The
Mundt–
Ferguson Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
Registration Bill was a proposed law that would have required all members of the
Communist Party of the United States
The Communist Party USA, officially the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), is a communist party in the United States which was established in 1919 after a split in the Socialist Party of America following the Russian Revo ...
register with the
Attorney General
In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general.
In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
.
Antecedent bills
In 1940, the U.S. Congress passed the
Smith Act
The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, 76th United States Congress, 3d session, ch. 439, , is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28, 1940. It set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of th ...
.
In 1948, the House proposed the
Mundt–Nixon Bill, or "Subversive Activities Control Act
f1948,",
as H.R. (House Resolution) 5852, which sought registration of
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
members and sources for printed and broadcast material issued by Communist fronts. On May 19, 1948, the bill passed the House by 319 to 58.
The
Senate Judicial Committee held hearings at the end of May 1948 "the purpose of receiving testimony and opinions in relation to the constitutionality and practicality of H. R. 5852."
However, the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
did not act on the bill.
Mundt–Ferguson Bill of 1950
In 1950, the bill was re-introduced two years later, as the Mundt-Ferguson bill (also known as the Subversive Activities Control Bill). Again it was passed by the House of Representatives but failed in the Senate.
On March 4, 1950, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a "New Mundt Bill" by 8 to 1. According to the ''New York Times'', "the revised Mundt bill would specifically make it a crime, in peace or war, for any Federal employee to transmit secret information to a foreign agent or to a member of a Communist organization. The employees, as well as those receiving the data, would subject to maximum penalties of ten years in jail and $10,000 fines." The same penalties would go to anyone of conspiring to foster establishment of a "totalitarian dictatorship."
[
]
McCarran Internal Security Act
U.S. Senator
Pat McCarran
Patrick Anthony McCarran (August 8, 1876 – September 28, 1954) was an American farmer, attorney, judge, and Democratic politician who represented Nevada in the United States Senate from 1933 until 1954. McCarran was born in Reno, Nevada, atte ...
then took many of the provisions from the bill and included them in legislation he introduced that became the
McCarran Internal Security Act
The Internal Security Act of 1950, (Public Law 81-831), also known as the Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950, the McCarran Act after its principal sponsor Sen. Pat McCarran (D-Nevada), or the Concentration Camp Law, is a United States fede ...
, which passed both houses of Congress in 1950.
See also
*
Smith Act
The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, 76th United States Congress, 3d session, ch. 439, , is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28, 1940. It set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of th ...
of 1940
*
Mundt–Nixon Bill of 1948
*
McCarran Internal Security Act
The Internal Security Act of 1950, (Public Law 81-831), also known as the Subversive Activities Control Act of 1950, the McCarran Act after its principal sponsor Sen. Pat McCarran (D-Nevada), or the Concentration Camp Law, is a United States fede ...
of 1950
*
Subversive Activities Control Board
*
National Committee to Defeat the Mundt Bill
The National Committee to Defeat the Mundt Bill AKA "NCDMB" (1948-1950) was an American organization that sought to oppose passage of the Mundt-Nixon Bill and subject of a 15-page report of the House Un-American Activities Committee, two of whose ...
References
External links
*
Anti-communism in the United States
1948 in American law
Richard Nixon
1948 in the United States
1950 in the United States
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