No Ivory Tower: McCarthyism and the Universities

Professors proceeding at their own risk: The limited protections of academic freedom for public intellectuals

“…His experience showed actors and academics both were at risk of censorship. It coincided with the purges and loyalty oaths some professors encountered due to their political activism and affiliations during the McCarthy Era following World War II (Schrecker, 1986).…”

“…A standard interpretation is external groups such as far right politicians, editors, and philanthropists were often hostile to professors. On closer inspection, according to historian Ellen Schrecker's (1986), No Ivory Tower , during the period 1946–1953 institutional authorities, namely, university governing boards and presidents, surpassed the outside political groups in censoring their own professors by imposing loyalty oaths and being vigilant in curbing faculty activities and writings, and by firing dissidents. Little evidence exists that the Association of American Universities was effective in representing and safeguarding members who faced such institutional indictments.…”

“…Little evidence exists that the Association of American Universities was effective in representing and safeguarding members who faced such institutional indictments. This general tendency continued throughout the 1950s, with only a few presidents of private colleges and universities taking a public stand to defend academic freedom (Schrecker, 1986).…”