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In the immediate aftermath of World War II, many Americans believed that fascism had been fought—and beaten—on foreign shores, and they wanted to prevent its rise at home. This 1945 pamphlet, published by the National Federation for Constitutional Liberties, expresses that determination in stark, satirical form: a caricatured John E. Rankin (then a congressman from Mississippi) stands menacingly on the Bill of Rights, a double-barreled shotgun in hand, while the word “REACTION” slithers across the page. The message is clear: The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC), which Rankin had helped steer, was itself an affront to civil liberties, echoing the very “fascist-like” methods it purported to stop.
Historical Context
Originally known as the Dies Committee (after its first chair, Martin Dies Jr.), the House Committee on Un-American Activities was formed in 1938 to investigate alleged subversive elements within the United States. After WWII, Congressman Rankin became influential in keeping HUAC (or the “Rankin Committee” in this leaflet’s parlance) intact and turning it into a permanent committee. Rankin’s statements and tactics—accusations of anti-Americanism, alleged racism, and alleged anti-Semitism—prompted critics to label him a practitioner of “fascist-like” methods, particularly given the freshly concluded war against Nazi Germany.
The National Federation for Constitutional Liberties produced and distributed this pamphlet to mobilize opposition to HUAC’s activities. Petitions to Congress, individual letters, and public protests formed the backbone of their campaign. As the leaflet reminds readers, the U.S. had “just won a costly war against fascism,” and the authors saw no moral or legal space for adopting practices they judged to be “fascist” themselves.
Strategy and Purpose
- Provocative Imagery and Headlines
By depicting Rankin trampling the Bill of Rights, the pamphlet sets a confrontational tone, equating HUAC’s investigative powers with an armed threat to core freedoms—speech, press, religion, and assembly. - Direct Appeal for Action
Urging readers to “Write Your Congressman today” and to “sign Discharge Petition #12,” the leaflet transforms indignation into a call for legislative change. It also solicits “contributions” to fund further protests and publicity. - Broad Coalition Building
The text enumerates various groups the committee allegedly targeted—radio commentators, Jewish Americans, African Americans, labor activists, returning veterans—thereby framing HUAC as endangering broad segments of American society. This outreach tactic aims to unite readers of different backgrounds under a shared cause: abolishing the “Rankin’s Un-American Committee.”
Language, Imagery, and Symbolism
- Cartoonish Exaggeration
The large-headed Rankin brandishing a shotgun and lasso is a classic political cartoon device, underscoring perceived aggression and backwardness. - References to Nazism and Fascism
The leaflet repeatedly invokes “Hitler-methods” and warns “It happened in Germany. It can happen here.” Having just come out of a war against the Nazis, this dire comparison was designed to jolt readers. - Freedom of the Air, Attacks on Jews, The Negro People
Each bullet point in the inside text highlights a different alleged assault on constitutional or civil rights, lending specificity to the accusation that HUAC was “anti-democratic.”
Impact
Although HUAC would become more famous in the late 1940s and 1950s—especially under the influence of Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was not formally part of HUAC but fed the same Red Scare fervor—this 1945 pamphlet shows that resistance to government-led anti-communist and “anti-subversive” investigations began much earlier. Critics argued that such committees relied on guilt by association, fear tactics, and racial or ideological scapegoating.
Decades later, HUAC was renamed (eventually becoming the House Committee on Internal Security) and then disbanded, but debates over balancing national security with civil liberties endure. This leaflet remains a vivid example of how citizens’ groups mobilized rhetoric and imagery to protest governmental overreach, linking it to broader themes of free speech, freedom of the press, and cultural pluralism.
Special thanks to the USC Digital Imaging Lab for their support in digitizing this item.
