The Ongoing War On The Left: From McCarthyism To COINTELPRO

[Itsthetruth]

CounterPunch
Weekend Edition
April 9 / 10, 2005

The Ongoing War on the Left
From McCarthyism to COINTELPRO
By ELIZABETH SCHULTE

It would be hard to overestimate the impact of McCarthyism. From the witch-hunting of communists, socialists and other radicals from the union movement, to the hysteria over the "communist menace," McCarthyism succeeded in severing left-wing ideas--and their long history in the U.S. working-class movement--from American society.

Though Joseph McCarthy--the Wisconsin senator who, along with the members of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), made his career leading the witch-hunt against communists--was a Republican, it's important to remember that the attacks happened under the watchful eye of the Democratic Party.

The Smith Act, or the Alien Registration Act of 1940--which criminalized membership in, or support for, any organization that advocated the violent overthrow of the government--was signed into law by New Deal Democrat Franklin Roosevelt. It was the first statute since the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts to make advocating particular ideas a federal crime. The Smith Act was aimed mainly at the Communist Party (CP), but it was used first on the Trotskyist Socialist Workers Party in 1941--tragically, with the support of the CP against other socialists it disagreed with.

Democratic President Harry Truman put in place the Loyalty Act in 1947, which forced 8 million government workers to sign anti-communist loyalty oaths to keep their jobs and allowed the FBI to investigate more than 2 million federal workers. Under the McCarran Act, or the Internal Security Act, signed by Truman in 1950, offenders were eligible for deportation.

http://www.counterpunch.org/schulte04092005.html

[Mairead]

1. She doesn't know her history, for sure.

She claims that

The Smith Act ... of 1940 ... was the first statute since the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts to make advocating particular ideas a federal crime.

But Eugene Debs and many others were sentenced to 10 years imprisonment under Woodrow Wilson's infamous Sedition Act of 1918 for protesting US involvement in WW1.

The US has vicious ugliness threaded all through its history. And it's always been directed leftward and down, never in any other direction.

[Itsthetruth]

2. It Seems She Does Know Her History

and I don't think your comments regarding her article were either fair nor accurate.

Unlike the Sedition Act of 1918, the Smith Act of 1940 "made it a criminal offense to advocate violent overthrow of the government or to organize or be a member of any group or society devoted to such advocacy." After World War II this statute was made the basis of a series of prosecutions against leaders of the Communist Party and in 1940 against leaders of the Minneapolis Teamsters union who were also members of the Socialist Workers Party."

The Sedition Act of 1918 was supposedly a war time measure solely designed to prohibit activity that would interfere with military operations in World War I. It was course used to victimize those who were active in opposing U.S. participation in the war such as Gene Debs.

So the Smith Act was far broader in its scope than the Sedition Act and unlike the Sedition Act of 1918 actually outlawed membership in organizations that allegedly advocated the "overthrow" of capitalism and also speech that allegedly proposed such an overthrow by violent means! The Sedition Act was a horrible law, however, it was not as broad an attack on free speech as the Smith Act. I wonder how many votes were cast against both the Sedition Act and Smith Act in the Senate. I bet more than were cast against the Patriot Act. I think one Senator voted against the Patriot Act. He died, if memory serves me right.

The Sedition Act of 1918 declared:

"Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States, or to promote the success of its enemies, or shall willfully make or convey false reports or false statements, or say or do anything except by way of bona fide and not disloyal advice to an investor or investors, with intent to obstruct the sale by the United States of bonds or other securities of the United States or the making of loans by or to the United States, and whoever when the United States is at war, shall willfully cause or attempt to cause, or incite or attempt to incite, insubordination, disloyalty, mutiny, or refusal of duty, in the military or naval forces of the United States, or shall willfully obstruct or attempt to obstruct the recruiting or enlistment services of the United States, and whoever, when the United States is at war, shall willfully utter, print, write or publish any disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language about the form of government of the United States or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States, or the flag of the United States, or the uniform of the Army or Navy of the United States into contempt, scorn, contumely, or disrepute, or shall willfully utter, print, write, or publish any language intended to incite, provoke, or encourage resistance to the United States, or to promote the cause of its enemies, or shall willfully display the flag of any foreign enemy, or shall willfully by utterance, writing, printing, publication, or language spoken, urge, incite, or advocate any curtailment of production in this country of any thing or things, product or products, necessary or essential to the prosecution of the war in which the United States may be engaged, with intent by such curtailment to cripple or hinder the United States in the prosecution of war, and whoever shall willfully advocate, teach, defend, or suggest the doing of any of the acts or things in this section enumerated, and whoever shall by word or act support or favor the cause of any country with which the United States is at war or by word or act oppose the cause of the United States therein, shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or the imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both: Provided, That any employee or official of the United States Government who commits any disloyal act or utters any unpatriotic or disloyal language, or who, in an abusive and violent manner criticizes the Army or Navy or the flag of the United States shall be at once dismissed from the service. . . .


SECTION 4:

When the United States is at war, the Postmaster General may, upon evidence satisfactory to him that any person or concern is using the mails in violation of any of the provisions of this Act, instruct the postmaster at any post office at which mail is received addressed to such person or concern to return to the postmaster at the office at which they were originally mailed all letters or other matter so addressed, with the words 'Mail to this address undeliverable under Espionage Act' plainly written or stamped upon the outside thereof, and all such letters or other matter so returned to such postmasters shall be by them returned to the senders thereof under such regulations as the Postmaster General may prescribe.