Political Effects Of Hollywood Blacklisting

The list accused 151 writers, directors and performers and claimed they were member of the Communist organization during World War II. The blacklist against Communists would make it significantly more difficult for a person to find employment in most industries and most likely would get a person fired just for even being interrogated or being any form of a suspect of Communism. Even a person who worked with a person accused of Communism had significantly less chance to be able to find a job. Ten stars that were most famous for standing up for themselves and pleaded the 5th amendment when asked to name Communists were known as the Hollywood ten. Their names were Herbert Biberman, Albert Maltz, Lester Cole, Adrian Scott, Samuel Ornitz, Dalton Trumbo, Edward Dmytryit, Ring Lardner Jr., John Howard Lawson and Alvah Bessie. The ten did not defend themselves because they were prideful Americans who saw their rights and the rights of others being harmed and decided to do something about, no. They were already asked if they were Communists when they went on a trip to California and they did not want to get charged with perjury. Some Americans did take action and saw that their rights were being put into question and decided to protect themselves, for example Alger Hiss who was accused and in order to solidify the fact that he was a Communist lawyers used his day to day schedule in full detail to solidify that his behaviors were that

In addition to fighting communism overseas, the United States battled communism within its own government. Pressured by the republicans, President Truman created a loyalty Review Board in which government employees where investigated for their loyalty. Of the 3 million who where testified, only 212 where dismissed as security risks. This method was often ineffective because individuals who had been accused of disloyalty where not allowed to see the evidence against them. Another program aimed at eliminating communist influence was HUAC, or the House Un-American Activity Committee. In 1947, HUAC questioned 43 Hollywood actors about their loyalty to the government.

My response: The Hollywood Blacklist was an event that occurred in America where some people who worked in Hollywood were accused of working with the communists. According to an article published by Online Highways LLC, the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) brought in many Hollywood writers, producers, and directors to question (Hollywood Blacklist). Then, according to an article published by A&E Television Networks, a notable group of 10 people who were brought in for questioning directly challenged the HUAC’s authority to question people about communist involvement, which forced them to spend a year in prison, pay a $1,000 fine, and become blacklisted so that they couldn’t work on any future Hollywood projects (“Hollywood Ten”). Their defiance was very controversial, since some people saw them as heroic people who stood up against McCarthyism and the Red Scare, while others felt that they needed to be punished for being admitted communists.

The House Un-American Activities Committee, also know as HUAC, investigated alleged communist activities in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The committee called high-profile citizens to testify in hearings before Congress. Gary Cooper, a Hollywood actor, was a “friendly” witness questioned in October of 1947. Cooper was called to appear before HUAC under the false accusation of promoting communism in Philadelphia. Albert Maltz, a movie writer, was an “unfriendly” witness questioned in 1947. Maltz was called to appear before the committee because he was an active member of the Screen Writers Guild and had a large influence in Hollywood. Although Gary Cooper’s and Albert Maltz’s testimonies before HUAC contain different answering methods, the two testimonies compare in that points of view of the person on trial and methods of questioning.

People lost their jobs and careers went bad and even imprisonment occurred. McCarthy held hearings called the Hollywood Blacklist, which had to do with The House Committee on Un-American Activities and anti- communist activities with the FBI.

At the end of the 1940’s and the beginning of the 1950’s, the United States were in the midst of the Second Red Scare and a fear that Communism might over throw the American way of life. Cold War tensions were at an all time high, which only fueled the widespread fears of Communist subversion. It was here that Senator Joseph McCarthy became a public face when he began making claims that the U.S. Government, as well as many other areas of the country, including the entertainment industry, had been invaded by Soviet and Communist spies, looking to destroy America from within. Hearings before the House Un-American Activities Committee, Hollywood Blacklisting, and anti-communist activity from the FBI soon followed. McCarthy was under intense analysis

Censorship has been a big topic in America since the birth of its modern government. There are things that go on around the world that the media would never show its American viewers. This has also been seen in places like the military, where if a soldier were to send a letter back home, he or she can not disclose information such as their location. While it is a way to protect the American people from potential threats, it also restricts our freedom of speech. Everyone has the right to speak his or her mind; whether you agree with an idea or not is always a conscious choice. An

At this time both the democratic United States and the communist Soviet Union believed that successful advancements in technology would enable them to assert strength and superiority. According to Achieve 3000, “Case Against Rosenberg Falls Apart,” “In 1949, The Soviet Union test-launched an atomic bomb, an act that raised suspicions within the U.S. government” (1). Also, the thought of the Soviet Union having the ability to relinquish such a devastating weapon on the United States frightened the people of America as well. When the Cold War developed in the late 1040s the U.S. government again feared that the communist revolution in the Soviet Union would influence many people in the U.S. to do the same. According to the text,”The fear of communism even spread towards Hollywood when a congressional group called the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated communist influence in the entertainment industry, issuing subpoenas to writers, actors, directors, and studio executives and asking them, ‘Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist party’”(1).

I find it interesting that so many people were swayed by what they were being told by the government. I have the impression that American are very gullible and naïve. There had to be more to what they were doing to convince Americans that Hollywood was friendly with Communists and poisoning them with their movies. When I think of Americans today, many of them raise an eyebrow to what the government is telling them. They will also often times do the exact opposite of what the government is asking them to do. When Mike Bloomberg suggested making it illegal for restaurants to sell extra large sodas, many people that I know went crazy and would deliberately get extra large sodas. These people didn’t necessarily like soda or need one of that size and most definitely knew that it was not good for them; however they didn’t like the fact that someone from the government was telling them what they could and could not drink. These people felt that their rights were being violated. This is how I view most Americans today, they are stubborn and are very protective of their rights. Which is why I find it hard to believe that people actually bought into the idea that Hollywood was poisoning them with Communist ideas and were in cahoots with Russia?

Imagine this, what would it be like to end up in jail because of a rumor? That is what happened during McCarthyism and the Red Scare, people were arrested for rumors of being communist and put in jail when they really weren't. The authors of USHistory.org mentions how the government steps up in the investigations. In this article the authors are talking about how they stepped up their role in the investigation. It states, “The U.S Congress created a committee that sought to find “Un-American activities” in the hollywood film industry” (USHistory.org). The U.S Congress thought there were “Un-American” things happening in the hollywood industry so they created a committee to investigate more. The people who were accusing others of being communists were allowed to go free. With all of this happening it caused others to get fired from their jobs in local governments. Another article states, “McCarthey later gave Congress the name of the State Department employees the he claimed were traitors” (McCarthey). McCarthy used this to scare the people, he then took advantage of it, and turned in the traitors to Congress. Not long after the government acted on the list of traitors which led people to getting fired or jailed. These articles are very similar because of the many rumors causing deaths, and problems with other people.

Fewer than 50,000 Americans out of a total US population of 150 million were members of the communist party. (Wall 1) The government loyalty boards investigated millions of federal employees. (Wall 1) Hundreds of screenwriters, actors, and directors were blacklisted because of their beliefs.

From the late 1930s to late 1950s the HUAC took initial steps to find communists and spies in the United States. The House Un- Americans Activities Committee was a big part of the panic of the scare. The HUAC started investigating Hollywood for communism spies in 1947, the committee held nine hearings, after convictions the “Hollywood ten” were blacklisted. The HUAC Hollywood investigations were 1 of 50 investigations. After the HUAC’s Hollywood probe they focused on nuclear espionage, they were very successful in finding spies like Elizabeth Bentley.

The individuals, who were persecuted during what is now referred to as the “McCarthy Era,” had their once prominent careers destroyed. They lost their friends and family, and all based on untrue rumors which were spread about them, such as planning to start a revolution and attempt to overthrow the Government of the United States. At no time did the Communist Party have the manpower or financial resources to do anything more than a small demonstration and no party member from Hollywood gave serious thought to even that idea.

Hollywood has influenced American history since it began. It boosted and shaped the morale of a nation for almost a century. But Hollywood has not only been the influencing American society, it has been influenced by American society. In the 1920s, American society was booming; people were getting rich, spending and borrowing money, and they thought life was looking good. Then in October of 1929 the stock market crashed. Many people lost all they owned. People had invested all their money into the banks before the Crash. After the Crash, the banks had nothing. People were destitute. They had no money to pay for their houses, electrical bills, and food. It became the Great Depression. Likewise, Hollywood was impacted by the Great

  No matter how fervently someone believes in the justice of his cause, suppression of the free exchange of ideas is failure at best or downright wrong. The power or might behind an idea does not make the idea right. Many powerful people throughout history have been wrong. Few people, if any, would judge "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" to be subversive or wrong. In 1939 Ambassador Kennedy was so caught up in the fears of the times that he was willing to use the power of his money to protect the world against a film. When people are caught up in the movements of their time, all people must be extra zealous to guard and encourage freedom of expression. Otherwise, a mob mentality reigns, and people