Tydings Committee
Encyclopedia
The Subcommittee on the Investigation of Loyalty of State Department Employees, more commonly referred to as the Tydings Committee, was a subcommittee authorized by in February 1950 to look into charges by Joseph R. McCarthy that he had a list of individuals who were known by the Secretary of State
to be members of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) yet who were still working in the State Department.
The mandate of the committee was to conduct "a full and complete study and investigation as to whether persons who are disloyal to the United States are, or have been, employed by the Department of State."
The chairman of the subcommittee was Senator Millard Tydings
, a Democrat from Maryland
.
On February 20, 1950, McCarthy had delivered an 5-hour speech to the Senate in which he presented the cases of 81 "loyalty risks" who he claimed were working for the State Department. McCarthy declined requests that he disclose the actual names of the people on his list, and instead referred to them by "case numbers". It is widely accepted that most of McCarthy's cases were taken from the so-called "Lee list"—a report that had been compiled three years earlier for the House Appropriations Committee
. Led by a former FBI agent named Robert E. Lee, the House investigators had been allowed to review the security clearance documents on State Department employees, and had determined that there were "incidents of inefficiencies"
in the security reviews of 108 past and present employees.
The Lee list was also the source of McCarthy's famous list of 57 "cardcarrying Communists" in the State Department.
In 1948, the State Department had informed the House that of the 108 cases flagged by Lee, 57 were still working for the department. This list included persons whom Lee had deemed security risks for a variety of reasons, such as marital infidelity or drunkenness, and all of them had been cleared by the State Department's review process.
In response to these allegations, the Tydings Committee hearings were held, opening on March 8, 1950 and lasting until July 17. At the hearings, McCarthy expanded on his original list of unnamed individuals and made charges against nine others whose names he made public: Dorothy Kenyon
, Esther Brunauer, Haldore Hanson, Gustavo Duran
, Owen Lattimore
, Harlow Shapley
, Frederick L. Schuman
, John S. Service
and Philip Jessup
. Some of these people no longer, or never had, worked for the State Department, and all had previously been the subject of various charges of varying worth and validity. Owen Lattimore became a particular focus of McCarthy's, who at one point described him as a "top Russian spy."
Throughout the hearings, McCarthy employed colorful rhetoric. He was able to produce little objective proof to support his accusations but instead relied on testimonies from Communists and ex-Communists in presenting his case to the public.
From its beginning, the Tydings Committee was marked by partisan infighting. Its final report, written by the Democratic majority, concluded that the individuals on McCarthy's list were neither Communists nor pro-communist, and said the State Department had an effective security program. Tydings labeled McCarthy's charges a "fraud and a hoax," and said that the result of McCarthy's actions was to "confuse and divide the American people[...] to a degree far beyond the hopes of the Communists themselves." Republicans responded in kind, with William Jenner
stating that Tydings was guilty of "the most brazen whitewash of treasonable conspiracy in our history." The full Senate voted three times on whether to accept the report, and each time the voting was precisely divided along party lines.
Secretary of State
Secretary of State or State Secretary is a commonly used title for a senior or mid-level post in governments around the world. The role varies between countries, and in some cases there are multiple Secretaries of State in the Government....
to be members of the Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA) yet who were still working in the State Department.
The mandate of the committee was to conduct "a full and complete study and investigation as to whether persons who are disloyal to the United States are, or have been, employed by the Department of State."
The chairman of the subcommittee was Senator Millard Tydings
Millard Tydings
Millard Evelyn Tydings was an attorney, author, soldier, state legislator, and served as a Democratic Representative and Senator in the United States Congress from Maryland.-Early life:...
, a Democrat from Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
.
United States House Committee on Appropriations
The Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is in charge of setting the specific expenditures of money by the government of the United States...
. Led by a former FBI agent named Robert E. Lee, the House investigators had been allowed to review the security clearance documents on State Department employees, and had determined that there were "incidents of inefficiencies"
in the security reviews of 108 past and present employees.
The Lee list was also the source of McCarthy's famous list of 57 "cardcarrying Communists" in the State Department.
In 1948, the State Department had informed the House that of the 108 cases flagged by Lee, 57 were still working for the department. This list included persons whom Lee had deemed security risks for a variety of reasons, such as marital infidelity or drunkenness, and all of them had been cleared by the State Department's review process.
In response to these allegations, the Tydings Committee hearings were held, opening on March 8, 1950 and lasting until July 17. At the hearings, McCarthy expanded on his original list of unnamed individuals and made charges against nine others whose names he made public: Dorothy Kenyon
Dorothy Kenyon
Dorothy Kenyon was a New York lawyer, judge, feminist and political activist in support of civil liberties. During the era of McCarthyite persecution, she was accused of being affiliated with 28 communist front organizations.Kenyon was born in New York City to Maria Wellington and William Houston...
, Esther Brunauer, Haldore Hanson, Gustavo Duran
Gustavo Durán
Gustavo Durán Martínez was a Spanish composer, Lieutenant Colonel in the Spanish military, diplomat and United Nations official.-Early life:Born in Barcelona, Spain in 1906, he moved with his family to Madrid at the age of four, and studied music...
, Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore was an American author, educator, and influential scholar of Central Asia, especially Mongolia. In the 1930s he was editor of Pacific Affairs, a journal published by the Institute of Pacific Relations, and then taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1938 to 1963...
, Harlow Shapley
Harlow Shapley
Harlow Shapley was an American astronomer.-Career:He was born on a farm in Nashville, Missouri, and dropped out of school with only the equivalent of a fifth-grade education...
, Frederick L. Schuman
Frederick L. Schuman
Frederick Lewis Schuman , was a historian, an American political scientist and international relations scholar. He was a professor of history at Williams College, an analyst of international relations, and social scientist, focusing on the period between World War I and World War II.-Publications: ...
, John S. Service
John S. Service
John Stewart Service was an American diplomat who served in the Foreign Service in China prior to and during the World War II. Considered one of the State Department's "China Hands," he was an important member of the Dixie Mission to Yan'an...
and Philip Jessup
Philip Jessup
Philip Caryl Jessup was a diplomat, scholar, and jurist from New York City.- Early life and education :Philip C. Jessup, the grandson of Henry Harris Jessup, received his undergraduate degree from Hamilton College in 1919. He then went on to earn a law degree from Yale Law School in 1924 and a Ph.D...
. Some of these people no longer, or never had, worked for the State Department, and all had previously been the subject of various charges of varying worth and validity. Owen Lattimore became a particular focus of McCarthy's, who at one point described him as a "top Russian spy."
Throughout the hearings, McCarthy employed colorful rhetoric. He was able to produce little objective proof to support his accusations but instead relied on testimonies from Communists and ex-Communists in presenting his case to the public.
From its beginning, the Tydings Committee was marked by partisan infighting. Its final report, written by the Democratic majority, concluded that the individuals on McCarthy's list were neither Communists nor pro-communist, and said the State Department had an effective security program. Tydings labeled McCarthy's charges a "fraud and a hoax," and said that the result of McCarthy's actions was to "confuse and divide the American people[...] to a degree far beyond the hopes of the Communists themselves." Republicans responded in kind, with William Jenner
William E. Jenner
William Ezra Jenner was a U.S. Republican Indiana State and U.S. Senator.Jenner was born in Marengo, Crawford County, Indiana. He graduated with a Law degree from Indiana University School of Law - Bloomington in 1930, and set up practice in Paoli, Indiana...
stating that Tydings was guilty of "the most brazen whitewash of treasonable conspiracy in our history." The full Senate voted three times on whether to accept the report, and each time the voting was precisely divided along party lines.