Red Scare Politics and the Suppression of Popular Front Feminism
The Loyalty Investigation of Mary Dublin Keyserling
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8111180 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Landon R Y Storrs (University of Houston, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2003 |
| Volume | 90 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 491-491 |
| Publication date | 2003-09-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of American History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8723 • E-ISSN: 1945-2314 |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/3659442 |
| OpenAlex | W2472189886 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 9 |
On February 9, 1952, speaking at a Lincoln's Day dinner in Wheeling, West Virginia, where two years earlier to the day he had dramatically launched his campaign against Communists in government, Sen. Joseph McCarthy attacked President Harry S. Truman's chief economic adviser, Leon Keyserling, and his wife, Mary Dublin Keyserling, who worked in the Department of Commerce. Not only had an informant remembered Leon as sympathetic to the Communist program, McCarthy announced, but Mary once belonged to ten “Communist front” groups. Leon Keyserling, who had helped draft major pieces of the New Deal before becoming Truman's adviser, brushed off the accusations. But McCarthy renewed the attack two months later during a Senate debate on Truman's seizure of the steel industry—an action backed by Leon. This time the Wisconsin Republican claimed Mary Keyserling actually had joined the Communist party, as well as an “unlimited number” of front groups. He alleged that an investigation of Mary by the Commerce loyalty board had left some board members believing both Keyserlings perjured themselves in denying “their Communist activities.” Implicating Truman in a cover-up, McCarthy claimed that only pressure from the White House was keeping the Keyserling cases from going to a grand jury. Leon denounced the accusations as an attempt “to attack me by way of my wife,” and the charges against him soon faded. Mary, however, was forced to take a leave from the Commerce Department until she was cleared in January 1953. Both Keyserlings resigned from government service when Dwight D. Eisenhower took office.1
Advertising · Business · Feminism · Front (military · Geography · Loyalty · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Gender Studies · History · Irish and British Studies · Law
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| Citations per year | 0.45 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2006 - 2026 (21) |
| Highly cited | No |