What was the mccarran internal security act of 1950

Privacy Copyright. Abstract In response to increased tensions over the Cold War and internal security, and in response to increased anti-Communism during the Red Scare, Congress, in , enacted a notorious piece of legislation. Document Availability at the Time of Submission Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide. Included in History Commons. Search Enter search terms:. Digital Commons. Pat McCarran D-Nev at his desk in McCarran was a supporter of Sen. Joseph McCarthy and chaired the Judiciary Committee during the late s and early s, when fear of Communism was particularly rampant.

The act required the Communist Party and the 24 other organizations charged as Communist to register with the Justice Department, but none did. Critics believed the act posed a risk to First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and association. The author, Sen. Pat McCarran, D-Nev. Its authors, including Democrat Senator Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota, had hoped to sabotage the bill by making it even tougher on Communism.

President Truman had vetoed the act because of perceived constitutional problems — problems soon uncovered by the Supreme Court. Subversive Activities Control Board , courts later ruled that individual members could not be compelled to register the party. In Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control Board , the Court declared that registration of an individual amounted to self-incrimination and violated the Fifth Amendment. In Aptheker v. Secretary of State , the Court ruled that denying members of Communist organizations passports was unconstitutional.

And in United States v. Robel , the Court declared that a member of a Communist organization who worked for a defense facility and who was indicted because of that fact was being denied his First Amendment right of assembly. In Congress removed the requirement that Communist organizations had to register with the attorney general. The SACB had virtually ceased to function, and appointments to the board were viewed as sinecures.

The SACB was authorized only to maintain a public list of organizations and individuals it found to be communist. The preventive detention provision was repealed in The board had ceased its operations by