vcczar Posted October 10 Share Posted October 10 Rep. Dies (TX-D) is sort of like the McCarthy before McCarthy. He definitely set the groundwork for him and normalized McCarthy's behavior. Dies took over the investigations of political radicals from Dickstein who had been investigating both Communists and Fascists. Dickstein, who was Jewish, was more interested in combating Fascism because of open anti-semitism, although he somewhat balanced it out. Dies pretty much ignored Fascists and focused exclusively on Communists. The longer Dies held power as Chair, the more McCarthyistic he became. The irony of Dickstein and Dies are that they seemed very much like the people they should have been investigating. Dickstein comes off as a crypto-Communist, while Dies comes off as a crypto-Fascist. Both were considered needlessly aggressive in leading and handling investigations and both ruined lives of people who were ultimately not guilty. His actions: Dies, Martin, Jr. 1932 Co-leads bill to outlaw Communist Party Dies, Martin, Jr. 1934 author of farm/silver bill Dies, Martin, Jr. 1937 Begins opposing FDR's New Deal, along with many Southern Conservatives Dies, Martin, Jr. 1938 Takes control of investigation of political radicals from Dickstein, focusing more on Communists than Fascists. Dies, Martin, Jr. 1938 Influential House Un-American Activities Committee Chair. Through most of WWII. The first chair Dies, Martin, Jr. 1938 Generates controversy by investigating 10-yr-old child star Shirley Temple for Communist sympathies Dies, Martin, Jr. 1939 probes WPA's Federal Theatre Project Dies, Martin, Jr. 1941 Criticized by Foreign Policy wonks for not focusing investigations more on Fascists when Germany is an enemy and USSR is an ally Dies, Martin, Jr. 1942 Criticized for investigating a government admin board member for Communism because he liked to swim nude Dies, Martin, Jr. 1942 airs charges against Japanese-Americans, helping lead to internment camps Dies, Martin, Jr. 1943 probes loyalty of govt employees for Communism Dies, Martin, Jr. 1943 investigates the Detroit riots for Communism Dies, Martin, Jr. 1943 investigates labor unions for Communism Dies, Martin, Jr. 1944 Opposes FDR's renomination for a 4th term Dies, Martin, Jr. 1956 Signs the Southern Manifesto opposed to desegregation Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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