| During the late 1940s and 1950s, anti-communist activities and legislation at the state level, such as New York State's infamous Feinburg Law (1949), as well as short-sighted school policies and anti-semitic beliefs came together to create a hostile environment for progressive teachers and administrators in the New York City public schools. In the face of accusations of "subversive activities," several hundred teachers and administrators were fired or forced to resign or retire from their positions in the public school system. Overly aggressive school officials used questionable investigatory practices to identify and accuse public school teachers of being communists. These methods included checking cars' license plates at communist-sponsored events to determine if they belonged to teachers, and examining nominating petitions for communist political candidates to learn whether any teachers had signed. In adopting the "Informer Policy," teachers were forced to provide the names of other teachers whom they thought were communists. Teachers who may at one time have belonged to the Communist party could clear their own names only by naming others; if they refused, they were fired. School officials pursued the even more controversial practice of relying on paid informants to supply information on alleged communist teachers. However, this strategy backfired in the case of informant Harvey Matusow, who later recanted his accusations and ultimately served five years in prison for perjury.; Many observers concluded that anti-semitism motivated some school officials in their attacks on Jewish teachers. At the same time, these officials were accused of violating the teachers' academic freedom by demanding that they remove or add certain materials to their instructional programs. Only after many gifted and dedicated teachers were forced out of the New York City public schools did the U.S. Supreme Court declare the Feinburg Law unconstitutional. Utilizing records and documents from the New York City Board of Education, archival materials generated by litigation over the dismissals, and oral interviews with former teachers, this study provides new information and interpretations of the impact of the "Red Scare" on public education in the U.S. in general, and on the New York City public school system in particular. |
