California Senate Factfinding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities
Encyclopedia
California Senate Factfinding Subcommittee on Un-American Activities (SUAC) was established by the California State Senate
under authority of paragraph 12.5 (13) of the Standing Rules Committee of the State Senate. The committee was a subcommittee of the general Research Committee of the California State Senate. SUAC was the California equivalent of the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
as the Tenney Committee, notable for its vigorous and ineffective investigations of Communists. The conduct of the hearings in those years "egregiously violated due process" and of the hundreds of people subpoenaed and interrogated in its eight years, not a single one had been indicted, much less convicted, of any sort of subversion.
The 12th report of the Subcommittee was published in 1963, and included investigation of the Communist Party
, the Constitutional Liberties Information Center, so-called Front groups and Black Muslims. The committee conducted an investigation of the John Birch Society
, examining its literature, sent investigators to talk with supporters and critics, examined press accounts and worked for two years. On June 12, 1963, the subcommittee filed its 62-page report and released copies to the press.
13th Report Supplement of the Subcommittee appeared in 1966 with information gathered on something called the Kerry Analysis; on Martin Kamen
; Chancellor Edward W. Strong; The Filthy Speech Movement; Clara Ontell; Virginia Taylor Norris; Campus Speakers; Margaret Gelders Frantz; The Young People's Socialist League
; Sam Kagel; Present Kerr and the Regents; and had chapter headings such as; "Radical Groups Capitalize on Rule Weaknesses"; "Pious Disclaimers'; "Half-Truths and Distortions"; "Telescoping of Time"; Leon Wofsy; Douglas Wachter; The Element of Time; "Guilt by Juxtaposition"; Developments since July, 1965; The Vietnam Day Committee
; Old Leaders - New Cause; Teach-In at Berkeley, May, 1965; Demonstrations on October 15 and 16, 1965; Demonstration on November 20, 1965; Berkeley Campus Softened Up; Comfort for the Enemy; Vietnam Propaganda at Garfield Junior High School; Chancellor Heyns Discusses the Demonstrations; International Control and Collaboration; The San Francisco Mime Troupe
; Vietnam Day Committee
Dance March 25, 1966; Homosexuality; The Eli Katz Case.
The 14th report of the committee was published in 1967 and although it claimed to deal with the Delano grape strike
, it was an anti-communist and anti-"subversive" effort on behalf of state government. While the committee reports stated that no inference of subversive activity should be construed by mention of a person or organization in their reports, the result was less circumspect. The report of 1967 claimed that agricultural labor had been a target of Communist infiltration for thirty years due to the migratory and deprived state of agricultural workers. Chapters included the Delano Grape Strike, Spring Mobilization, The Community for New Politics, Responses from Virginia Norris Taylor and other exhibits.
California State Senate
The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature. There are 40 state senators. The state legislature meets in the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The Lieutenant Governor is the ex officio President of the Senate and may break a tied vote...
under authority of paragraph 12.5 (13) of the Standing Rules Committee of the State Senate. The committee was a subcommittee of the general Research Committee of the California State Senate. SUAC was the California equivalent of the House Committee on Un-American Activities.
History
From 1941 through 1949 the Subcommittee was run by Senator Jack TenneyJack Tenney
Jack B. Tenney was an American politician who was noted for leading anti-communist investigations in California in the 1940s and early 1950s. Tenney was also the composer of several well-known songs, most notably "Mexicali Rose"....
as the Tenney Committee, notable for its vigorous and ineffective investigations of Communists. The conduct of the hearings in those years "egregiously violated due process" and of the hundreds of people subpoenaed and interrogated in its eight years, not a single one had been indicted, much less convicted, of any sort of subversion.
The 12th report of the Subcommittee was published in 1963, and included investigation of the Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
, the Constitutional Liberties Information Center, so-called Front groups and Black Muslims. The committee conducted an investigation of the John Birch Society
John Birch Society
The John Birch Society is an American political advocacy group that supports anti-communism, limited government, a Constitutional Republic and personal freedom. It has been described as radical right-wing....
, examining its literature, sent investigators to talk with supporters and critics, examined press accounts and worked for two years. On June 12, 1963, the subcommittee filed its 62-page report and released copies to the press.
13th Report Supplement of the Subcommittee appeared in 1966 with information gathered on something called the Kerry Analysis; on Martin Kamen
Martin Kamen
Martin David Kamen , a physicist inside the Manhattan project. Together with Sam Ruben, he co-discovered the isotope carbon-14 on February 27, 1940, at the University of California Radiation Laboratory, Berkeley....
; Chancellor Edward W. Strong; The Filthy Speech Movement; Clara Ontell; Virginia Taylor Norris; Campus Speakers; Margaret Gelders Frantz; The Young People's Socialist League
Young People's Socialist League
The Young People's Socialist League , founded in 1989, is the official youth arm of the Socialist Party USA. The group's membership consists of those democratic socialists under the age of 30, and its political activities tend to concentrate on increasing the voter turnout of young democratic...
; Sam Kagel; Present Kerr and the Regents; and had chapter headings such as; "Radical Groups Capitalize on Rule Weaknesses"; "Pious Disclaimers'; "Half-Truths and Distortions"; "Telescoping of Time"; Leon Wofsy; Douglas Wachter; The Element of Time; "Guilt by Juxtaposition"; Developments since July, 1965; The Vietnam Day Committee
Vietnam Day Committee
The Vietnam Day Committee was a coalition of left-wing political groups, student groups, labour organizations, and pacifist religions in the United States of America that opposed the Vietnam War...
; Old Leaders - New Cause; Teach-In at Berkeley, May, 1965; Demonstrations on October 15 and 16, 1965; Demonstration on November 20, 1965; Berkeley Campus Softened Up; Comfort for the Enemy; Vietnam Propaganda at Garfield Junior High School; Chancellor Heyns Discusses the Demonstrations; International Control and Collaboration; The San Francisco Mime Troupe
San Francisco Mime Troupe
The San Francisco Mime Troupe is a theatre of political satire which performs free shows in various parks in the San Francisco Bay Area and around California. The Troupe does not, however, perform silent mime, but each year creates an original musical comedy that combines aspects of Commedia...
; Vietnam Day Committee
Vietnam Day Committee
The Vietnam Day Committee was a coalition of left-wing political groups, student groups, labour organizations, and pacifist religions in the United States of America that opposed the Vietnam War...
Dance March 25, 1966; Homosexuality; The Eli Katz Case.
The 14th report of the committee was published in 1967 and although it claimed to deal with the Delano grape strike
Delano grape strike
The strike began when the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, mostly Filipino farm workers in Delano, California, led by Philip Vera Cruz, Larry Itliong, Benjamin Gines and Pete Velasco, walked off the farms of area table-grape growers, demanding wages equal to the federal minimum wage...
, it was an anti-communist and anti-"subversive" effort on behalf of state government. While the committee reports stated that no inference of subversive activity should be construed by mention of a person or organization in their reports, the result was less circumspect. The report of 1967 claimed that agricultural labor had been a target of Communist infiltration for thirty years due to the migratory and deprived state of agricultural workers. Chapters included the Delano Grape Strike, Spring Mobilization, The Community for New Politics, Responses from Virginia Norris Taylor and other exhibits.