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The House Un-American Activities Committee was established in 1938 to investigate Americans seen as a threat to the government and way of life. It targeted fascists, communists, and counterculture, and was eventually disbanded in 1969. The committee’s forerunners were established in 1918 to investigate insider threats and Communist activities. During World War II, it focused on the actions of Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan, but later became concerned with Communist influence in government and popular culture. The committee sued over 300 Hollywood professionals, leading to blacklisting and the end of their careers. A similar committee was established in the Senate, headed by Senator Joseph McCarthy, which ultimately led to the fall of the House Un-American Activities Committee.
The House Un-American Activities Committee was a committee established in the United States House of Representatives during the mid-20th century. It was established in 20 to investigate the activities of Americans seen as a threat to people’s way of life and government operations. Most of the time, the committee sued individuals believed to have ties to fascists, communists, and the counterculture. The House Un-American Activities Committee was eventually changed to the House Homeland Security Committee in 1938 and disbanded altogether in 1969.
Forerunners of the committee were established in the House as early as 1918. In response to potential German-American activity during World War I and the growing fear of Communism caused by the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, North Carolina Representative Lee Slater Overman established a subcommittee to investigate insider threats. In 1930, further investigations into Communist activities were initiated by New York Representative Hamilton Fish III. The main target of him was the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). This was followed by the creation of a Special Un-American Activities Committee designed to examine Nazi propaganda in the United States, especially a plot to overthrow President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933.
During World War II, the House Un-American Activities Committee dealt primarily with the actions of the Nazis and the Ku Klux Klan. As the war progressed, however, the committee became increasingly concerned with Communist influence in government and popular culture. The panel’s primary targets became the Communist Party of America and New Deal commissions such as the Works Progress Administration and the Federal Theater Project.
In the late 1940s and early 1950s, the committee became interested in the alleged subversive activities of a number of organizations. The main objective was to find the communist activities carried out by the government and members of the media. Of particular note was the questioning of Hollywood professionals by the House Un-American Activities Committee. Over 300 different directors, actors and screenwriters were sued, many of whom were blacklisted by studios, effectively ending their Hollywood careers. Notable examples include Charlie Chaplin and Zero Mostel.
A similar committee was established during this time in the Senate, headed by Senator Joseph McCarthy. McCarthy’s public stance against communism during the Cold War ultimately won scrutiny from the rest of the Senate. This began the long fall of the House Un-American Activities Committee. During the 1960s, he primarily investigated political activists such as Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin, who turned much of the proceedings into social commentary by dressing up in various costumes.
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