9. The American Legion joined the blacklist in 1949
In 1949, the American Legion boasted about 2.8 million members, nearly all of them politically conservative. That year it began publishing movies produced with the assistance of communist sympathizers, including writers, actors and directors, as well as other members of the films’ crews. It urged its members to boycott such films. That year it also released a list of over 125 people as members of a communist conspiracy in the entertainment industry. The American Legion appeared as one of many organizations which pursued blacklisting Hollywood performers and creative artists, as well as some of the more mundane worker’s unions and guilds in the entertainment industry.
For many years the Federal Bureau of Investigation under J. Edgar Hoover conducted covert and overt investigations into communist infiltration of American society. Much of the information was funneled to the HUAC. In 1947 a non-government entity was formed under the control of John Keenan, Kenneth Bierly, and Theodore Kirkpatrick. All three were described as former FBI agents. They launched a newsletter they named Counterattack, edited by Francis McNamara. McNamara served in US Army intelligence during World War II. Though all of the four claimed to no longer be in the employ of the US government, they retained access to classified files in the FBI and other agencies. In June 1950, Counterattack published a pamphlet titled Red Channels, in which they identified 151 entertainment industry employees they accused of promoting communism through their work.
