Capitalism Against Communism: Movement of Mccarthyism

Communism was widely spread throughout the world during the post-World War II era. In Europe, in countries such as the Soviet Union communism was really centered around the Soviet Union’s government. The United States' biggest fear was widespread of communism throughout its territory after World War II. The aim of communism is to have a classless society were private property does not exist and the means of production are communally owned. On the other hand, capitalism involves the private sector owning capital goods or the factors of production. Capitalism is highly believed in the United States, whereas the aim of the United States is to destroy the spread of communism through its territories (since it is an imperialist country) and other allied or non-allied countries.

On May 17, 1954, the Brown decision was passed. It involved eliminating segregation in public schools because it was a violation of the 14th amendment ratified by the United States Supreme court in July 28, 1868. Charley Johns, Florida’s acting governor at that time, made surprising reactions to this decision. Johns graduated from the University of Florida College of Law in 1915 with high honors. Charley Johns had really high both conservative and segregationist views. Later, Johns was elected to the Florida House of Representatives and later to the Senate. While in the Senate, Johns initiated the “Pork Chop Gang”, an organization based on North Florida lawmakers. All of the “Pork Choppers” were classified as really conservative people based on their religion, education, and their love for the rural lifestyle. 

During this time, the Pork Choppers dominated Florida’s legislature. They all formed what was called the “Johns Committee” or the Florida Legislative Investigation Committee. The committee was centered as an anti-communist investigative committee, meaning that it prevented the spread of communism. During the term of senator Joseph McCarthy that lasted to the late 1950s, anti-communist beliefs were really intense. McCarthyism could be defined as the suspicion of communist activity or ties during this time without providing any evidence within the suspect. The Johns Committee which was centered around the State of Florida made various accusations or attacks to suspicious communist activity in civil rights movements, academic institutions, communist organizations, and the LGBTQ community during that time. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was highly investigated believing that communist people were behind racial agitation. Segregation during this time was a really common issue for the African-American people on a national level, especially in the south were segregation was highly practiced. These methods made McCarthyism really popular on the national level since it shared motives that other parties in different parts of the nations will share. Organizational parties such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and the White Citizens’ Council (WCC) were in favor of segregation. Also, Governor Collins (elected over Charley Johns during elections) said: “Every legal recourse will be followed to avoid integration, we will not surrender in our battle to protect our State’s customs and traditions.” With this being said, the Johns Committee had been approved by the representatives' votes and Florida’s “little McCarthyism” had started.

The “Resistance” to the committee took various acts on preventing the committee to take action against them or to spread its beliefs on a national level. Mark Hawes, a council for the Johns committee stated that the NAACP was an organization illegally instigating integration suits and they had financed the Virgil Hawkins case and had made a financial profit from its lawsuits for the past fifteen years. The NAACP was a huge target for the committee involving suspicious communist activity inside civil rights movements. The Johns committee wanted to stop integration and end with the Florida NAACP. Hawkins wanted to pursue a law degree from the University of Florida, however, this was limited due to the segregation laws in the United States which denied him admission into the law program. Here, the NAACP was involved in a federal case with the United States Supreme court.

The case ended with the decision that UF was prohibited from limiting graduate admission to whites only. Justice in higher education was rendered to all African Americans in Florida, except for the admission of Virgil Hawkins. Another attempt on the committee's search of communism failed when the Johns committee tried to punish staff, faculty, and students at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University for being in favor of the Tallahassee bus boycott. Librarian Ruth Perry wrote for a black Miami newspaper where the committee wanted to look for more information regarding the NAACP plans. Perry referred to the committee and the legislature as extremist and reactionary and noted that the pattern of the committees’ hearing in Tallahassee regarding Virgil Hawkins showed the that committee was trying to stop integration, and defy federal law, and destroy the NAACP. 

Finally, the NAACP got an order from the United States Supreme Court not to let the Johns committee access to the names of its member. Homosexual investigations done by the committee were done in campuses across the state. Sigismond Diettrich, an immigrant from Hungary, and geography professor at the University of Florida, almost tried to kill himself when the committee found out of his homosexual relationship and was told by J. Wayne Reitz to leave the university. The Board of control as well as the presidents of the University of Florida, Florida State University, and the University of South Florida had fully cooperated with the Johns Committee. The committee believed that all personnel and faculty records related to some communist or integrationist activity. After this, the legislature promptly renewed the Johns committee’s mandate for two more years, with an increase in funding, and expanded its abilities to examine state agencies for gays and lesbian people. The committee had various resistance groups against them. All of these factors made the committee spread the view of McCarthyism in mostly all of Florida’s public university campuses, with the full cooperation of the presidents. However, many faculties resisted their violation of their civil rights and fought against the committee. One report done at USF said that the university was: in favor of communism, had liberal professors who assigned non-religious and vulgar readings to their classes and had our gay professors. This were all done when Margaret Fisher tried to defend USF’s policies against the committees' charge on liberal teaching and academic freedom. Her and some of her colleagues dealt with the committees’ investigations as the Johns committee was coming to an end.

Florida’s little McCarthyism kept flourishing and people were still supporting it due to the fact that the audience of the American people liked the idea of fighting against communism. After World War II, capitalist ideas from all over the United States have been flourishing tremendously. However, segregation, civil rights and other factors involved during the committee's fight against communism had negatively impacted the committee since its views were totally different from what the audience wanted to see. McCarthyism was slowly fading on a national level since the real “fight” for communism broke out during the cold war of the 1960s. Events such as the Cuban missile crisis, or the elimination of anti-Castro groups made the cold war a “Real fight” against communism. Florida’s “little McCarthyism” was slowly coming to an end. USF was repairing the damage the committee had done since the university’s reputation declined after the damages the committee had made on its academic performance. Also, creating “gaps” between presidents and faculty.

The Johns committee ceased to exist on July 1, 1965, when its statute expired. The United States Supreme Court had filed a ruling against the committee in a case done to the NAACP. Citing the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the supreme court said that the committee tried to punish Ruth Perry for her political ideologies and that the committee failed tremendously on showing any relationship between the NAACP and communist ties. So, the committees' demand for the NAACP were highly unconstitutional. Later, the legislature decided that the committee needed a reorganization. Inciting issues in integration, homosexuality, academic freedom and liberal teaching, and communism, the committee preserved Florida’s version of McCarthyism for nine years into what it means to have a version of “little McCarthyism”.

To conclude, from my personal standing, State of Defiance: Challenging the Johns Committee's Assault on Civil Liberties” by Judith G. Poucher is an extraordinary and exceptional piece of research that every citizen of Florida should have on its hands at least once in their lifetime. History portrayed during this high time of communism after World War II were really hard times for the Floridian people. The Johns committee will always be remembered as that unconstitutional “failure” done by senators who wished to govern in an anarchical ideology. Floridians such as Hawkins and Perry defended a whole movement or cause during this time. Civil rights and liberties were also defended by Diettrich. This research done by Poucher informs us the importance on not being below the legislature, instead of that flourishing and be higher than the legislature that might want to use its power for anarchical uses. From a socialist government leading to a communist government, and then leading to tyranny is how power can get limitless and also of our own control.