The Red Scare &The Hollywood Blacklist

Modern details behind The Crucible

1st Red Scare – 1917-1920WWI & The Bolshevik

Revolution (Russia/USSR)Xenophobia – fear of foreigners

or strangersApril 1919: bomb plot

uncoveredJune 2, 1919: 8 bombs deploy in

8 cities within one hourUS Attorney General A. Mitchell

Palmer a target

“Palmer Raids”10,000 immigrants

arrested in 2 yearsJ. Edgar Hoover in

chargeMay 1, 1920 –

government overthrowNothing happened –

Palmer lost credibility

2nd Red Scare – 1947-1957After WWII – Communist

activitySoviet Union (USSR)

controlled most of Eastern Europe

Korea, China, ItalySoviets had nuclear bombAmericans feared nuclear

attack

Josef Stalin & Mao Tse Tung (Zedong)Dictators of USSR

(Stalin) & China (Tse Tung)

Murdered millions of countrymen

Stalin arrested political dissidents and put them in gulags (forced labor camps).

Communist organizations in the USFear of communist

sympathizers (pinks) & spies Julius & Ethel Rosenberg

Smith Act: passed by Congress in 1940Illegal to be a part of a

“subversive” organizationCommunist or Marxist

organizations considered subversive

Suspicion turns to Investigation1946: birth of HUAC (House

Un-American Activities Committee)

1947: Pres. Truman creates Federal Employees Loyalty Program

Wisc. Senator Joseph McCarthy led many investigations

Other Red Scare EffectsFallout shelters“Duck-and-cover” drillsCincinnati Reds became

the “Redlegs” to avoid association to communism

The Hollywood BlacklistCPUSA attracted many young

people in show bizOctober 1947: 43 people

called as witnesses in an investigation to see if Communist messages were in movies

19 refused to testify; 11 were called before HUAC

Bertolt Brecht – YES, I’m a communist!

The Hollywood 10The other 10 refused to

speak; citing 1st Amendment rights

Arrested for contempt of court

Ronald Reagan & Walt Disney testified that there were communists in Hollywood

Hollywood 10 were fired & denied any more work

The BlacklistEdward Dmytryk – admits & gets

job backAmerican Legion & Red Channels

Together, name ≈ 225 “communists” in show biz

All denied employment (blacklisted); many called before HUAC

Defendants pleaded the 5th – immediately blacklisted

WitnessesEither “friendly” or

“unfriendly”Elia Kazan (director of two

of Arthur Miller’s plays on Broadway)

Budd Schulberg (screenwriter)

Lee J. CobbOn the WaterfrontUnfriendly: Arthur Miller

Ruined results of the BlacklistBlacklisted workers had to

leave the US to get workSalt of the EarthRichard Collins (friendly)

divorced wife Dorothy Comingore (unfriendly)Died at age 58 of alcoholism

suicidesPremature strokes &

heartattacks

Things die down…Edward R. Murrow works to

censure Sen. McCarthy1957: John Henry Faulk,

radio personality, sues CBS for firing (wins)

1958: Blacklisted names fade, but some don’t work until 1960s or later

HUAC loses power; is disbanded in 1968