In the aftermath of World War II, Americans reacted
with dismay as relations between the United States and the Soviet Union
deteriorated, the Russians imposed communist control over much of Eastern
Europe, and China was on the verge of going communist. People worried
that communists might try to subvert schools, labor unions, and other
institutions. Government agencies and private groups began to look for
evidence of subversive activity. In this climate of fear and suspicion,
the House Committee on Un-American Activities, which Herb Block had opposed
since its inception in the 1930s, became active. And in 1950, a young
senator from Wisconsin, Joseph McCarthy, seeking political gain, began
a well-publicized campaign using smear tactics, bullying and innuendo
to identify and purge communists and "fellow travelers" in government.
Herb Block recognized the danger to civil liberties posed by such activities
and warned of them in his work. He coined the phrase "McCarthyism" in
his cartoon for March 29, 1950, naming the era just weeks after Senator
McCarthy's spectacular pronouncement that he had in his hand a list of
communists in the State Department. His accusations became headline news,
vaulting him into the national political spotlight. For four years McCarthy
attacked communism, while in his cartoons Herb Block relentlessly attacked
his heavy-handed tactics. In June 1954, McCarthy was censured and in December
condemned by the Senate.
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"It's okay – We're hunting Communists"
The Cold War revived the anti-communist hysteria that had gripped
the United States after World War I. In 1947 Congress revived the
House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), opposed by Herb
Block since its inception in the 1930s and declared by President
Truman to be itself the most un-American activity. Herb Block comments:
"The FBI, under J. Edgar Hoover, helped provide the committee
with material from its aptly named raw files'. Some producers,
directors and screen writers refused to testify or to play the name
game' in which the committee demanded the names of associates, who
could then be called on to name others thus providing an ever-expanding
list of suspects to be summoned."
"It's
okay We're hunting Communists," October 31,
1947
Ink, graphite, and opaque white over graphite underdrawing on layered
paper
Published in the Washington Post (18)
LC-USZ62-127327
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"Fire!"
By 1949, the Soviets had expanded their control to cover most of
Eastern Europe, and it appeared that China would soon fall to the
communists as well. "The fear-filled forties and fifties were
a dark period when the spread of communism abroad increased anxieties
and frustration at home," wrote Herb Block. In their zeal to
stamp out all signs of subversion in the United States, professional
and amateur anti-communists threatened to suppress American liberties
as well.
"Fire!"
June 17, 1949
Reproduction from original drawing
Published in the Washington Post (25)
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"You read books, eh?"
During the postwar anti-communist campaign hundreds of elementary
and high school teachers were investigated and lost their jobs,
sometimes as a result of being named by proliferating "anti-subversive"
groups and individuals. Some individuals compiled and circulated
their own blacklists, which were accepted by frightened employers
and casting directors who feared being blacklisted themselves if
they sought facts and fair play. The motives of some self-serving
or vindictive accusers were summed up by Herb Block in a phrase:
"If you can't crush the commies, you can nail a neighbor."
"You read
books, eh?" April 24, 1949
Ink, graphite, and opaque white over graphite underdrawing on layered
paper
Published in the Washington Post (24)
LC-USZ62-127202
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"You mean I'm supposed to stand on that?"
In February 1950, Senator Joseph McCarthy captured headlines by
his claims that he held in his hand, a list of names of some 205
communists in the State Department which he did not reveal. Many
members of Congress, influenced by his success, began to support
his heavy-handed and abusive tactics for political purposes. Here
conservative Republican senators, Kenneth S. Wherry, Robert A. Taft,
and Styles Bridges and Republican National Chairman Guy Gabrielson
push a reluctant GOP elephant to mount the unsavory platform. This
was the first use of the word "McCarthyism."
"You mean
I'm supposed to stand on that?" March 29, 1950
Reproduction from original drawing
Published in the Washington Post (27)
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"We now have new and important evidence"
Senator Joseph McCarthy's continued string of reckless charges
of communism in government created such a sensation that the Senate
appointed a special committee under Millard E. Tydings to investigate
his "evidence." McCarthy managed to turn the hearings into a circus,
each new charge obscuring the fact that earlier accusations weren't
backed up. Despite a final report by the committee discrediting
McCarthy's tactics and evidence, he emerged with more general support
than ever. And "anti-subversive" hearings by other committees of
Congress, particularly the Senate Internal Security Committee headed
by Senator Pat McCarran (D-Nevada), continued treating rumors and
unsupported charges as "evidence."
"We now
have new and important evidence," May 8, 1950
Ink, graphite, and opaque white over graphite underdrawing on layered
paper
Published in the Washington Post (28)
LC-USZ62-126908
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"Say, what ever happened to 'freedom-from-fear'?"
As Senator Joseph McCarthy's campaign against State Department
and Justice Department officials continued, President Harry Truman
spoke against "scaremongers and hatemongers" who "are trying to
create fear and suspicion among us by the use of slander, unproved
accusations, and just plain lies."
"Say, what
ever happened to 'freedom-from-fear'?" August 13,
1951
Reproduction from original drawing
Published in the Washington Post (31)
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Nothing exceeds like excess
Senator Joseph McCarthy's irresponsible tactics were endorsed by
many voters who felt that the communist threat was such that the
means justified the ends. A non-combat veteran, he had used the
nickname "Tail-gunner Joe" to win a Senate seat after the war. He
then latched on to anti-communism as a winning tactic for re-election.
Other politicians, recognizing pay dirt when they saw it, jumped
on his tar-barrel bandwagon. The attacks on the Truman Administration
continued even as President Harry Truman was fighting a war against
communist aggression in Korea. At the State Department's request,
Herb Block contributed a booklet of his anticommunist cartoons for
distribution abroad. McCarthy used this to charge that he was in
the pay of the administration. When confronted by a reporter, McCarthy
backed down.
Nothing exceeds
like excess, September 12, 1952
Ink, graphite, and opaque white over graphite underdrawing on layered
paper
Published in the Washington Post (32)
LC-USZ62-126909
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"Have a care, sir"
Throughout his political career, Dwight Eisenhower refused to take
a public stand against Senator Joseph McCarthy's aggressive anti-communist
campaign. Eisenhower even struck from a 1952 campaign speech in
Wisconsin a defense of his mentor, George C. Marshall, a McCarthy
target. Half a dozen Republican senators, including Ralph Flanders,
joined Margaret Chase Smith in a "declaration of conscience" against
McCarthy. Eisenhower, however, continued to speak of "justice and
fair play" in fighting communism, and it was a long time before
they prevailed.
"Have a
care, sir," March 4, 1954
Reproduction from original drawing
Published in the Washington Post (33)
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"I have here in my hand . . ."
In 1954, Senator Joseph McCarthy went too far when he took on the
United States Army, accusing it of promoting communists. The Senate
held special hearings, known as the Army-McCarthy hearings, which
were among the first to be televised nationally. In the course of
testimony McCarthy submitted evidence that was identified as fraudulent.
As both public and politicians watched the bullying antics of the
Senator, they became increasingly disenchanted. Before the year
was out McCarthy, whose charges had first hit the headlines in February
1950, was censured by his colleagues for "conduct unbecoming a senator."
"I have
here in my hand . . .," May 7, 1954
Ink, graphite, opaque white, and overlay over graphite underdrawing
on layered paper
Published in the Washington Post (34)
LC-USZ62-126910
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"Stand fast, men -- They're armed with marshmallows"
Even with Senator Joseph McCarthy on the wane, the general hysteria
continued in many forms by assorted super patriots. In the summer
of 1954, a branch of the American Legion denounced the Girl Scouts,
calling the "one world" ideas advocated in their publications "un-American."
"Stand
fast, men--They're armed with marshmallows," August
11, 1954
Reproduction from original drawing
Published in the Washington Post (35)
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"Here he comes now"
Richard Nixon had discovered the power of smear attacks in his
early campaigns for the House of Representatives and Senate years
before Senator McCarthy began to use them. In 1954, during his vice-presidential
campaign for re-election, Nixon traveled the country to charging
previous Democratic administrations and current Democratic members
of Congress with being soft on communism. His targets included some
of the most respected members of the Senate. Herb Block's 1954 depiction
of the emerging campaigner would stick with Nixon throughout his
career.
"Here he
comes now," October 29, 1954
Reproduction from original drawing
Published in the Washington Post (36)
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"On this order for a new typewriter
ribbon -- did you know you forgot to
stamp ‘Secret'?"
The least secret fact about the federal government is that it keeps
too many secrets. In 1956, a congressional committee reported that
a million people in governmentmilitary and civilianwere
authorized to wield secrecy stamps. A Defense Department official
summed up: "I have never known a man to be court-martialed
for overclassifying anything." And a Herb Block cartoon had
one official saying to another, "Well, we certainly botched
this job. What'll we stamp itsecret' or top secret'?"
In March 1957, The Washington Post reported that the
Pentagon had recently stamped more documents secret than they had
during World War II. Much of the "secret" information
consist of speeches and other public records.
"On this order
for a new typewriter ribbon--did you know you forgot to stamp ‘Secret'?"
July 25, 1956 Ink, graphite, and opaque white over graphite underdrawing
on layered paper
Published in the Washington Post (40)
LC-USZ62-126911
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