WAS McCARTHYISM PATHOLOGICAL?
Paul Nehru Tennassee
WCL Representative in Washington DC & the United Nations, NY
Liberal democratic political systems in matured developed nation-states are as vulnerable to pathological governance as the least developed nation-states in the South or Eastern and Central Europe. One such example of pathological governance prevailed during the 1940s and 1950s in the USA. Even though the period has been stamped as McCarthyism, after Senator Joseph McCarthy who played a leading role in the persecution of American citizens, it was true that the Executive Branch and Agencies of the Federal Government were equally guilty. As a matter of fact, the Federal Government, through its Presidential Orders, helped to establish a legal framework that forged and legitimized an anti-communist consensus that enabled most Americans to condone, and others to participate in the serious violation of human rights that characterized the McCarthy era. But, it was not only the State that degenerated. The "fourth estate," the media, was the governments partner that amplified the messages that came out of Washington DC, Presidential Orders, Congressional Hearings and Prosecutions. In the process, the media helped build the "ideological scaffolding"for McCarthyism. At the same time, there were outstanding examples of opposition from individuals and groups within civil society, to what was perceived by many, as the capture of the State by politicians and interest groups with strong fascist tendencies.
RED SCARE HYSTERIA:
The Trade Union Movement was suspect in the USA since the 1870s, as the home of anarchists, socialists, and communists. Red baiting was a tactic used by the private sector to confront unions. An array of forces pitted against labor included private detective companies, local and state police, FBI and the military intelligence. The capture of state by the communists in Russia and their advocacy of global domination influenced the Red Scare of 1919-1920. The Justice Department rounded up foreign-born radicals. Hysteria was whipped-up for an entire year against left wing agitation and labor unrest. Many striking workers were deported.
The American Legion, an organization of veterans, was founded in 1919 and adopted a very strong anti-communist posture. It played an important role during three decades of the twentieth century in forging the emergence of an informal anti-communist network. It included conservative members of the American Federation of Labor. The American Legion and conservative politicians alleged that Roosevelts New Deal was infiltrated by communists and were using Federal Agencies to advance Stalins objectives. The Legion called on Congress to hold hearings on the allegations. There were a few, but they did not make a significant impact.
At the end of the 1930s, a new Alliance against the New Deal was forged between conservative Southern Democrats and Conservative Republicans. It led to the establishment in Congress of the House Un-American Committee (HUAC). The first HUAC Chair was a xenophobic Texas Democrat, Martin Dies. Hearings were held and the focus was on labor unions and New Deal Agencies. Testimonies included ex-communists, American Legion officials, representatives of other right-wing organizations and CIOs labor opponents. The Committee pursued the line that communists had infiltrated the government. Illegal red squads raided local Communist Party offices in Philadelphia and Washington DC and were able to obtain membership lists that were used to embarrass the Roosevelt Administration as numerous names included Federal employees. In 1939, the Hatch Act barred communists, Nazis and others from government employment. Then, in 1940, the Voorhist Act required groups with foreign affiliations to register with government. It was hoped that the American Communist Party would be forced to sever its ties with Moscow. In the said year, the Smith Act made it illegal to teach or advocate the overthrow of government or to join any organization that did.
The focus of the domestic anti-communis