View source for Subversive Activities Control Board

{{Infobox government agency
| type            = board
| seal            = Subversive Activities Control Board seal.jpg
| seal_caption    = Seal of the Subversive Activities Control Board
| formed          = {{Start date|1950|11|01|df=yes}}
| dissolved       = {{end date|1972}}
| jurisdiction    = [[United States government]]
| employees       = 5
}}

The '''Subversive Activities Control Board''' ('''SACB''') was a United States federal committee.<ref>{{cite news |title=Anti-Red Board Begins Its Duties. |work=[[New York Times]] |date=November 2, 1950}}</ref> It was the subject of a [[landmark decision|landmark]] [[United States Supreme Court]] decision of the [[Warren Court]], ''[[Communist Party v. Subversive Activities Control Board]]'', 351 U.S. 115 (1956), that would lead to later decisions that rendered the Board powerless.<ref>{{cite book|title=May it please the court: the most significant oral arguments made before the Supreme Court since 1955|editor1-first=Peter|editor1-last=Irons|editor2-first=Stephanie|editor2-last=Guitton|year=1993|page=[https://archive.org/details/mayitpleasecourt00iron/page/137 137]|publisher=[[The New Press]]|isbn=1-56584-046-1|url=https://archive.org/details/mayitpleasecourt00iron/page/137}}</ref>

The board was founded on November 1, 1950, pursuant to the [[McCarran Internal Security Act]].<ref>{{cite web | url =http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/polsciwb/brianl/docs/1950InternalSecurityAct.pdf | title =Internal Security Act of 1950 (McCarran Act) | author =South Dakota State University | author-link =South Dakota State University | publisher =sdsu.edu | date =October 18, 2013 | access-date =October 18, 2013 | archive-date =October 19, 2013 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20131019181402/http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/dept/polsciwb/brianl/docs/1950InternalSecurityAct.pdf | url-status =live }}</ref> The original 5 members of the panel were Seth W. Richardson of Washington, D.C., the Board's Chairman,<ref>{{cite web | url =https://www.justice.gov/enrd/4785.htm | title =Seth W. Richardson (1929-1933) | author =United States Department of Justice | author-link =United States Department of Justice | publisher =justice.gov | date =June 2013 | access-date =2023-10-12 | archive-date =2014-10-13 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20141013005122/http://www.justice.gov/enrd/4785.htm | url-status =live }}</ref> along with [[Peter Campbell Brown]] of New York, [[Charles M. LaFollette]] of Indiana, David J. Coddaire of Massachusetts, and Dr. [[Kathryn McHale]] of Indiana.<ref name ="CivilServiceCommission">{{cite book | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=wtQhAAAAMAAJ&q=Seth+W.+Richardson+chairman+subversive+activities+control+board&pg=PA610 | title =Official Register of the United States | author =United States Civil Service Commission | author-link =United States Civil Service Commission | pages =610 | year =1951 | access-date =2023-10-12 | archive-date =2022-04-07 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20220407161019/https://books.google.com/books?id=wtQhAAAAMAAJ&q=Seth+W.+Richardson+chairman+subversive+activities+control+board&pg=PA610 | url-status =live }}</ref>  Mr. Brown later served as Chairman in 1952 and 1953.

The SACB was empowered to order the registration of organizations that it found to be "Communist [[Front organization|fronts]]", "Communist action" groups or "Communist infiltrated" groups:<ref>{{cite web | url =http://personal.ashland.edu/~jmoser1/mccarran.htm | title =EXCERPTS FROM THE MCCARRAN INTERNAL SECURITY ACT (1950) | author =Ashland University | author-link =Ashland University | publisher =ashland.edu | date =October 17, 2013 | access-date =October 18, 2013 | archive-date =October 19, 2013 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20131019112205/http://personal.ashland.edu/~jmoser1/mccarran.htm | url-status =live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|(e) It shall be the duty of the Board- 
:(1) upon application made by the Attorney General under section 13(a) of this title, or by any organization under section 13(b) of this title, to determine whether any organization is a ''Communist-action organization'' within the meaning of paragraph (3) of section 3 of this title, or a ''Communist-front organization'' within the meaning of paragraph (4) of section 3 of this title; and 
:(2) upon application made by the Attorney General under section 13(a) of this title, or by any individual under section 13(b) of this title, to determine whether any individual is a member of any Communist-action organization registered, or by final order of the Board required to be registered, under section 7(a) of this title.}}

In 1955, President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] appointed former [[Arkansas]] [[Governor]] [[Francis Cherry (governor)|Francis Cherry]] as SACB director. The appointment was continued by Presidents [[John F. Kennedy]] and [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]. However, the 1965 U.S. Supreme Court ''[[Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control Board]]'' case eliminated the SACB's authority to enforce Communist registration requirements.

The Subversive Activities Control Board was officially abolished by Congress in 1972.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schipper |first1=Martin Paul |title=Records of the Subversive Activities Control Board, 1950–1972: Communist Party USA |date=1988 |publisher=University Publications of America |isbn=978-1-55655-050-8 |oclc=698017558 |hdl=2027/mdp.39015088950723 }}{{pn|date=June 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[House Un-American Activities Committee]]
*[[Howard D. Abramowitz]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Archive==
*[http://www.lexisnexis.com/academic/2upa/Ars/SubversiveActivitiesControlBd.asp LexisNexis: Archive]
*[http://digital.lib.washington.edu/findingaids/view?docId=UnitedStatesSubversiveActivitiesControlBoard4938.xml United States Subversive Activities Control Board Records.] 1953. 2 microfilm reels (1 negative, 1 positive). At the [http://lib.washington.edu/specialcollections/laws Labor Archives of Washington, University of Washington Libraries Special Collections.]

[[Category:McCarthyism]]
[[Category:United States national commissions]]
[[Category:Anti-communist organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:1950 establishments in the United States]]


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