Representative Martin Dies Jr. of Texas served as chairman of the House Un-American Activities for seven years. According to Dies, almost all of the correspondence he received endorsed the work of his committee. Critics, however, viewed his committee’s investigations as publicity stunts and its controversial tactics as civil rights violations.
Associated Press
Representative Martin Dies Jr. of Texas with Constituent Letters, photograph by the Associated Press, November 2, 1939
House Un-American Activities Committee
The world wars stirred concerns in Congress about potential disloyalty and subversive activities in the nation. Several congressional committees met between World War I and World War II to investigate these concerns, the most prominent of which was chaired by Representative Martin Dies Jr. of Texas. Initially organized to investigate fascist activities, the House Un-American Activities Committee—popularly known as the Dies Committee—quickly became a controversial vehicle to persecute individuals and groups for their alleged communist ties or sympathies.
Nations are sometimes destroyed by a sudden revolution, but more often republics are destroyed by the gradual process of subversion.
Representative Martin Dies Jr. of Texas, Speech to the U.S. House of Representatives, February 1, 1943
Representative Martin Dies Jr. of Texas served as chairman of the House Un-American Activities for seven years. According to Dies, almost all of the correspondence he received endorsed the work of his committee. Critics, however, viewed his committee’s investigations as publicity stunts and its controversial tactics as civil rights violations.
Associated Press
