The Overman Committee was a special subcommittee A congressional subcommittee in the United States Congress is a subdivision of a United States congressional committee that considers specified matters and reports back to the full committee of the United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the lower house being the House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate and the House are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution . Each U.S state is represented by two senators, regardless of population. Senators serve staggered Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, the upper house of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on whether to confirm or not confirm prospective federal judges (including Supreme Court justices) nominated by chaired by North Carolina Spanish colonial forces were the first Europeans to make a permanent settlement in the area, when the Juan Pardo-led Expedition built Fort San Juan in 1567. This was sited at Joara, a Mississippian culture regional chiefdom near present-day Morganton in the western interior. This was 20 years before the English established their first colony at Democrat The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's modern liberal platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. It is one of the world's oldest political parties and boasts the lengthiest record of continuous operation in the United Lee Slater Overman Lee Slater Overman was a Democratic U.S. senator from the state of North Carolina between 1903 and 1930. He was born in Salisbury, N.C., the son of William H. and Mary E. Slater Overman. He attended Trinity College (now Duke University), Class of 1874, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity. He served in the North Carolina House of. Between September 1918 and June 1919, it investigated German and Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists (Russian: большевики, большевик Russian pronunciation: [bəlʲʂɨˈvʲik], derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority", which comes from bol'she, "more", the comparative form of bol'shoi, "big") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour elements in the United States. It was an early forerunner of the better known House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security". When the House abolished the committee in 1975, its functions were transferred to the House Judiciary Committee, and represented the first congressional committee investigation of communism.

The Committee's final report was released in June 1919. It reported on German propaganda As opposed to impartially providing information, propaganda in its most basic sense, presents information primarily to influence an audience. Propaganda often presents facts selectively to encourage a particular synthesis, or uses loaded messages to produce an emotional rather than rational response to the information presented. The desired result, Bolshevism, and other "un-American activities" in the United States and on likely effects of communism's implementation in the United States. It described German, but not communist, propaganda efforts. The Committee's report and hearings were instrumental in fostering anti-Bolshevik opinion.

Contents

Background

See also: First Red Scare In American history, the First Red Scare took place in the period 1917–1920, and was marked by a widespread fear of anarchism, as well as the effects of radical political agitation in American society. Fueled by anarchist bombings and spurred on by Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer, it was characterized by illegal search and seizures, A political cartoon from the First Red Scare In American history, the First Red Scare took place in the period 1917–1920, and was marked by a widespread fear of anarchism, as well as the effects of radical political agitation in American society. Fueled by anarchist bombings and spurred on by Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer, it was characterized by illegal search and seizures,, warning of the danger of foreigners

World War I, in which the United States and its allies fought the German Empire The German Empire refers to Germany from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871 to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of Wilhelm II (28 November 1918). Deutsches Reich remained the official name of Germany throughout the Weimar period and, raised concern about the German threat to the United States. The Espionage Act of 1917 Thus, while "espionage" is usually defined as a clandestine activity of getting secret information and passing it on to the enemy, the law vastly extended the meaning of the term to include also the openly carried expressing of political opinions, without revealing any secret, and by persons who had no connection with the enemy - as long and the Sedition Act of 1918 The Sedition Act of 1918 was an amendment to the Espionage Act of 1917 passed at the urging of President Woodrow Wilson, who was concerned that dissent, in time of war, was a significant threat to morale. The passing of this act forbade Americans to use "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States were passed in response.[1]

In the Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution is the collective term for the series of revolutions in Russia in 1917, which destroyed the Tsarist autocracy and led to the creation of the Soviet Union. In the first revolution of February 1917 , the Tsar was deposed and replaced by a Provisional government. In the second revolution, during October, the Provisional the Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists (Russian: большевики, большевик Russian pronunciation: [bəlʲʂɨˈvʲik], derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority", which comes from bol'she, "more", the comparative form of bol'shoi, "big") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour party, led by Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (22 April [O.S. 10 April] 1870 – 21 January 1924), born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov (Russian: Владимир Ильич Ульянов, IPA [vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr ɪlʲˈjiʨ ʊlʲˈjanəf]), was a Russian revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the, overthrew the Russian monarchy and instituted Marxism-Leninism Marxism–Leninism is a communist ideological stream that emerged as the mainstream tendency among the Communist parties in the 1920s as it was adopted as the ideological foundation of the Communist International during Stalin's era. Many Americans were worried about the revolution's ideas infiltrating the United States, a phenomenon later named the Red Scare In American history, the First Red Scare took place in the period 1917–1920, and was marked by a widespread fear of anarchism, as well as the effects of radical political agitation in American society. Fueled by anarchist bombings and spurred on by Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer, it was characterized by illegal search and seizures, of 1919-20.[2]

The Overman Committee was formally an ad-hoc subcommittee of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary is a standing committee of the United States Senate, the upper house of the United States Congress. The Judiciary Committee is charged with conducting hearings prior to the Senate votes on whether to confirm or not confirm prospective federal judges (including Supreme Court justices) nominated by, but had no formal name.[3] It was chaired by Senator Lee Slater Overman and also included Senators Knute Nelson of Minnesota, Thomas Sterling of South Dakota, William H. King of Utah, and Josiah O. Wolcott of Delaware.[4]

Initial investigation

A. Mitchell Palmer Alexander Mitchell Palmer was the Attorney General of the United States from 1919 to 1921. He was nicknamed The Fighting Quaker and he directed the controversial Palmer Raids

The Committee was authorized by Senate Resolution 307 on September 19, 1918 to investigate charges against the United States Brewers Association (USBA) and allied interests. Brewing institutions had been largely founded by German immigrants in the mid-19th century, who brought with them knowledge and techniques for brewing beer.[5][6] The Committee interpreted this mission to mean a general probe into German propaganda and pro-German activities in the United States.[7] Hearings were mandated after A. Mitchell Palmer, the federal government's Alien Property Custodian An Alien Property Custodian was an office within the Government of the United States during World War I and again during World War II. serving as a Custodian of Enemy Property to property that belonged to US enemies responsible for German-owned property in the U.S., testified in September 1918 that the USBA and the rest of the overwhelmingly German[8] liquor industry harbored pro-German sentiments.[9] He stated that "German brewers of America, in association with the United States Brewers' Association" had attempted "to buy a great newspaper" and "control the government of State and Nation", had generally been "unpatriotic", and had "pro-German sympathies".[6]

"We do not want to make this proceeding a mere sewer or conduit into which may be dumped all the accusations and charges and libelous statements, or suspicions, of various persons throughout the United States."
—Senator William H. King December 9, 1918[10]

Hearings began September 27, 1918, shortly before the end of World War I World War I was a military conflict that lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 15 million people were.[6] Nearly four dozen witnesses testified.[11] Many were agents of the Bureau of Investigations (BOI), the predecessor of the Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency. The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime. Its motto is "Fidelity, Bravery, Integrity", (FBI). The agents, controversially[12][13] and usually erroneously,[12] implicated high-profile American citizens as pro-German, using the fallacy of guilt by association An association fallacy is an inductive formal fallacy of the type hasty generalization or red herring which asserts that qualities of one thing are inherently qualities of another, merely by an irrelevant association. The two types are sometimes referred to as guilt by association and honor by association. Association fallacies are a special case.[14] For example, the Bureau chief labeled some people pro-German because they had insubstantial and non-ideological[15] acquaintance with German agents.[12] Others were accused because their names were discovered in the notebooks of suspected German agents, of whom they had never heard.[12]

Many attacked the BOI's actions. The Committee heard testimony that it had not conducted basic background checks of the accused and had not read source material it presented to the Committee.[15] Committee members criticized its testimony as "purely hearsay".[16][13]

Expansion of investigation

Trotsky'll Get You If You Don't Watch Out! A political cartoon An editorial cartoon, also known as a political cartoon, is an illustration or comic strip containing a political or social message, that usually relates to current events or personalities drawn by Daniel R. Fitzpatrick published in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri as far south as Memphis, Tennessee and as far north as Springfield,, February 6, 1919, satirizing Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement. Although satire is usually meant to be funny, its greater the Senate's expansion of the Overman Committee's authority two days earlier[17]

On February 4, 1919, the Senate unanimously passed Senator Thomas J. Walsh's[18] Senate Resolution 439, expanding the Committee's investigations to include "any efforts being made to propagate in this country the principles of any party exercising or claiming to exercise any authority in Russia" and "any effort to incite the overthrow of the Government of this country".[19] This decision followed months of sensational daily press coverage[20] of revolutionary events abroad and Bolshevik meetings and events in the United States,[21] which increased anti-radical public opinion.[22] Reports that some of these meetings were attended by Congressmen caused further outrage.[21] One meeting in particular, held at the Poli Theater in Washington, DC Washington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790. The City of Washington was originally a separate municipality within the Territory of Columbia until an act of Congress in 1871 effectively merged the City and the, was widely controversial because of a speech given by Albert Rhys Williams, a popular Congregationalist Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs minister,[23] who allegedly said, "America sooner or later is going to accept the Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR, Russian: Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik IPA: [sɐˈjʊs sɐˈvʲeʦkʲɪx səʦɪəlʲɪˈstʲiʨɪskʲɪx rʲɪsˈpʊblʲɪk] , abbreviated СССР, SSSR), informally known as the Soviet Union ( Government."[24]

Archibald E. Stevenson, a New York attorney with ties to the Justice Department, likely a "volunteer spy",[25] testified on January 22, 1919, during the German phase of the subcommittee's work. He said that anti-war The term anti-war usually refers to the opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many activists distinguish between anti-war movements and peace and anti-draft Conscription, also known as the draft or national service, is the compulsory enrollment of people and the term typically refers to their enlistment in a country's military. It is known by various names, for example, the most recent conscription program in the United States was known colloquially as "the draft". Conscription dates back to activism Activism consists of intentional action to bring about social, political, economic, or environmental change. This action is in support of, or opposition to, one side of an often controversial argument during World War I, which he described as "pro-German" activity, had now transformed into propaganda "developing sympathy for the Bolshevik movement."[26]. The United States' wartime enemy, though defeated, had exported an ideology that ruled Russia and threatened America anew. "The Bolsheviki movement is a branch of the revolutionary socialism of Germany. It had its origin in the philosophy of Marx and its leaders were Germans."[27] He cited the propaganda efforts of John Reed John Silas Reed , often referred to by his nickname, Jack, was an American journalist, poet, and communist activist, remembered for his first-hand account of the Bolshevik Revolution, Ten Days that Shook the World. He was the first husband of the writer and feminist Louise Bryant and gave many examples from the foreign press. He told the Senators, "We have found money coming into this country from Russia."[28] Stevenson has been described by historian Regin Schmidt as a "driving force" behind the growth of anti-Bolshevism in the United States.[29]

The final catalyst for the expansion of the investigation was the Seattle General Strike, which began the day before the Senate passed Resolution 439.[24] This confluence of events led members of Congress to believe that the alleged German-Bolshevist link and Bolshevist threat to the United States were real.[30]

Bolshevism hearings

"Senator OVERMAN: Do you agree with what has been stated here that the Russian people generally, 85 per cent of them, are ignorant like children and do not know anything except what their rights are, or what they claim to be their rights? Mr WILLIAMS: I think that probably not more than 50 per cent of the Russian people can read and write.[31]"

The Overman Committee's hearings on Bolshevism lasted from February 11 to March 10, 1919.[32] More than two dozen witnesses were interviewed.[33] About two-thirds were violently anti-Bolshevik and advocated for military intervention in Russia.[34] Some were refugees of the Russian Diaspora The term Russian diaspora refers to the global community of ethnic Russians, usually more specifically those who maintain some kind of connection, even if ephemeral, to the land of their ancestors and maintain their feeling of Russian national identity within a local community—many former government officials[35]—who left Russia because of Bolshevism.[36] The overriding theme was the social chaos the Revolution had brought,[35] but three sub-themes were also frequent: anti-Americanism among American intelligentsia, the relationship between Jews The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation. Converts to Judaism, whose status as Jews within the Jewish ethnos and Communist Russia, and the "nationalization" of women after the Soviet revolution.

Stevenson produced a list of 200—later reduced to 62—alleged communist professors The meaning of the word professor varies by country. In most English-speaking countries it refers to a senior academic who holds a departmental chair, especially as head of the department, or a personal chair awarded specifically to that individual. This is the case in most Commonwealth countries (except Canada) and the Republic of Ireland (which in the United States.[30] Like lists of names provided during the German propaganda hearings, this list provoked an outcry.[37] Stevenson declared universities to be breeding grounds of sedition Sedition is a term of law which refers to overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that is deemed by the legal authority as tending toward insurrection against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent to lawful authority. Sedition may include any commotion, though not aimed at, and that institutions of higher learning were "festering masses of pure atheism Atheism, in a broad sense, is the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities. Most inclusively, atheism is simply the absence of belief that any deities exist. Atheism is contrasted with theism, which in its most general form is the belief that at least one" and "the grossest kind of materialism In philosophy, the theory of materialism holds that the only thing that exists is matter; that all things are composed of material and all phenomena are the result of material interactions. In other words, matter is the only substance. As a theory, materialism is a form of physicalism and belongs to the class of monist ontology. As such, it is".[38] Ambassador to Russia David R. Francis stated that the Bolsheviks were killing everybody "who wears a white collar or who is educated and who is not a Bolshevik."[39]

Another recurring theme at the hearings was the relationship between Jews and communists in Russia Jewish Bolshevism, Judeo-Bolshevism, Judeo-Communism, and known as Żydokomuna in Poland, is a pejorative stereotype based on the claim that Jews are the driving force behind the modern Communist movement, specifically the Russian Bolsheviks. One Methodist Methodism is a movement of Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement in the Anglican Communion. His younger brother Charles was instrumental in writing much of the preacher stated that nineteen out of twenty communists were Jews;[40] others said the Red Army The Red Army (Russian: Рабоче-Крестьянская Красная Армия, Raboche-Krest'yanskaya Krasnaya Armiya; RKKA was started out as the Soviet Union’s revolutionary militia beginning in the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest was composed mainly of former East Side The Lower East Side is a neighborhood in the southeastern part of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is roughly bounded by Allen Street, East Houston Street, Essex Street, Canal Street, Eldridge Street, East Broadway, and Grand Street. It has traditionally been an immigrant, working class neighborhood, but has undergone rapid New York Jews.[41] However, after criticism from Jewish organizations,[42] Senator Overman clarified that the Committee was discussing "apostate" Jews only, defined by witness George Simons as "one who has given up the faith of his fathers or forefathers."[43]

A third frequent theme was the "free love" and "nationalization Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being transferred to the public sector to be operated by or" of women allegedly occurring in Soviet Russia.[44] Witnesses described an orgy in which there was no "respect for virtuous women";[45] others who testified, including those who had been in Russia during the Revolution,[45] denied this.[46] After one witness read a Soviet decree saying that Russian women had the "right to choose from among men",[47] Senator Sterling threw up his hands and declared that this was a negation of "free love".[46] However, another decree was produced stating, "A girl having reached her eighteenth year is to be announced as the property of the state."[48]

The Senators were particularly interested in how Bolshevism had united many disparate elements on the Left, including anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy which considers the state undesirable, unnecessary and harmful, and instead promotes a stateless society, or anarchy. It seeks to diminish or even abolish authority in the conduct of human relations. Anarchists may widely disagree on what additional criteria are required in anarchism. The Oxford Companion to and socialists of many types,[49] "providing a common platform for all these radical groups to stand on."[50] Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota Nearly sixty percent of Minnesota's residents live in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul metropolitan area known as the "Twin Cities", the center of transportation, business and industry, education and home to an internationally known arts community. The remainder of the state consists of western prairies now given over to intensive agriculture; responded: "Then they have really rendered a service to the various classes of progressives and reformers that we have here in this country."[51] Other witnesses described the horrors of the revolution in Russia and speculated on the consequences of a comparable revolution in the United States: the imposition of atheism, the seizure of newspapers, assaults on banks and the abolition of the insurance industry. The Senators heard various views of women in Russia, including claims that women were made the property of the state.[52]

Final report

A copy of the Overman Committee's final report reproduced by The New York Times The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. Although it remains both the largest local metropolitan newspaper in the United States as well as third largest overall behind The Wall Street Journal and USA Today, the weekday circulation of the paper has fallen precipitously in on June 15, 1919[53]

The Committee's final report detailed its investigations into German propaganda, Bolshevism, and other "un-American activities" in the United States and predicted effects of communism's implementation in the United States.[54] It was endorsed unanimously. Released in June 1919,[53] it was over 35,000 words long,[5] and was compiled by Major Edwin Lowry Humes.[54]

The Committee did little to demonstrate the extent of communist activity in the United States.[34] In its analysis of what would happen if capitalism were overthrown and replaced by communism,[55] it warned of widespread misery and hunger, the confiscation of and nationalization of all property, and the beginning of "a program of terror, fear, extermination, and destruction."[56] Anti-Bolshevik public sentiment surged after release of the report and ensuing publicity.[22]

German investigation

Johann Heinrich von Bernstorff, Karl Boy-Ed, Franz von Papen Franz Joseph Hermann Michael Maria von Papen zu Köningen (29 October 1879 – 2 May 1969) was a German nobleman, Roman Catholic monarchist politician, General Staff officer, and diplomat, who served as Chancellor of Germany in 1932 and as Vice-Chancellor under Adolf Hitler in 1933–1934. A member of the Catholic Centre Party until 1932, he was, Dr. Heinrich Albert, and Franz von Rintelen, among others, were Germans investigated for producing propaganda. All were previously evicted from the United States for being part of a German espionage ring. The United States Brewers Association, the National German-American Alliance, and the Hamburg-American steamship line were investigated. The final report concluded that these organizations, through financial support, bribes, boycotts, and coercion, sought to control the press, elections, and public opinion.[5]

Bolshevism investigation

"The [Bolshevik] Government is founded upon class hatred, its avowed purpose is the extermination of all elements of society that are opposed to or are capable of opposing the Bolshevist Party. 'Merciless suppression' and 'extermination' of all classes except the present governing class are familiar slogans of the Bolsheviki, and confiscation is adopted as an essential instrument in the governmental formula."
—The Committee's final report[53]

The report described the Communist system in Russia as "a reign of terror unparalleled in the history of modern civilization".[57] It concluded that instituting Marxism-Leninism in the United States would result in "the destruction of life and property", the deprivation "of the right to participate in affairs of government", and the "further suppress[ion]" of a "substantial rural portion of the population." Furthermore, there would be an "opening of the doors of all prisons and penitentiaries".[53] It would result in the "seizure and confiscation of the 22,896 newspapers and periodicals in the United States" and "complete control of all banking institutions and their assets". "One of the most appalling and far reaching consequences ... would be found in the confiscation and liquidation of ... life insurance companies." The report also criticized "the atheism that permeates the whole Russian dictatorship"; "they have denounced our religion and our God as 'lies'."[53]

Despite the report's rhetoric and the headlines it produced, the report contained little evidence of communist propaganda in the United States or its effect on American labor.[34]

Recommendations

The report's main recommendations included deporting alien radicals and enacting peacetime sedition laws.[58] Other recommendations included strict regulation of the manufacture, distribution, and possession of high explosives; control and regulation of foreign language publications,[59] and the creation of patriotic propaganda.[58]

Press reaction

The press reveled in the investigation and the final report, referring to the Russians as "assassins and madmen," "human scum," "crime mad," and "beasts."[60] The occasional testimony by some who viewed the Russian Revolution favorably lacked the punch of its critics. One extended headline in February read:[61]

Says Riffraff, Not the Toilers, Rule in Russia
American Manager of Great American Plant There Tells Experiences to Senators
Outsiders Seized Power
Came Back from Other Countries and are Growing Rich at People's Expense
Factories Being Ruined
60,000,000 Rubles Spent in Three Months at One Plant to Produce 400,000 Worth of Goods

And one day later:[62]

Bolshevism Bared by R.E. Simmons
Former Agent in Russia of Commerce Department Concludes his Story to Senators
Women are 'Nationalized'
Official Decrees Reveal Depths of Degradation to Which They are Subjected by Reds
Germans Profit by Chaos
Factories and Mills are Closed and the Machinery Sold to Them for a Song

On the release of the final report, newspapers printed sensational articles with headlines in capital letters: "Red Peril Here", "Plan Bloody Revolution", and "Want Washington Government Overturned."[63]

Criticism

Critics denounced the Committee as a "propaganda apparatus" to stoke anti-German and anti-Soviet fears, feeding the Red Scare[64] and spreading misinformation about Soviet Russia.[32]

The Committee attracted criticism from the public for its perceived overreach, and especially for publishing the names of those accused of association with communist organizations. One woman from Kentucky wrote to Senator Overman on behalf of her sister, who had been accused by Archibald Stevenson, criticizing the Committee for its "brutal as well as stupid misuse of power" and "gross and cruel injustice to men and women the full peer in intellect, character and patriotism of any member of the United States Senate".[37] The Committee was compared to "a witch hunt" in one exchange with a witness.[65]

Aftermath

Lee Slater Overman, chairman of the Committee

The Overman Committee did not achieve any lasting reforms.[66] However, the panel's sensationalism played a decisive role in increasing America's fears during the Red Scare of 1919-20.[55] Its investigations served as a blueprint for the Department of Justice's anti-radical Palmer raids late in the year. These were led by Attorney General Palmer, whose testimony about German brewers had been the catalyst for the Committee's creation.[58]

On May 1, 1919, a month after the Committee's hearings ended, a bomb was mailed to Overman's home, one of a series of letter bombs sent to prominent Americans in the 1919 United States anarchist bombings. It was intercepted before it reached its target.[67]

Later investigative committees

The Overman Committee was the first of many Congressional committees to investigate communism.[8] In the aftermath of the Overman Committee's report, the New York State Legislature established the Lusk Committee, which operated from June 1919 to January 1920,[68][69] Archibald E. Stevenson was its chief counsel and one of its witnesses.[70][71] Unlike the Overman Committee, the Lusk Committee was active in raiding suspect organizations.[69]

The Overman Committee was an early forerunner of the better known House Un-American Activities Committee, which was created 20 years later.[22]

References

  1. ^ Venzon, Anne Cipriano; Paul L. Miles (1999). The United States in the First World War. Taylor & Francis. p. 536. ISBN 0815333536, 9780815333531. http://books.google.com/books?id=YiZRC8bsOuoC.
  2. ^ Murray, 15-7
  3. ^ Senate Judiciary Committee Photo Gallery. United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved June 30, 2009.
  4. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, p. 2
  5. ^ a b c "Overman Report Accuses Brewers". The New York Times. June 15, 1919. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9803E5D71F39E13ABC4D52DFB0668382609EDE. Retrieved May 21, 2010.
  6. ^ a b c Congress, Brewing and Liquor Interests, volume 1, p. 3
  7. ^ Hagedorn, p. 53
  8. ^ a b Mittelman, p. 83
  9. ^ Congress, Brewing and Liquor Interests, volume 1, pp. 3–4
  10. ^ Congress, Brewing and Liquor Interests, volume 2, p. 1596
  11. ^ Congress, Brewing and Liquor Interests, volume 1, p. 1387 and volume 2, p. 1385
  12. ^ a b c d Lowenthal, p. 37
  13. ^ a b Lowenthal, p. 40
  14. ^ Lowenthal, p. 39
  15. ^ a b Lowenthal, p. 38
  16. ^ Congress, Brewing and Liquor Interests, volume 2, p. 2453
  17. ^ Murray, p. 96
  18. ^ Schmidt, p. 140
  19. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, p. 6
  20. ^ Clark, p. 16
  21. ^ a b "Senate Orders Reds Here Investigated" (PDF). The New York Times. February 5, 1919. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9806E6D61039E13ABC4D53DFB4668382609EDE. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  22. ^ a b c Schmidt, p. 136
  23. ^ Murray, p. 46
  24. ^ a b Murray, p. 94
  25. ^ Hagedorn 54, 58
  26. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, 12-4; Powers, 20
  27. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, 14; Lowenthal, 49
  28. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, 19, 29
  29. ^ Schmidt, p. 138
  30. ^ a b Hagedorn, p. 55
  31. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, p. 606
  32. ^ a b Clark, p. 15
  33. ^ Hagedorn, p. 147
  34. ^ a b c Murray, p. 95
  35. ^ a b Hagedorn, p. 129
  36. ^ McFadden, p. 296
  37. ^ a b Lowenthal, p. 60
  38. ^ Pfannestiel, p. 13
  39. ^ Murray, p. 97
  40. ^ Powers, p. 47
  41. ^ Hagedorn, p. 148
  42. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, p. 381
  43. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, p. 116
  44. ^ Nielsen, p. 30
  45. ^ a b Lowenthal, p. 51
  46. ^ a b Lowenthal, p. 52
  47. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, p. 354
  48. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, p. 475
  49. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, 14-8
  50. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, 34
  51. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, 34
  52. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, 475
  53. ^ a b c d e "Senators Tell What Bolshevism in America Means" (PDF). The New York Times. June 15, 1919. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9A0CE2D71F39E13ABC4D52DFB0668382609EDE. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  54. ^ a b "Drastic Red Bill Ready for Senate" (PDF). The New York Times. June 12, 1919. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F00EED91F39E13ABC4A52DFB0668382609EDE. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  55. ^ a b Schmidt, p. 144
  56. ^ Schmidt, pp. 145–146
  57. ^ Schmidt, p. 145
  58. ^ a b c McCormick, p. 92
  59. ^ "Senators Denounce Lawlessness". Casa Grande Valley Dispatch. July 18, 1919. http://casagrandepl.newspaperarchive.com/PdfViewer.aspx?img=113405896&firstvisit=true&src=search&currentResult=5&currentPage=0. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  60. ^ Murray, 97
  61. ^ "Says Riffraff, not the toilers, rule in Russia". New York Times. February 17, 1919. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9900EFDB1139E13ABC4F52DFB4668382609EDE&. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  62. ^ "Bolshevism bared by R.E. Simmons". New York Times. February 18, 1919. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9F07E5DA1139E13ABC4052DFB4668382609EDE&. Retrieved 12 February 2010.
  63. ^ Murray, 98
  64. ^ Sproule, pp. 122–123
  65. ^ United States Congress, Bolshevik Propaganda, p. 893
  66. ^ Pfannestiel, p. 132
  67. ^ "Find More Bombs Sent in the Mails; One to Overman" (PDF). The New York Times. May 2, 1919. http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?res=9F07E1DB1E3BEE3ABC4A53DFB3668382609EDE. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  68. ^ Pfannestiel, p. xi
  69. ^ a b Nielsen, p. 15
  70. ^ Hagedorn, p. 231
  71. ^ Schmidt, p. 139

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