NATO and HUAC Alger Hiss By Philip Adams

NATO and HUAC & Alger Hiss By: Philip Adams and Andrew Weakland

NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) • Formed on April 4, 1949 as a result of North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington D. C. • 5 nations signed the Treaty of Brussels on March 17, 1948 (Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and the United Kingdom), then Berlin Blockade made them realize they needed United States support to counter Soviet military power so as a result signed the North Atlantic Treaty forming NATO • NATO nations original members consisted of: Belgium, United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, and United States • NATO serves as a International military alliance, originally it was formed by western democratic nations to counter communist nations and keep communism from spreading into European nations • NATO’s first Secretary General Lord Ismay "to keep the Russians out, the Americans in, and the Germans down. " • Agreement that an attack against one was an attack against all • Communist Countries responded to NATO by forming the Warsaw pact on May 14, 1955 • This was a huge step in the United States ending isolation foreign policy, and it was another major stepping stone in the United States emerging into the modern world power we know it as today

HUAC & Alger Hiss • The Human Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was a committee that investigated potential communist activity in the U. S. • HUAC often pressured witnesses by bringing them into high profile hearings before congress until they would release information such as names and other information related so Communists and Communist sympathizers. • Alger Hiss, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was put on trial by the HUAC because he was accused of being a spy. He was found guilty and sentenced to two concurrent five year sentences, which he only served 3 years of. • The actions of HUAC contributed to fear and repression that existed during the communist hysteria of the 1950 s. • Arguments over the case sparked increased debates about subjects such as the Cold War and the extent of soviet espionage in the U. S. • The HUAC was active from 1938 -1975. • The HUAC expresses a conservative attitude in the U. S. because they wanted to stick with their traditional democratic ideals instead of allowing Communist influence.