A History Of The House Un-american Activities Committee (1938-1975)

In American politics,Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government,and shares power with the executive branch and the judicial branch.However,Congress(composed of the Senate and the House of Representatives)is the only one elected directly by the people.Thus it has more contact with the voters.Congress also reflects the impact of different factions,groups and public opinion.As an investigative committee,the House Un-American Activities Committee(HUAC)holds a unique place in American history.From 1938 to 1975,HUAC investigated most important social movements in the name of "un-American activities," and for nearly 40 years it witnessed changes in American society.The investigations on "un-American Activities" typically were the product of HUAC's understandings of mainstream American ideology,as influenced by political realities.Targeting the "subversive and un-American propaganda activities," HUAC investigated and heard testimony from countless witnesses representing various social movements to determine which were un-American or threats to national security.HUAC's investigations were the outcome of the global expansion of Americanism,the externalization of American society from isolationism to globalism.As the word "un-American" suggested,HUAC embodied the values of American conservatives.An analysis of the history of the committee shows how conservatives understood and resisted the impacts of new ideas and new things,and how they regarded their mission as one of maintaining the order and stability of traditional society as they understood it.This research is based on newly declassified archives on HUAC in the holdings of the National Archives and Records Administration(NARA).It mainly focuses on the questions of:1)the basis for and meaning of un-American activities in different periods,2)the role of American conservatives in the shaping of "American Identity," 3)the inherent relationship between the ideals of Americanism and the Cold War,4)potential un-American factors and their influence in the 21st century.In addition to the Introduction and the Conclusion,the text consists of five chapters.The Introduction gives background on the subject,describes the archival materials used,and explains the rationale for this research.Chapter One gives the history of earlier investigations on "un-American activities." After describing the work of the Fish Committee,the Dickstein Committee and the Dies Committee,this chapter focuses on the investigations led by Martin Dies regarding native American Nazis,the American Communist Party,the New Deal,and the relocation centers for Japanese Americans.The chapter' s purpose is to analyze the challenges to Americanism during the 1930s as the reason for the establishment of the precursor to HUAC,the Select Committee to Investigate Un-American Activities.Chapter Two discusses the inter-act of the outbreak of the Cold War with the beginning of HUAC.In 1945 HUAC became a standing committee of the House,and soon reached its heyday for the investigation of Communist espionage.Several legislative measures promoted by HUAC passed in Congress.These attempted to restrict Communist influence and promoted a national anti-Communist consensus that paved the way for the appearance of McCarthyism in later years.Chapter Three provides a comparative analysis of McCarthyism and the HUAC un-American investigations.While McCarthyism was a phenomenon that went beyond normal American political bounds,HUAC' s investigations were more restrained and took place within the confines of the American political system.This helps explain why HUAC survived after McCarthy' s censure by the Senate.In addition,Chairman Walter refocused the Committeef s work into one of publicizing the stories of defectors " for the soul of mankind."Chapter Four looks at the lessening of HUAC' s influence in the 1960s as it faced challenges of emerging social movements from the New Left to the causes of right-wingers.The decade saw the development of new kinds of radical movements,including anti-war university protests,campus disorders,civil rights struggles,as well as the American Nazi Party and Ku Klux Klan criminal atrocities.Clearly these new threats to Americanism did not fit with HUAC' s earlier anti-Communist focus.Chapter Five provides a general commentary on HUAC' s history and discusses both the Committee' s name change in 1969 and finally its abolition in 1975.Although Chairman Ichord sought to have HUAC regain its glory by redefining the work of the Committee,he failed to adjust adequately to the transition of the Cold War.The Conclusion notes that an understanding of the idea of what was considered"un-American" in the 20th century still has relevant for today.How Americans choose to deal with new kinds of un-American activities,including terrorist activities,will be a major factor in international affairs in the 21st century.