Chapter+3

Chapter 3

The post WWII years were filled with upheavel, suspicion and concern. Since education shaped minds, it was an area of concern in a world of suspicion, espinoge and subversion into UnAmerican behavior in a Soviet vs. USA cold war era. In light of this climate most states will have loyalty oaths, restrictions on membership in certain groups and bans against the advocacy of subversive or unAmerican teaching for educators.

New ideological struggles will emerge as the effect of the Depression Era. A sense of crisis in those years shook the confidence of traditional values and typical social, political and economic systems. As a result two forms of reactions emerge against the norm, marxist communism and liberal socialism. Reports of the Russian successes (propaganda and lies) in jobs, agriculture, etc. convinced many that Western ways were done.

George Counts, Teachers College, Columbia University: //Dare the schools build a new social order?// Wanted to use the school to build a new social order. "Teachers should deliberately reach for power and then make the most of it". (Rav) 'The future order should be planned, socialized, humane, and collectivist. In building the new social order it was the end itself that mattered not the means necessary to get there.'(pg. 86)

George Counts and others at Teachers College begin the publication //Social Frontier, t//hey believed that education should be "the reconstruction of American society". This group became called the "Frontier Thinkers" or "Social Reconstructionists" These people were Communists. "There can be no freedom of thought and expression in an economy based on private property. . . "it is the problem of educators to induce such a mentality (class conflict).' However, many progressive, liberal educators denounced the marxist class conflict route, including Dewey himself. George Counts will reject the Communist marxist line after he learns of educators killed in the soviet purges. Counts will say, pg. 88 "... ends and means cannot be separted-undemocratic means destroy democratic ends."

__Anti-Communists__: Elizabeth Dilling, //Red Network: A Who's Who' and Handbook of radicalism for Patriots (1934).// Their first attack was at Harold Rugg who developed a series of social studies textbooks read by millions of kids. They were wrong about Rugg, Rugg's proposals were set forward as a middle way between a failed capitalism and a brutal Communism".
 * Loyalty oaths, etc.. 1938➔ House of Representatives begins a new committee on Un-American Activities {this is not Joseph McCarthy, thats the Senate}.

The Anti-Communist had fears such as, 'Who gave the Russians our atomic secrets? Who lost China? Why ahd the United States trusted the Russians at Yalta? Which writers, government officials, teachers, and public figures were to blame for decieving the American people about the true nature of the Communist threat?"(pg.92-93)

By 1950, 33 states permitted firing disloyal teachers, 26 states teachers had to sign loyalty oaths.

Many ex-Communists now worked w/ Congressional committee's to go after radicals.(p.94) The big name was J.B. Matthews who had extensive lists and names of known Communists, however not all was correct in his accusations.

__**University of Washington:**__ 3 tenured professors are fired for Communist membership. Other professors are fired on other campuses, the major issue was should Communists be able to teach, time to take sides.

This was debated between __Sidney Hook__ and __Alexander Meiklejohn__ in the //New York Times.//