Who was Alger Hiss?
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Correct answer: An ex-State Department official accused of Soviet spying
Alger Hiss was a former State Department official accused of being involved in Soviet espionage. His conviction for perjury strengthened fears that communists had infiltrated the federal government.
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More McCarthyism and Red Scare questions
- What was the Smith Act used for during the Red Scare?
- Which Supreme Court case upheld convictions of Communist Party leaders under the Smith Act in 1951?
- What did Senator McCarthy claim in his famous 1950 speech in Wheeling, West Virginia?
- Which televised hearings helped damage Senator McCarthy's public reputation?
- Which statement by attorney Joseph Welch during a 1954 televised Senate hearing became a famous rebuke of Senator McCarthy?
- What action did the U.S. Senate take against Joseph McCarthy in 1954?