Cold War & HUAC

Sources:

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=UHIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=Reference&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CCX3404500269

http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/uhic/PrimarySourcesDetailsPage/PrimarySourcesDetailsWindow?failOverType=&query=&prodId=UHIC&windowstate=normal&contentModules=&mode=view&displayGroupName=PrimarySources&limiter=&currPage=&disableHighlighting=false&displayGroups=&sortBy=&source=&search_within_results=&action=e&catId=&activityType=&scanId=&documentId=GALE%7CCX3410800136

http://edsitement.neh.gov/lesson-plan/house-un-american-activities-committee#sect-background (interactive timeline & overview)

http://education.cambridge.org/media/577212/history_for_the_ib_diploma__the_cold_war___cambridge_education___cambridge_university_press_samples.pdf

http://hrmediaarchive.estuarypress.com/peace-and-huac/#!prettyPhoto[1]/http://i2.wp.com/hrmediaarchive.estuarypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/14LA-Ban-HUAC-5620111.jpg?fit=600%2C600

http://hrmediaarchive.estuarypress.com/peace-and-huac/#!prettyPhoto[1]/http://i0.wp.com/hrmediaarchive.estuarypress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/15LA-Ban-HUAC-5620121.jpg?fit=600%2C600

George Washington University - “House Un-American Activities Committee." 2013.

Jamestown Public Schools - “Cold War." 2013.

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/huac-lead-investigator-ha-smith-everett.jpg

http://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large/huac-lead-investigator-ha-smith-everett.jpg

http://madamepickwickartblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/nixon1.jpg

The Cold War & HUAC

House Un-American Activities Committee

Phoebe Gelbard, Sarah Bloomgarden, Sarah Etzel, Lucien Baskin

Conclusion

“A man may die, nations may rise and fall, but an idea lives on. Ideas have endurance without death.” In this way, totalitarian governments and dictatorships continue to exist today, affecting modern society."

What started out as seemingly logical fear of unnatural circumstances (in the case of the Salem witch trials) and communism, soon transformed into a hysteria of senseless campaigns against friends and enemies alike.

Constitutional Rights were neglected.

Honor and loyalty were so quickly devalued.

Aspects of society were thrown wildly out of proportion. In the dark hours of the Salem witch trials and the HUAC Communist hearings, structure, morals, and common sense were eliminated with the influx of paradoxical thoughts.

Mankind must accept that there will always be uncharted land; otherwise, we will always be at the mercy of the decisions we make out of fear.

-Events similar to the Salem Witch Trials and the HUAC Hearings can be avoided in the future by:

- not using trials that revolve around accusations instead of evidence

- to stop events such as the Salem witch trails and the "red scare," the leaders must stay calm, which would prevent people from entering a paranoid state of frenzy

- this made it harder for people like the Rosenbergs to be executed with meager evidence (or, in the case of "The Crucible," for a needle stuck into a doll to be used as evidence to imprison a girl on witchcraft charges)

Ways it could be avoided

In both trials, the judges used the accusation of “contempt of court” as authorization for dismissing the defendants’ declarations. Reverend Parris repeated, “This is a clear attack upon the court!” when Mr. Nurse protested the subpoenas of the people who signed the deposition on the innocence of the accused.

Alger Hiss

The tactics of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) reflect those used in the Salem Witch Trials in the way that they were both effective in instilling fear and resulted in the loss of rights of those accused.

http://revision4gcses.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/alger-hiss1.jpg

People Involved

“Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.” - John F. Kennedy

International Effects

- the Cold War depleted lives, money, and trust; relationships between countries worsened and disintegrated under the looming threat of nuclear war

- in 1966, D.F. Fleming reflected on the current situation, summarizing that:

- the money spent could have been put to far better use

- by fighting in 2 world wars, the U.S. has created a nation dominated by the military

- the U.S. has depleted our resources while other countries have surpassed us in technological advances

Richard Nixon

- the HUAC became viewed unfavorably by the general public over time (abolished in 1975)

- the damage done was irreversible; people who had been accused were ostracized publicly and personally

- similarly, those charged with witchcraft during the Salem witch trials were interrogated, mistreated, tortured, and sometimes executed

Joseph McCarthy

evidence and evaluation

- the process of evaluating defendants in both episodes was crude and did not hold to the values of freedom and equality

- people were not given the chance to speak their testimonies, nor was valid evidence used as confirmation of guilt

- judges used the accusation of “contempt of court” as authorization for dismissing the defendants’ declarations

Causes & Effects

1962, Los Angeles, CA, demonstration to Abolish HUAC. Police car and camera crew photographing participants in the protest march.

- suspects accused of associating with the communist party tried to cite their rights as guaranteed by the Constitution, yet were continuously heckled

- in the same style, the judges in Arthur Miller’s depiction of the Salem Witch Trials interrupted and disregarded Proctor and the others who challenged the conviction of innocent people

- another parallel between the two epochs was the fear of the unknown that developed and drove the persecution

- in the 17th century, there were phenomenons people had not yet defined with science, so they used supernatural theories as explanations; e.g. a strange sickness was the determined to be the result of witchcraft

1962, Los Angeles, CA, demonstration to Abolish HUAC.

fear

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2011/11/28/learnin g/Dec02LN/Dec02LN-blog480.jpg

Comparison with The Crucible

- McCarthyism originated out of the irrational fear that communism would infiltrate the United States

- members of the HUAC utilized techniques that were harsh and interrogative in nature

- people’s rights were violated; being labeled as a communist ensured isolation, and many families and relationships were destroyed

Fear and paranoia were rampant forces in breeding distrust and skepticism of communist supporters, resulting in the formation of the HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) in 1938.

This group consisted of members who were in charge of investigating and controlling un-American propaganda and threats to national security, threats often brought on by the communist and fascist regimes.

24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4gto9Vayo1qeu6ilo1_400.jpg

Formation of the HUAC

- this "witch hunt" was brought into effect by the HUAC before the start of the Cold War

- anyone suspected of being a member of or affiliated with the communist party was persecuted and interrogated

- "... Fear of communists, foreigners, and independent thinkers made the American public tolerant of HUAC's actions" (Benson)

- the Cold War time period allowed the HUAC to get away with using manipulative tactics

Members of the HUAC

Courtrooms such as these were where trails were held by the HUAC

Chairman Martin Dies with members of the HUAC