The Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) was a United States government committee to investigate

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 ...

infiltration of American society during the 1950s

Red Scare A Red Scare is the promotion of a widespread fear of a potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies by a society or state. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which ar ...

. It was the subject of a

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

decision of the

Warren Court The Warren Court was the period in the history of the Supreme Court of the United States during which Earl Warren served as Chief Justice. Warren replaced the deceased Fred M. Vinson as Chief Justice in 1953, and Warren remained in office until ...

, ''

Communist Party v. Subversive Activities Control Board ''Communist Party of the United States v. Subversive Activities Control Board'', 351 U.S. 115 (1956). and 367 U.S. 1 (1961),. was a federal court case in the United States involving the compelled registration of the Communist Party of the United ...

'', 351 U.S. 115 (1956), that would lead to later decisions that rendered the Board powerless. It was organized on November 1, 1950, under authority provided in 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 ...

. The original 5 members of the panel were Seth W. Richardson of Washington, D.C., the Board's Chairman, along with Peter Campbell Brown of New York, Charles M. LaFollette of Indiana, David J. Coddaire of Massachusetts, and Dr. Kathryn McHale of Indiana. Mr. Brown later served as Chairman in 1952 and 1953. The SACB was empowered to order the registration of organizations that it found to be "Communist fronts", "Communist action" groups or "Communist infiltrated" groups: In carrying out this mandate, the SACB was a leader in the U.S. government's response to the Red Scare. The SACB's proceedings were thorough and methodical. Hundreds of witnesses testified and were cross-examined by defense lawyers. The decisions and findings of the SACB were subject to judicial review. In 1955, President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

appointed former

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Francis Cherry Francis Cherry may refer to: * Francis Cherry (governor) (1908–1965), governor of Arkansas, USA * Francis Cherry (diplomat) (1552–1605), English ambassador to the Court of Russia, 1598–1599 * Francis Cherry (non-juror) (1665–1713), English l ...

as SACB director. The appointment was continued by Presidents

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

and

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

. However, the 1965 U.S. Supreme Court '' Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control Board'' case eliminated the SACB's authority to enforce Communist registration requirements. The Subversive Activities Control Board was officially abolished by Congress in 1972.

See also

References

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