LibGuides: History Vault: FBI Confidential Files and Radical Politics in the U.S., 1945-1972

FBI Confidential Files and Radical Politics in the U.S., 1945-1972

FBI Confidential Files and Radical Politics in the U.S., 1945-1972 - (Module 30)

Under the leadership of J. Edgar Hoover, the FBI vigorously investigated and tracked the activities of Communist groups, Communist-front groups, and other radical organizations in the U.S. This module consists of records of the FBI and the Subversive Activities Control Board from 1945-1972.

Highlights of this module include J. Edgar Hoover's office files; documentation on the FBI's so-called "black bag jobs," as they were called before being renamed "surreptitious entries"; and the "Do Not File" File. The "Do Not File" file consists of records that were originally supposed to be destroyed on FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's order, however, through both intended and inadvertent exceptions to this order, large portions of these files survived. Another key collection in this module consists of the records of the Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB). The SACB files constitute one of the most valuable resources for the study of left-wing radicalism during the 1950s and 1960s.

Module Highlights

FBI correspondence on communism and the Hollywood entertainment industry
Covers CSU jurisdictional strikes; IATSE [AFL]; AFL strike call; American Youth for Democracy; Frank Sinatra; Herbert Sorrell; HUAC investigations; Tenney Committee investigations; Hollywood Writers Mobilization; Paul Robeson and the National Win-the-Peace Committee; Motion Picture Alliance; Communist political and election activities; labor violence; PCA; International Labor Organization (ILO) support of CSU
FBI Files on Communist Activity in the Entertainment Industry, April-June 1950
Covers "Hollywood 10" activities; "U.S. Supreme Court and Hollywood 10"; Hollywood ASP on political issues; Herbert Biberman; Rockwell Kent; Cinema Educational Guild; Myron C. Pagan.
Report, "Communist Infiltration of Motion Picture Industry,"
enclosure to FBI collected documents related to communism and the Hollywood entertainment industry, up to date as of May 24,1947.
Lawson v. U.S. and Trumbo v. U.S. and Dalton Trumbo's pamphlet on the "Hollywood 10,"
enclosures to FBI collected documents related to communism and the Hollywood entertainment industry
Summary of Inquiry into the Nondisclosure of FBI Black Bag Jobs in the Socialist Workers Party Civil Litigation. June 25, 1980
News conference of Clarence M. Kelley, director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, related to FBI surreptitious entries program. July 14, 1975
New York Special Agent in Charge Thomas Malone personal folder ("JUNE" documents)
includes surveillance of the Socialist Workers Party and Young Socialist Alliance in New York, January 14-June 28, 1963
"FBI's Role in Protecting America"
an address by Clarence M. Kelley, director, Federal Bureau of Investigation, at the University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas. March 29, 1974.
October 1953 FBI Responsibilities Program,
includes FBI Executives' Conference Meeting Memorandum, October 14, Dissemination of Information by the Bureau Outside the Executive Departments. Attorney General to J. Edgar Hoover, October 20, Dissemination of Information to Congressional Committees, Members of Congress, and Investigations for Congressional Committees. SAC Letter No. 53-72, October 27, Dissemination of Information and Confidentiality of FBI as Source.
FBI memoranda regarding wiretaps of John O'Brien and Lillian Moorehead
Technical Surveillance "Y" and "X." Memo File. March 31, 1942-June 5, 1942
J. Edgar Hoover Official and Confidential FBI File, Civil Rights and domestic violence, March 10-24, 1947
booklet summarizing civil rights and domestic violence for use by Hoover in addressing the President's Committee on Civil Rights, which sets forth FBI policy and position; correspondence from Hoover to the Committee on Civil Rights concerning his views on spelling out the rights of individuals rather than leaving it up to judicial interpretation; lynching case histories and statistics; police procedures in southern United States; FBI correspondence with NAACP leaders.
Martin Luther King Jr. file in J. Edgar Hoover Official and Confidential FBI File, October 18, 1962-June 25, 1969
Covers information relating to electronic surveillance of King; a report entitled Elaboration and Documentation of Document "Communism and the Negro Movement—a Current Analysis"; FBI plan to remove King from position of national influence because of his alleged immoral conduct; lawsuits brought against the FBI by Bernard S. Lee and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference; association of King with Stanley Levison, Clarence Jones, and Jack O'Dell (alleged members of the CPUSA); assassination of King in Memphis, Tennessee; Poor People's Campaign; conditions in Resurrection City

Module Highlights (continued)

Riots, summer 1964, September 8-November 20, 1964
Includes compilation of data concerning riots in the summer of 1964; proposed special president's conference on racial disturbances, mob violence, and rioting; FBI relations with local police departments and allegations of police brutality; racial disturbance in Dixmoor, Illinois, in August 1964; memoranda on riots and violence on the streets and riot prevention; memorandum with suggestions for handling riots and disorders; Hoover's report to President Johnson regarding rioting and preparation of report by Thomas E. Dewey; racial disturbances in New York City in July 1964; racial disturbances in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in August 1964; memorandum concerning Communist involvement in racial disturbances; racial disturbances in Rochester, New York, in July 1964; racial disturbances in New Jersey in August 1964.
Clyde Tolson Personal File, Volume 1, January 14, 1965-August 24, 1965
Includes House Committee on Un-American Activities; University of California, Berkeley situation; Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee; Ku Klux Klan activities; Alabama situation; Liuzzo shooting case; Long Committee; FBI-CIA relations; Dominican Republic situation; technical surveillance; Martin Luther King, Jr.; personnel reviews.
Clyde Tolson Personal File, Volume 2, September 2, 1965-May 31, 1966
Includes information on Mississippi, Dominican Republic, Latin American activities, FBI-CIA relations, Liuzzo shooting case, Jimmy Hoffa Case and Russell "Watch Dog" Committee
FBI report, "Communist Party, U.S.A. Summary--Activities," January-June 1957
Highlights the internal factionalism and stagnation in the CPUSA and the path that the American Communist movement should follow. This monograph outlines the effects of Soviet party secretary Nikita Khrushchev's denunciation of Joseph Stalin, as well as the revelation of rising anti-Semitism in the USSR and the Soviet military response to the Hungarian uprising. In addition, there is an analysis of the February 9-12 National Convention and the adoption of a new constitution.
FBI report, "Communism Versus the Jewish People", March 1957
Highlights the fundamental differences between communism and the religious, cultural, and political ideals of the Jewish people. The FBI cited this monograph as basically an investigative aid for its agents in security informant development among Jewish members of the CPUSA. The table of contents is subdivided into five parts: Communist Interest in the Jews as a Minority Group; Communist Theory and Tactics concerning the Jews as a Religious Group; Communist Theory and Tactics concerning the Jews as a National Group; Communist Theory and Tactics concerning the Jews as a Political Group; and Revelations since the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
FBI report, "The Communist Party and the Negro", February 1953,
Documented study of the various positions taken by the CPUSA on the "Negro question." It covers the period from 1919 to 1952, with particular emphasis on the 1952 program of the CPUSA. In addition, this monograph highlights the principal Communist Party black front groups; other Communist front groups active in civil rights work; the black protest and improvement organizations; and presents the results of Communist Party activity directed toward black Americans to 1952. There are also comments from non-Communist black leaders.
FBI report, "The Communist Party and American Labor",
Summarizes the policies adopted by the CPUSA at various times to infiltrate the American labor union movement. This monograph presents a brief history of the American trade union movement; highlights Communist theory regarding the movement; and defines the policy of the CPUSA toward the movement. It also discusses the origins and Communist influence in the AFL and CIO; tactics utilized in infiltrating the labor movement; industrial concentration policy; and the factors explaining continued Communist influence in labor unions outside the spheres of the AFL and CIO.
Transcripts of Hearings of the Subversive Activities Control Board: Docket No. 106-53 Civil Rights Congress
Hearing on May 18, 1955 in New York City, Includes testimony of William L. Patterson, witness for the respondent
Docket No. 116-56, International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers
Includes Rogers v. International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers. Docket No. 116-56. Memorandum Ruling on Questions Certified to the Board by Board Member-Examiner. March 23,1959. Kennedy v. International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers. Docket No. 116-56. Recommended Decision by Francis A. Cherry, Board Member. December 26, 1961. Kennedy v. International Union of Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers. Docket No. 116-56. Report and Order of the Board. May 4, 1962