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The Red Scare & The Hollywood Blacklist

The Red Scare & The Hollywood Blacklist. Modern details behind The Crucible. 1 st Red Scare – 1917-1920. WWI & The Bolshevik Revolution (Russia/USSR) Xenophobia – fear of foreigners or strangers April 1919: bomb plot uncovered June 2, 1919: 8 bombs deploy in 8 cities within one hour

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The Red Scare & The Hollywood Blacklist

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  1. The Red Scare &The Hollywood Blacklist Modern details behind The Crucible

  2. 1st Red Scare – 1917-1920 • WWI & The Bolshevik Revolution (Russia/USSR) • Xenophobia – fear of foreigners or strangers • April 1919: bomb plot uncovered • June 2, 1919: 8 bombs deploy in 8 cities within one hour • US Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer a target

  3. “Palmer Raids” • 10,000 immigrants arrested in 2 years • J. Edgar Hoover in charge • May 1, 1920 – government overthrow • Nothing happened – Palmer lost credibility

  4. 2nd Red Scare – 1947-1957 • After WWII – Communist activity • Soviet Union (USSR) controlled most of Eastern Europe • Korea, China, Italy • Soviets had nuclear bomb • Americans feared nuclear attack

  5. 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).

  6. Communist organizations in the US • Fear of communist sympathizers (pinks) & spies • Julius & Ethel Rosenberg • Smith Act: passed by Congress in 1940 • Illegal to be a part of a “subversive” organization • Communist or Marxist organizations considered subversive

  7. Suspicion turns to Investigation • 1946: birth of HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee) • 1947: Pres. Truman creates Federal Employees Loyalty Program • Wisc. Senator Joseph McCarthy led many investigations

  8. Other Red Scare Effects • Fallout shelters • “Duck-and-cover” drills • Cincinnati Reds became the “Redlegs” to avoid association to communism

  9. The Hollywood Blacklist • CPUSA attracted many young people in show biz • October 1947: 43 people called as witnesses in an investigation to see if Communist messages were in movies • Ronald Reagan & Walt Disney testified that there were communists in Hollywood • 19 refused to testify; 11 were called before HUAC • Bertolt Brecht – YES, I’m a communist!

  10. The Hollywood 10 • 19 refused to testify; 11 were called before HUAC • Bertolt Brecht – YES, I’m a communist! • The other 10 refused to speak; citing 1st Amendment rights • Arrested for contempt of court • Hollywood 10 were fired & denied any more work

  11. The Blacklist • Edward Dmytryk – admits & gets job back • American Legion & Red Channels • Together, name ≈ 225 “communists” in show biz • All denied employment (blacklisted); many called before HUAC • Defendants pleaded the 5th – immediately blacklisted

  12. Witnesses • Either “friendly” or “unfriendly” • Elia Kazan (director of two of Arthur Miller’s plays on Broadway) • Budd Schulberg (screenwriter) • Lee J. Cobb • On the Waterfront • Unfriendly: Arthur Miller

  13. Ruined results of the Blacklist • Blacklisted workers had to leave the US to get work • Salt of the Earth • Richard Collins (friendly) divorced wife Dorothy Comingore (unfriendly) • Died at age 58 of alcoholism • suicides • Premature strokes & heartattacks

  14. Things die down… • Edward R. Murrow works to censure Sen. McCarthy • 1957: 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

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