1. U.S. Senate Hearings a CHC2D Canadian History presentation

2. H.U.A.C. ★ America’s obsession with stopping Communism is better represented by the House Un- American Activities Committee (or H.U.A.C.) led by Senator Joe McCarthy

3. H.U.A.C. ★ H.U.A.C. famously sought out communists in Hollywood ★ those who were accused of being a communist, you would be brought before Congress ★ if you named other communists, you were fined and allowed to go back to working in the movies ★ but if you refused, you would be blacklisted by Hollywood and unable to work

4. H.U.A.C. ★ H.U.A.C. would be shut down when it turned out that there was never any evidence that these “communists” were working against the country ★ most were just wanting a better wage for all the employees in the movie business, because everyone was on salary – even the movie stars ★ the tactic of using accusations to force more accusations when there are no grounds is called McCarthyism

5. Other Committees ★ H.U.A.C. was not the only Senate committee examining threats to the fabric of American society ★ one fear the U.S. government had was of homosexuality ★ another fear was pornography that exploited women ★ but for teens, the most important committee was the one on juvenile delinquency

6. The Threat ★ America was worried about the trouble teens were getting into while wandering the streets looking for things to do ★ PTAs and Church groups were able to point the blame at comic books ★ their star witness before Congress was Dr. Fredrick Wertham, who’s book Seduction Of The Innocent used select interviews to find problems with comics

7. The Accusation ★ amongst Wertham’s findings was that Batman & Robin were in a homosexual relationship — because Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson would stay home and not look for dates ★ Wertham WAS right, though, about the fact that comics were glorifying criminals an pushing a very anti-communist rhetoric that was bordering on the fanatical

8. The Fallout ★ burnings were held in Canada and the U.S. — with kids asked to collect “bad” comics to be burned in bonfires ★ half the publishers of non-animal comics closed overnight ★ DC and other superhero publishers rushed to introduce female superheroes to give the male ones healthier relationships ★ rules were set up as to what could, and what couldn’t, be put into comicbooks

9. The Oddity ★ Max Gaines of E.C. Comics instead accused the committee of being communists themselves ★ E.C. published Tales From The Crypt and other comics that were not going to make it through the ban ★ however, Gaines took his newest comic and turned it into a magazine to avoid further scrutiny ★ that comic would go on to poke fun at the establishment on behalf of teenagers everywhere…