An American History

932 ★ CHAPTER 23 The United States and the Cold War

defense of the government of Spain

during the Spanish Civil War of the

1930s, suddenly took on sinister impli-

cations. Throughout the country in the

late 1940s and 1950s, those who failed

to testify about their past and pres-

ent political beliefs and to inform on

possible communists frequently lost

their jobs.

Local anticommunist groups forced

public libraries to remove from their

shelves “ un- American” books like the

tales of Robin Hood, who took from the

rich to give to the poor. Universities

refused to allow left- wing speakers to

appear on campus and fired teachers

who refused to sign loyalty oaths or to

testify against others.

As during World War I, the courts

did nothing to halt the political repres-

sion, demonstrating once again James

Madison’s warning that popular hys-

teria could override “parchment barriers” like the Bill of Rights that sought

to prevent infringements on freedom. In 1951, in Dennis v. United States, the

Supreme Court upheld the jailing of Communist Party leaders even though the

charges concerned their beliefs, not any actions they had taken. Even many lib-

erals retreated from the idea that freedom of expression was a birthright of all

Americans. The American Civil Liberties Union condemned McCarthy’s tactics

but refused to defend the indicted Communist Party leaders.

The Uses of Anticommunism

There undoubtedly were Soviet spies in the United States. Yet the tiny Com-

munist Party hardly posed a threat to American security. And the vast majority

of those jailed or deprived of their livelihoods during the McCarthy era were

guilty of nothing more than holding unpopular beliefs and engaging in lawful

political activities.

Anticommunism had many faces and purposes. A popular mass move-

ment, it grew especially strong among ethnic groups like Polish- Americans,

with roots in eastern European countries now dominated by the Soviet Union,

and among American Catholics in general, who resented and feared commu-

nists’ hostility to religion. Government agencies like the Federal Bureau of

“Fire!” Cartoonist Herbert Block, known as
“Herblock,” offered this comment in 1949 on
the danger to American freedom posed by the
anticommunist crusade.