The Effect of McCarthyism on American Universities

Senator Joseph McCarthy

The effect of McCarthyism on people in government and in the entertainment industry has been widely publicized. But little is known about the role it played in the arena of higher education. However, many believed the "main area of concern was education, which was by its nature ideologically decisive...In the 1940's and 1950's they seemed to harbor populations with cosmopolitan lifestyles and liberal politics that apparently threatened the traditional values so many conservative state politicians claimed to cherish" (Schrecker, p.70). Therefore, colleges and universities were a prime target for those looking to root out the communists. Attacks on professors were carried out by state and local authorities who followed the example set by the federal government with its HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee).

But unlike the federal government, state governments tended to rely on symbolic legislation and economic sanctions rather than criminal prosecutions. For example, many universities tried to impose loyalty oath on their faculty and administrators. "The oaths usually called for a pledge of loyalty to the state and national constitutions and the disavowal of membership in any organization seeking the overthrow of the government by force and violence"(Schrecker,p.72). In 1949, the University of California tried to impose a loyalty oath which caused a bitter controversy that nearly tore the school apart. The punishment that most professors faced, however, was primarily economic. If they belonged to the Communist party, they risked losing their jobs.

The first publicized and well-known example of the firing of professors because of ties to the Communist party occurred in 1948 at the University of Washington. The state legislature's Un-American Activities Committee questioned a handful of faculty members about their political views and ties to the Communist Party. Two admitted to being members of the Communist party and were denied tenure and promptly dismissed. The third faculty member was dismissed because of "'an ambiguous relationship to the Communist Party' and for violation of certain aspects of the administrative code of the University", according to the president of the University of Washington at the time, Raymond B. Allen. In an article published in the May, 1949 issue of Educational Forum , Allen defended the actions of the University of Washington. He claimed "that a member of the Communist Party is not a free man." Freedom, he stated, was the most important ingredient of a university and of a democracy: "Educational institutions can prosper only as they maintain free teaching and research", and a member of the Communist Party is not "a free man" because he is "a slave to immutable dogma and to a clandestine organization masquerading as a political party". Like the rest of society, McCarthyism hit American universities hard.

The main academic purges occurred during the years of 1952-1954, when close to 100 academics lost their jobs for refusing to cooperate with anti-Communist investigations. According to Schrecker, several hundred more were probably coerced into resigning from their positions. Like the Hollywood blacklist, these professors did not find other teaching jobs until the 1960's. Even the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) did not come to the defense of academic freedom. Its lethargy prevented other academics who opposed the dismissals from organizing because they didn't have the protection or backing of the AAUP.

In the spring of 1953, the presidents of the nation's 37 leading universities, including Columbia University, issued a statement which "stressed the professor's duty 'to speak out'-- that is, name names -- and warn that 'invocation of the Fifth Amendment places upon a professor a heavy burden of proof of his fitness to hold a teaching position and lays upon his university to an obligation to re-examine his qualifications for membership in its society.'"(Schrecker, p.83) Now, silence wasn't even an option because professors would undoubtedly lose their jobs if they refused to talk. Columbia University was a part of this ideology. In the April 8, 1953 issue of the Columbia Spectator, then Dean of Students Nicholas D. McKnight disclosed that he and the administration were in favor of cooperating with anti-Communist groups.

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