October 20, 1947
Congress investigates Reds in Hollywood
On October 20, 1947, the notorious Red Scare kicks into high gear in Washington, as a Congressional committee begins investigating Communist influence in one of the world’s richest and most glamorous communities: Hollywood.
After World War II, the Cold War began to heat up between the world’s two superpowers–the United States and the communist-controlled Soviet Union. In Washington, conservative watchdogs worked to out communists in government before setting their sights on alleged “Reds” in the famously liberal movie industry. In an investigation that began in October 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) grilled a number of prominent witnesses, asking bluntly “Are you or have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?” Whether out of patriotism or fear, some witnesses–including director Elia Kazan, actors Gary Cooper and Robert Taylor and studio honchos Walt Disney and Jack Warner–gave the committee names of colleagues they suspected of being communists.
A small group known as the “Hollywood Ten” resisted, complaining that the hearings were illegal and violated their First Amendment rights. They were all convicted of obstructing the investigation and served jail terms. Pressured by Congress, the Hollywood establishment started a blacklist policy, banning the work of about 325 screenwriters, actors and directors who had not been cleared by the committee. Those blacklisted included composer Aaron Copland, writers Dashiell Hammett, Lillian Hellman and Dorothy Parker, playwright Arthur Miller and actor and filmmaker Orson Welles.
Some of the blacklisted writers used pseudonyms to continue working, while others wrote scripts that were credited to other writer friends. Starting in the early 1960s, after the downfall of Senator Joseph McCarthy, the most public face of anti-communism, the ban began to lift slowly. In 1997, the Writers’ Guild of America unanimously voted to change the writing credits of 23 films made during the blacklist period, reversing–but not erasing–some of the damage done during the Red Scare.
“Congress investigates Reds in Hollywood.” 2008. The History Channel website. 20 Oct 2008, 11:54 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=51910.
Aaron Copland: Fanfare for the Common Man
1774 – The new Continental Congress, the governing body of America’s colonies, passed an order proclaiming that all citizens of the colonies “discountenance and discourage all horse racing and all kinds of gaming, cock fighting, exhibitions of shows, plays and other expensive diversions and entertainment.”
1803 – The U.S. Senate approved the Louisiana Purchase.
1818 – The U.S. and Great Britain established the boundary between the U.S. and Canada to be the 49th parallel.
1903 – A joint commission ruled in favor of the U.S. concerning a dispute over the boundary between Canada and the District of Alaska.
1935 – Mao Zedong arrived in Shensi Province after his Long March that took just over a year. He then set up the Chinese Communist Headquarters.
1944 – Allied forces invaded the Philippines.
1952 – The Mau Mau uprising against white settlers began in Kenya.
1967 – Seven men were convicted in Meridian, MS, on charges of violating the civil rights of three civil rights workers. Of the men convicted one was a Ku Klux Klan leader and another was a sheriff’s deputy.
1986 – American mercenary Eugene Hasenfus was formally charged by the Nicaraguan government on several charges including terrorism.
1993 – Attorney General Janet Reno warned the TV industry to limit the violence in their programs.
1995 – Britain, France and the U.S. announced a treaty that banned atomic blasts in the South Pacific.
October 20, 1774
Congress creates the Continental Association
On this day in 1774, the First Continental Congress creates the Continental Association, which calls for a complete ban on all trade between America and Great Britain of all goods, wares or merchandise.
The creation of the association was in response to the Coercive Acts—or “Intolerable Acts” as they were known to the colonists–which were established by the British government to restore order in Massachusetts following the Boston Tea Party.
The Intolerable Acts were a set of four acts: The first was the Boston Port Act, which closed the port of Boston to all colonists until damages from the Boston Tea Party were paid. The second, the Massachusetts Government Act, gave the British government total control of town meetings, taking all decisions out of the hands of the colonists. The third, the Administration of Justice Act, made British officials immune to criminal prosecution in America and the fourth, the Quartering Act, required colonists to house and quarter British troops on demand, including in private homes as a last resort.
Outraged by the new laws mandated by the British Parliament, the Continental Association hoped that cutting off all trade with Great Britain would cause enough economic hardship there that the Intolerable Acts would be repealed. It was one of the first acts of Congress behind which every colony firmly stood.
“Congress creates the Continental Association.” 2008. The History Channel website. 20 Oct 2008, 11:56 http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=Article&id=51322.
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