Blacklisting in the 1940s and 1950s

Blacklisting in the 1940s and 1950s

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By: Pooja Patel, Mariah Simpson, Claudia Valverde, Michelle Sapolnick

Who was Accused?

Overview

People from which fields and/or careers were on the blacklists?

A little bit about Blacklisting:

• Anyone during the 1940's and 1950's could have been blacklisted, but people associated with Hollywood gained the most attention
• Some of the careers/fields that were blacklisted were:
• screenwriters
• actors
• directors
• musicians
• producers
• editors
• any other US entertainment professional
• In 1947 there wan an investigation, where 41 people were interviewed
• 19 were thought to hold Communist beliefs
• 10 out of 19 refused to answer at the hearing and they were immediately accused
• Known as the Hollywood Ten

• Blacklisting during the 1940s and 1950s was an event where Hollywood celebrities were accused of being Communists and they were further investigated by the HUAC.
• The HUAC was convinced that Communist celebrities were inserting subliminal messages into Hollywood films.
• This Committee also had an additional concern that the Hollywood society was creating a negative image of the United States in films that were widely distributed across the nation.
• Alleged Communist celebrities were added the "The Hollywood Blacklist" and eventually pulled away from their careers. Once put on the blacklist, many people could not return to their jobs.

The Impact To Those Accused

• Many denied involvement w/ the Communist Party

Citations

• Some went to trial; Jail or death sentences

Witnesses

• 1950 McCarran Internal Security Act; extended statue of limitations & intensified penalties for espionage & sedition

Continued...

• Many ppl blacklisted lost their jobs & even after the accusations were dropped, it was hard to find a job

• Ppl in the movie industry were especially targeted

• Ex. Ireene Wicker was blacklisted in Red Channels & even after cleared she was banned from television industry for 3 yrs.

• Authors left the U.S for political reasons

• Wrote about their experiences w/ the Red Scare

• http://www.emglish.illinois.edu/maps/mccarthy/blacklis.html

• http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?

• https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~lrlento/Class%20Project/mccarthyism.html

• http://homepage.smc.edu/martin_ben/TheaterHistory/Blacklist%20material.htm

• http://www.fofweb.com/NuHistory/default.asp?ItemID=WE52

• Many witnesses were willing to testify about their own activities but would not testify about others because they did not want others to be blacklisted
• Most kept their mouth shut, refusing to answer by "taking the fifth amendment"
• By not answering they were labeled communists, lost jobs in the industry, had to pay a fine, and even had jail time
• Lillian Hellman, Carl Foreman, Robert Rossen, Jose Ferrer and Arthur Miller

• Communist concentration camps est. in PA, FL, OK, AZ, CA

• The State Dept. was allowed to fire employees whose behavior was deemed harmful to national interests

• http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE52&iPin=CWC224&SingleRecord=True