McCarthyism

1
McCarthyism

• M. Siebert

2
Meet Senator Joseph McCarthy

• Born on a farm near Appleton, WI in 1909
• Became U.S. Senator for Wisconsin in 1946
• In February 1950, his accusations against
  communists began

3
HUAC

• The House of Un-American Activities Committee
• Originally established in 1937
• In 1947 investigated Hollywood interviewed 41
  friendly witnesses. This led to the Hollywood
  Ten incident and the issue of Blacklisting

4
Hollywood Ten

• Group of screenwriters who were accused of being
  communists in 1947
• Refused to cooperate with HUAC
• Fined, sentenced to one year in prison and
  blacklisted in 1950

Herbert Biberman, Alvah Bessie, Lester Cole,
Edward Dmytryk, Ring Lardner Jr., John Howard
Lawson, Albert Maltz, Samuel Ornitz, Adrian
Scott, and Dalton Trumbo.
5
Blacklisting

• Hollywood execs instituted a list of people not
  allowed to work in film industry
• Approx. 500 actors, writers, producers, and
  directors had careers ruined b/c they could no
  longer work
• Key figure in ending blacklisting was John Henry
  Faulk
• Ban lifted in 1962