Alger Hiss Trials

A Dictionary of Contemporary World History

Alger Hiss Trials (USA, 1949–50) Alger Hiss was a Harvard-educated lawyer who had worked at the highest levels for the US State Department. In 1948 he became the focus of an anti-Communist investigation under the direction of the Committee on Un-American Activities set up by the US House of Representatives. Hiss was originally suspected of having passed secret information to the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Since the statute of limitations prevented the charge of espionage, he was charged with perjury for having denied on oath that he had passed secret documents to Whittaker Chambers, a self-confessed Communist Party courier. Hiss maintained his innocence. In his first trial there was a hung jury, but in the second he was found guilty. At both trials high government officials testified on his behalf. The defence challenged Chambers's sanity and alleged that the FBI had tampered with evidence to obtain a conviction. Hiss was sentenced to five years in prison. He was released in 1954 and returned to private life as a lawyer, and in 1975 he was readmitted to the Massachusetts Bar. The trial epitomized some of the anxieties of the McCarthy era. At the time, much of the evidence remained unproven, though since then most commentators have agreed that he did commit perjury, and that he did pass on documents to the Soviet Union. The trial also established the reputation of Richard Nixon, who pursued Hiss with great energy, and who made much of Hiss's position as part of a privileged Ivy League-educated elite.

Find more facts and information related to the .
© A Dictionary of Contemporary World History 2004, originally published by Oxford University Press 2004.

Related newspaper, magazine, and trade journal articles from HighBeam Research

(Including press releases, facts, information, and biographies)

	Isabel Johnson Hiss ; Isabel Johnson Hiss Widow of Alger Hiss Monday, May 8, 2000 New York -- Isabel Johnson Hiss, Alger Hiss' widow, died Wednesday at her home on Manhattan's Upper East Side. She was 91. "To Isabel" was the dedication that Alger Hiss, a former State Department official, put on his ... Read more
	Witness for the truth. (the real truth about Alger Hiss's guilt in spying for the former Soviet Union) ; It has been Alger Hiss's face on all the front pages - but...retracted his rash statement exonerating Alger Hiss, and Mr. Hiss himself has receded from...heard a great deal about one of them, Alger Hiss, and about his public life. How he... Read more
	The ongoing campaign of Alger Hiss: the sins of the father. ; ON NOVEMBER 27, 1954, Alger Hiss was released from the federal penitentiary...gentlemen): Really, I don't see how Alger Hiss could brazen it out that way unless...Committee (H.U.A.C.) first questioned Alger Hiss in 1948, his initial strategy was... Read more
	Well, what do you know! (Alger Hiss guilty according to new book on the KGB) ; ...included serving as KGB controller of; Alger Hiss! And in the book itself the diligent...dedicated to celebrating the birthday of Alger Hiss. One of its principal patrons is the...and even so upholds the innocence of Alger Hiss. Hiss was wrongly convicted, he said... Read more
	SHELBY, HISS AND CELERY THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES.(Editorial)(Column) ; ...the question I've been fearing: the Alger Hiss question. It had been asked of Anthony...dreading for years: ``Are you soft on Alger Hiss?'' I try evasion. ``The Hiss case happened...for Social Security has any idea what Alger Hiss . . . '' ``Are you or are you not soft... Read more
	Alger Hiss and the Record That Convicted Him ; The persistence of Alger Hiss's defenders is a pathetic demonstration...Bart Barnes's Nov. 16 obituary of Alger Hiss and argues that The Post failed in...secrets to Soviet agents. He named Alger Hiss and his brother, and Assistant Secretary... Read more
	Tony Hiss, a child of the Cold War ; ...the house he lived in when his father, Alger Hiss, was sentenced to the Lewisburg Penitentiary...know in prison perhaps better than if Alger Hiss had been a free man. When Tony was born in Georgetown Memorial Hospital in 1942, Alger Hiss was a successful coordinator of foreign... Read more
	Tony Hiss: A Child of the Cold War ; ...the house he lived in when his father, Alger Hiss, was sentenced to the Lewisburg Penitentiary...know in prison perhaps better than if Alger Hiss had been a free man. When Tony was born in Georgetown Memorial Hospital in 1942, Alger Hiss was a successful coordinator of foreign... Read more
	A son sheds some new light on the human side of Hiss ; ...24. There is no middle ground when Alger Hiss' name comes up in conversation. Not then...chosen to shed a little more light on Alger Hiss the person. In discussing his father...wisdom that lays bare what a complex man Alger Hiss was. Alger Hiss, his son writes, ... Read more
	Alger Hiss.(Editorial)(Obituary) ; ...Whittaker Chambers's allegations against Alger Hiss to discredit the entire New Deal. Here...justified by the internal Red Menace. If Alger Hiss, who seemed the model of high-minded...was convicted of perjury. Act Three: Alger Hiss was released from prison on November... Read more

For more facts and information, see all related premium articles

Related entries from encyclopedias, dictionaries, and thesauruses

	Hiss, Alger 1904- HISS, ALGER 1904- ALLEGED SPY FOR THE SOVIET UNION A Career in Government To many, Alger Hiss is a symbol of cold-war tensions and anticommunism...has raged on. Source: John Chabot Smith, Alger Hiss, the True Story (New York: Holt, Rinehart... Read more
	Hiss, Alger Hiss, Alger (1904–1996), central...anxieties of the McCarthy Era.Hiss, a Harvard‐trained lawyer...Chambers (1901–1961) accused Hiss of having been a member of the...a dramatic HUAC appearance, Hiss confronted Chambers and denied... Read more
	Hiss, Alger 1904- HISS, ALGER 1904- Lawyer, diplomat, convicted perjurer Victim or Spy? To some, Alger Hiss was a person who was in the wrong place...Scare" of the 1950s. Quick Rise to the Top Alger Hiss was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on 11... Read more
	Alger Hiss Alger Hiss , 1904-96, American public...decision. At a second trial Hiss was found guilty (Jan., 1950...order to secure a conviction. Hiss was released from prison in...denied all charges against him. Hiss maintained his innocence to...Seth, The Sleeping Truth: The Hiss-Chambers Affair ... Read more
	Alger Hiss ...World War II provided strong evidence of Hiss's guilt. The Hiss case seemed to lend substance to charges by Sen. Joseph...attention to Richard Nixon , whose hostile questioning of Hiss during the HUAC hearings did much to establish his reputation as a fervent anticommunist. Alger Hiss ... Read more

See all related entries