The Supreme Court and McCarthy-Era Repression: One Hundred Decisions

Description

In this volume, attorney Robert M. Lichtman provides a comprehensive history of the U.S. Supreme Court's decisions in "Communist" cases during the McCarthy era. Lichtman shows the Court's vulnerability to public criticism and attacks by the elected branches during periods of political repression. The book describes every Communist-related decision of the era (none is omitted), placing them in the context of political events and revealing the range and intrusiveness of McCarthy-era repression. In Fred Vinson's term as chief justice (1946-53), the Court largely rubber-stamped government action against accused Communists and "subversives." After Earl Warren replaced Vinson as chief justice in 1953, however, the Court began to rule against the government in "Communist" cases, choosing the narrowest of grounds but nonetheless outraging public opinion and provoking fierce attacks from the press and Congress. Legislation to curb the Court flooded Congress and seemed certain to be enacted. The Court's situation was aggravated by its 1954 school-desegregation decision, Brown v. Board of Education, which led to an anti-Court alliance between southern Democrats and anti-Communists in both parties. Although Lyndon Johnson's remarkable talents as Senate majority leader saved the Court from highly punitive legislation, the attacks caused the Court to retreat, with Felix Frankfurter leading a five-justice majority that decided major constitutional issues for the government and effectively nullified earlier decisions. Only after August 1962, when Frankfurter retired and was replaced by Arthur Goldberg, did the Court again begin to vindicate individual rights in "Communist" cases—its McCarthy era was over. Demonstrating keen insight into the Supreme Court's inner workings and making extensive use of the justices' papers, Lichtman examines the dynamics of the Court's changes in direction and the relationships and rivalries among its justices, including such towering figures as Hugo Black, Felix Frankfurter, Earl Warren, William O. Douglas, and William J. Brennan, Jr. The Supreme Court and McCarthy-Era Repression: One Hundred Decisions tells the entire story of the Supreme Court during this unfortunate period of twentieth-century American history. Dedication Epigraph Contents Author’s Note Introduction: Political Repression and Court-Curbing 1. Defining the McCarthy Era 2. The Justices of the Vinson Court, Douds, and the Start of the Court’s McCarthy Era (October Term 1949) 3. Dennis, the Attorney General’s List, Loyalty Programs, Contempts, and More (October Term 1950) 4. Deportations, Fallout from Dennis, and the Rosenberg Case (October Terms 1951 and 1952, Special Term 1953) 5. The Coming of the Warren Court, the Emspak Trilogy, and Brown’s Consequences (October Terms 1953 and 1954) 6. Nelson, Cole v. Young, and the Beginning of the Campaign against the Court (October Term 1955) 7. The “Red Monday” Decisions, Jencks, and a Crescendo of Anti-Court Attacks (October Term 1956) 8. Beilan, Lerner, and the Court’s Shift, Passport Cases, and Congress’s Court-Curbing Climax (October Term 1957) 9. Barenblatt, Uphaus, and the Court in Retreat (October Terms 1958 and 1959) 10. Scales and CPUSA, Wilkinson and Braden, and Konigsberg II and Anastaplo—a Full-Scale Retreat (October Term 1960) 11. Frankfurter’s Departure, a Near-Decision in Gibson, and the Era’s End (October Term 1961) Epilogue: Vietnam War Decisions and Some Observations Notes Selected Bibliography Index of Supreme Court Decisions Index About the Author