Semester 2 Week 7

 Rumors & accusations of communists in the U.S. & of Communist infiltration in the gov’t tapped into fears that the Communists were trying to take over the world  9/1945, a clerk named Igor Gouzenko walked out of the Soviet Embassy in Canada & defected  Gouzenko carried documents revealing a massive effort by the USSR to infiltrate organizations & gov’t agencies in Canada & the U.S. w/ the specific goal of obtaining information about the atomic bomb  The Gouzenko case implied that spies had infiltrated the U.S. gov’t  Americans began to fear that Communists were secretly working to subvert the U.S. gov’t

 Formed in 1938 to investigate both Communist & Fascist activities in the U.S., HUAC was a relatively minor committee until FBI head J. Edgar Hoover catapulted it to prominence  Hoover urged HUAC to hold public hearings on Communist subversion  Hoover’s aim was to expose not just Communists but also “Communist sympathizers” and fellow travelers” J. Edgar Hoover

 1948, Whittaker Chambers, former Communist Party member, testified to HUAC that several gov’t officials were also former Communists or spies  most prominent gov’t official named by Chambers was Alger Hiss  Chambers testified before a grand jury that in 1937 & 1938 Hiss gave him secret documents from the State Department; Hiss denied everything  Rep. Richard Nixon (CA) convinced his colleagues to continue the hearings to determine whether Hiss or Chambers had lied  Chambers produced copies of secret documents & microfilm that he hid in a hollow pumpkin on his farm. These “pumpkin papers,” Chambers, proved that he was telling the truth. A jury agreed and convicted Hiss of perjury

 Another sensational spy case centered around accusations that U.S. Communists had sold the secrets of the atomic bomb  1950, the hunt led to Klaus Fuchs, a British scientists who admitted sending information to the USSR  His testimony led the FBI to arrest Julius & Ethel Rosenberg, a NY couple who were members of the Communist Party  The gov’t charged them with heading a USSR spy ring  The Rosenburgs denied the charges but were condemned to death for espionage

 During a speech in WV, Sen. Joseph McCarthy (WI) stated that he had a list of 205 people, who were Communist, working in the State Department  When McCarthy arrived at the Denver airport, reporters asked to see his list of state department Communists; McCarthy stated the list was packed in his bag on the plane  the list never existed  He distributed a booklet called “The Party of Betrayal,” which accused Dem. Party leaders of corruption and of protecting Communists

 McCarthy became chairman of the Senate subcommittee on investigations  forced gov’t officials to testify about alleged Communist influences, McCarthy turned the investigation into a witch hunt.  His tactic of damaging reputations with vague and unfounded charges became known as McCarthyism

 1954, McCarthy began to look for Communist spies in the U.S. Army  the army conducted its own internal investigation and found no spies or any suspicion of espionage  During weeks of televised Army-McCarthy hearings in the spring of 1954, millions of Americans watched McCarthy bully witnesses  McCarthy lost the power to arouse fear  Later that year, the Senate passed a note of censure, or formal disapproval, against McCarthy  McCarthy faded from public view. Although he remained in the Senate, he had little influence

 TAKE OUT A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER  NUMBER 1-5

1. Americans began to fear that Communists were secretly doing what? 2. Why was HUAC formed? 3. He was the most prominent gov’t official named by Chambers? 4. What state did Joseph McCarthy represent as a U.S. Senator? 5. Where did McCarthy look for Communist spies that led to his downfall?