In early 1953, Roy Cohn begins developing a systematic blackmail infrastructure during the McCarthy Senate hearings, leveraging anti-communist hysteria and homophobic tactics to gather compromising information on political and cultural figures. As 24-year-old chief counsel to Senator Joseph …
Roy CohnJoseph McCarthyJ. Edgar HooverFBIGenovese Crime Familyblackmailpolitical-manipulationmccarthy-eraintelligence-operationsorganized-crime+2 more
By 1952, the Hollywood blacklist had reached its peak, with over 300 writers, directors, actors, and other film industry professionals banned from employment. What began with the Hollywood Ten’s 1947 contempt citations expanded through HUAC hearings, private “clearance” systems, …
Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American IdealsStudio executivesHouse Un-American Activities CommitteeAmerican LegionFBI+1 moremccarthyismcivil-libertiesblacklistentertainment-industryfirst-amendment+1 more
In 1950, the State Department revoked the American passport of Paul Robeson—All-American football player, Phi Beta Kappa recipient at Rutgers, Columbia Law School graduate, internationally acclaimed concert performer, actor, and persuasive political speaker. The revocation came in response to …
Paul RobesonState DepartmentJ. Edgar HooverFBIred-scarecivil-libertiespolitical-persecutionsurveillance-stateracial-justice