisition of those the committee accused of having Communist leanings.
Digital History
Digital History: The New Woman
Although women rejoiced in gaining the right to vote in 1920, the women's movement stalled during this time. Read about the problems within the movement and opposition from outside the movement.
University of Pennsylvania
The American 50s: Mc Carran Act or Internal Security Act of 1950
Although brief, this article explains the McCarran Act and how it intertwined with the House Un-American Activities Committee in its anti-Communist hysteria.
Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College: Mc Carthy's Downfall
As part of a larger site about Joseph McCarthy and McCarthyism, this page relates his ultimate downfall brought about by his bullying style and false accusations.
Other
Jewish Women's Archive: Ethel Rosenberg
A biographical account of the life of accused spies, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted of espionage, sentenced, and executed in spite of intense public pressure in response to the widespread belief that they were innocent.
Other
Behind the Scenes: The Mc Carran Internal Security Act
Read about the origins and impact of the McCarran Internal Security Act which President Harry Truman called "the greatest danger to freedom of speech, press and assembly, since the Alien and Sedition Laws of 1798." Find out how a fear of...
Other
Appleton Public Library: Joseph Mc Carthy
Information on the life and work of Joseph McCarthy (1908-1957).
Independence Hall Association
U.s. History: Mc Carthyism
Read about the dangers of paranoia when exercised by people of power. The witch-hunting of the McCarthy era made rash and false accusations against supposed Communist sympathizers that affected many lives.
City University of New York
Ashp: A Postal Worker Testifies Before the Loyalty Security Program
Read the actions taken against a postal worker, who, as a federal worker, was subject to the vague loyalty oath. Find out what the charges where against him and what happened to him.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Fbi Stories: A Byte Out of History: The Alger Hiss Story
An account from the FBI about the Alger Hiss case in which he was convicted of perjury after the accusation of his being a Soviet agent.
Library of Congress
Loc: America's Story: Marshall and Mc Carthyism
Read the outlandish claims Senators Joseph McCarthy and William Jenner made about honored statesman and public servant, George Marshal during the time that came to be known as McCarthyism.
US Senate
Senate Stories: "Have You No Sense of Decency?"
Read about the abrupt downfall of Senator Joseph McCarthy after the damage he did with his anti-Communist witch hunts.