Throughout American History, the government has used public fear as a tool for gaining power. A notable example took place in 1938, when the House of Un-American Activities Committee was created with the purpose of hunting down American citizens who were believed to be Communist (Lewis). Communism is one of many theories which attempt to define the best way to run a society. Communism eliminates the private market and opts for a government controlled system. This theory was created in response to the growing disparity between the upper and lower classes. It is arguable that such a system grants the government too much power and room for abuse (Communism). It is rather bizarre that a government theory could lead to such fear and panic in my opinion. During the 1940’s and even now, people who are communist seem to be associated with being bad, dangerous people, when in reality they just have different beliefs that do not even threaten the American public. The United States of America is a democracy; the government is run in the interest of the people through the election of representatives. A strong ideology that America was founded on was the capitalism component which argues that a free market is necessary to give individuals the chance to profit from their own work (Capitalism). It is highly unlikely that a country that values capitalism as much as we do would become communist, if such a change were to occur it would take generations. Other theories of how a government should be run exist of course. Democratic Socialism takes a stance in between Communism and Democracy. They believe that democracy is important and the government should work for the public and represent its interest. However instead of the classic free market they prefer the term social ownership where society as a whole would benefit from production as opposed to the wealthy few (Democratic Socialism). Sitting at the far end of the extremist scale is fascism. Fascists believe that the government must be completely of one singular belief in order to be strong and “on the same page” against threats of war and economic problems. There would be only one party and the government would be able to act faster because everyone is of the same opinion but at the cost of government regulation and representation (Fascism).
Ultimately going back to the House of Un-American Activities Committee, the public fear of communism led the government to trample on individual rights time and time again. They called citizens who were suspected of supporting communism to testify before the committee and answer invasive questions. Two rather public figures who were called to testify were Pete Seeger and Paul Robeson. Seeger, a musician whose music often contained politic messages. The Committee claimed that Seeger was suspicious because he performed for many who were deemed to be communist including providing entertainment for the May Day rally hosted by a Communist party. Under most circumstances the accused would plead the Fifth which protects citizens from self-incrimination. Seeger however, refuses to plead the Fifth and proclaimed that the whole line of questioning was very un-American itself and he has the right to not answer. Reading the script of the courtroom, I had the impression that Seeger was a very brave man for standing up to the government like he did and “sticking it to the man”. During that time period it was a very real danger that you could go to prison for suspected communist activity. I am not certain I would be able to act in such a calculated but polite manner under the same circumstances.
The other public figure who was called before the committee was Paul Robeson. Robeson was a man of many talents. He was a football player who had a law degree at Columbia University. He was successful as musician and actor and on top of that, a motivating political speaker. The Committee called him as a response to statements he made where he said he would not fight an imperialist war and as a result had his passport taken away. During the questioning Robeson made the remark “You gentleman belong with the Alien and Sedition Act”. Robeson made this statement because he believes the line of questioning is un-American like Seeger claimed. The Alien and Sedition acts are arguably the most un-American acts ever passed in United States History. They took away first amendment rights, no protesting the government, no freedom of the press, rights created by the founding fathers of the country, essentially the most American amendment ever created (Lewis). I found that Robeson’s testimony was more moving than Seeger’s because Robeson discussed the trials and tribulations of his people (African Americans). He addressed the racism of the time as well as the slavery his ancestors were subjected too. Robeson like Seeger succeeded in “sticking it to the man”. Robeson believed that communism was not the enemy, fascism was which is perhaps why he was a member of the Abraham Lincoln Brigade. The Abraham Lincoln Brigade was a group of around 35,000 volunteers that went to Spain during its civil war in order to fight the threat of fascism. At this time America, France and Great Britain were too scare of causing another World War to intervene themselves. Robeson took the risk of going, knowing that it was a very real possibility he wouldn’t come back alive because saw the authoritarian government of fascism as the real threat. His ancestors were oppressed all their lives for being a minority and Robeson knew that if Fascism spread his people would be trampled on for all of eternity and countless others would suffer. The minds of that generation such as Seeger and Robeson saw through the panic caused by Communism and saw the real threat, governments that seized power and disabled constitutional rights for their own convince such as what occurred in 1940’s America during the “Red Scare”.
Works Cited
“Capitalism.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.
“Communism.” Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.
“Democratic Socialism.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.
“Fascism.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 07 Oct. 2016.
Lewis, Anthony. Freedom for the Thought We Hate. New York: Basic Books, 2007. Print.
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