McCarran Internal Security Act
The Internal Security Act of 1950 is a federal law of the United States . It is often called the McCarran Act or McCarran Security Act after its chief author, Senator Pat McCarran . It deals with the fight against organizations classified as " subversive " and is considered an important law of the McCarthy era .
Originator
Its originator, Senator Patrick McCarran, was a conservative Democrat and opponent of the New Deal . He feared that members of the Communist Party of the USA would infiltrate the new authorities created in the New Deal, as well as an influx of radical and communist emigrants. As head of the Senate Judiciary Committee , he created an agency for the compulsory registration of all communists and organizations classified as communist, the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) .
content
The law required the registration of communist "action organizations" ( Communist-action Organizations ) and implementing organizations ( Communist-front Organizations ) at the US Department of Justice . Organizations directly controlled by a foreign communist government were called action organizations. Apron organizations were those that were in turn controlled by an action organization and supported the action organization. They should give the Ministry of Justice the names and addresses of their headquarters and their officials, and the action organizations also give all members, as well as information about their money flows and the use of aliases or aliases . The Department of Justice should publish this in an annual list. The Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) , whose five members were to be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, was intended as an appeal body against an entry in the list . It should work like a congressional committee, such as the Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), and be able to summon and swear witnesses under threat of punishment . Members of communist organizations were not allowed to hold government offices or work in the armaments industry, government employees were not allowed to be members of or support communist-registered organizations. The Emergency Detention Amendment finally provided for the internment of members of registered organizations and persons suspected of espionage if the president declares a national emergency. The "conspiracy with others to contribute substantially to the establishment of a totalitarian dictatorship" in the United States was banned. The formulation “substantial contribution” was deliberately vague, even reading Marxist writings at a university could be seen as a contribution. In a preamble the necessity of the law was justified with the threat from the Soviet Union .
Veto, criticism and jurisprudence
In the legislative process, the McCarran Act has been attacked for giving the state control over the views of its citizens and classifying them as anti-subversive. He also violates the Fifth Amendment , according to which no one may be forced by the state to incriminate themselves. The two major daily newspapers, the New York Times and the Washington Post, spoke out against the law. But it was passed with a large majority. On 22 September 1950 President put Harry S. Truman his veto one of the law. He justified this by saying that it would enable the state to control the mind, restrict the right to freedom of expression, isolate the US politically and play into the hands of its opponents and communists - by publishing lists of important arms companies. Truman's veto was overruled by Congress and the law went into effect on September 23, 1950. In 1952, the Supreme Court ruled Carlson v. Landon approved the deportation legislation with a majority of 5: 4. In 1961 he declared the registration to be constitutional, only in 1965 overturned a judgment, Albertson vs. SACB , the obligation to register individuals for violating the Fifth Amendment.
Validity and application
Parts of the law were repealed in 1971 and 1993.
The law was used against Daniel Ellsberg and Chelsea Manning .
Cultural reception
In the film Strafpark , the internment of suspects as provided for by the law is fictionalized.
Sources and web links
- Text of the McCarran Internal Security Act
- Mark Patenaude: The McCarran Internal Security Act, 1950-2005: Civil Liberties Versus National Security , Louisiana State University, Department of History, 2006
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mark Patenaude: The McCarran Internal Security Act, 1950-2005: Civil Liberties Versus National Security ( Memento of the original from February 28, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Louisiana State University, Department of History, 2006, p. 34
- ↑ Patenaude, p. 36
- ↑ Patenaude, p. 37
- ↑ Patenaude, p. 43
- ↑ 254. Veto of the Internal Security Bill ( Memento of the original from March 1, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Wording of the veto on the Truman Library page
- ↑ Patenaude, p. 52
- ↑ Patenaude, p. 59
- ↑ Patenaude, pp. 65-68
- ^ Rescission decision
- ↑ Archived copy ( Memento of the original dated February 8, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ collection of the charges against Manning Document ( Memento of 26 July 2011 at the Internet Archive )
