On November 11, 1904, a child was born in Baltimore, Maryland who would later become one of the most mysterious and intriguing men in America. That man is Alger Hiss, a former member of President Franklin Roosevelt’s State Department. But his position in the State Department is not what Hiss is most known for. His glimmering reputation was irreversibly tarnished by the accusations of his dealings with the Soviet Union during the time of the Red Scare.
On August 3, 1948 the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) heard the testimony of ex-Communist Whittaker Chambers concerning Hiss’s activity with the underground Communist Party in the United States. This accusation, made during a time when the nation would not stand for internal Communism, was not taken lightly and challenged the views of both liberals and conservatives.
On August 5, 1948, Hiss was summoned by the HUAC and delivered a statement on his behalf. He denied both being a member of the Communist Party and of ever knowing Whittaker Chambers. Hiss denied Chambers’ testimony that Chambers saw him engaging in Communist activity in the late 1930’s.
Chambers however provided obscure information that he could have only known by engaging in conversation with Hiss, and on August 16, 1948, Hiss was brought in again for questioning by the HUAC. This time Hiss claimed that Chambers’ picture had a “certain familiarity.”
Within a month, Hiss’s investigation turned from whether he was a Communist to whether he was a Soviet spy. Chambers had produced copies of State Department documents that he claims Hiss gave him in 1937 to pass on to the Soviets. An exam of the documents revealed that they were typed on a kind typewriter that Hiss owned. Charges of perjury were brought against Hiss on December 15, 1948. The trial ended with a hung jury, and the Justice Department rebuilt its case. The second trial came back with a guilty verdict and Hiss was sentenced to forty-four months in the federal penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania.
Hiss continued to proclaim that he was not guilty of espionage or perjury, and the he was not a Communist. He tried to reason that the only reason Chambers made any accusations against him was that Chambers was a homosexual, and that he was interested in Hiss. Hiss, however, did not have the same feelings about Chambers, and the rejection is what caused Chambers to seek revenge. He therefore accused Hiss of un-American activity. In addition to this claim, Hiss tried to clear his name with a statement by General Dimitri Volkogonov, head of the Russian military archives. Volkogonov stated that Hiss did not collaborate with the Soviet Union. Conservatives, however, managed to tarnish Volkogonov’s statement by saying that he failed to search every archive before making that statement.
Alger Hiss is not remembered for his work to end World War II or his help in the chartering of the United Nations. He is instead remembered for his dealings with the Soviet Union. His story is a prime example of what could happen to a person suspected of being a Communist during the tumultuous time of the Red-Scare.
Michelle Uffer
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The History Net
New York University
