The document discusses McCarthyism and the House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigations in the 1940s-1950s. Senator Joseph McCarthy publicly accused over 200 government employees of being communists. HUAC investigated Hollywood for communist influence, interviewing "friendly witnesses" who named others. Those who refused to name names, like the "Hollywood Ten", were blacklisted. The Red Channels pamphlet in 1950 also listed over 150 people in media and entertainment to be blacklisted. Playwright Arthur Miller was blacklisted and jailed for contempt of Congress for refusing to name names to HUAC.

1. The McCarthy Trials A modern day witch hunt

2. McCarthyism Throughout the 1940s and 1950s America was overwhelmed with concerns about the threat of communism growing in Eastern Europe and China. Capitalizing on those concerns, a young Senator named Joseph McCarthy made a public accusation that more than two hundred “card-carrying” communists had infiltrated the United States government.

3. The Alien Registration Act passed by Congress on 29th June, 1940 made it illegal for anyone in the United States to advocate, aide, or teach the desirability of overthrowing the government. The law also required all alien residents in the U.S. over 14 years of age to file statement of their personal and occupational status of their political beliefs.

4. Senator McCarthy A senator from Wisconsin He accused hundreds of politicians, writers, directors, entertainers, and homosexuals of communist affiliation Made it clear to witnesses that the only way to show allegiance to U.S. was to name names of others in the communist party His trials were highly publicized and ruined many careers

5. The House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) The objective was to undermine the American communist party Established in 1938 by congress under Martin Dies to investigate unpatriotic behavior In 1947 J. Parnell Thomas began an investigation into the Hollywood Motion Picture Association

6. “ Friendly Witnesses” The HUAC interviewed 41 people who were working in Hollywood. These people attended voluntarily and became known as "friendly witnesses". During their interviews they named nineteen people who they accused of holding left-wing views. Ten of these nineteen people refused to name names to save themselves. They became known as the “Hollywood Ten”

7. The Red Channels June 1950: a pamphlet listing 151 names of writers, directors, and actors who were alleged communists These people were blacklisted until they were cleared by HUAC Anyone who refused to name names for HUAC was blacklisted by Hollywood studios

8. Arthur Miller Used his personal moral and political convictions to write over 30 stage plays and screen plays Won a Pulitzer prize for his outstanding efforts Was convicted of contempt of congress for not naming names to HUAC Conviction was overturned a year later

9. The Crucible ." The Crucible , which premiered in 1953, is a fictionalization of the Salem witch-hunts of 1692, but it also deals in an allegorical manner with the House Un-American Activities Committee.