United States and American History: Late 1950

About the history of the United States in 1950, anti-communism continues, the Hollywood 10 blacklisted and jailed, the Korean War begins.

1950

June 9 The 1st 2 members of the Hollywood 10--a group of movie writers and directors who refused to answer the questions of the House Un-American Activities Committee--began their prison terms.

June 25 War began between the Democratic people's Republic of Korea and South Korea. Sir John Pratt, former adviser in Far Eastern Affairs for the British Government and head of the Far Eastern Section of the British Ministry of Information, stated:

The fighting that broke out at dawn on June 25 saved Syngman Rhee [the South Korean dictator] from ruin and gave President Truman the pretext he required for seizing Formosa. No one who studies the evidence .... can doubt that the Korean War began with an attack upon North Korea launched by Syngman Rhee with the support of his friends in the American Military Advisory Group.

June 27 The United Nations Security Council adopted a U.S. resolution approving armed intervention on the side of the South Koreans. The Soviet delegation to the UN was absent from this session.

July 1 U.S. ground forces landed in Korea.

Sept. 23 The McCarran Internal Security Act was passed by Congress. The Act provided for a Subversive Activities Control Board to register members of groups the Attorney General determined to be a "Communist-action or Communist-front." The Act also included a provision establishing "emergency" concentration camps; the sponsor of this section of the law was Sen. Hubert Humphrey.

Oct. 7 U.S. forces invaded the Democratic People's Republic of Korea by crossing the 38th parallel.

Nov. 20 American troops reached the Chinese border. Chou En-lai stated that the Chinese people would not "supinely tolerate seeing their neighbors being savagely invaded by imperialists."

Nov. 29 The Chinese threw 850,000 "volunteers" into Korea against 700,000 South Korean, U.S. and UN forces, and the "police action" escalated.

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