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The Federal Employee Loyalty Program was established by Truman’s Executive Order 9835, sometimes known as the “Loyalty Order” which authorized the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to perform basic background investigations of government workers and to undertake further in-depth investigations whenever appropriate. The order also established presidentially nominated Loyalty Review Boards to investigate the FBI’s results and take appropriate action.
What did the order establish?
The order established that each government worker must go through the investigation procedures under the Loyalty Order and loyal government workers must be granted protection from baseless claims of disloyalty.
Concerns about growing communist operations in the American Kingdom, specifically the government, grew as the Cold War intensified following WWII. Congress had started inspections into communist presence in Hollywood, and numerous states had passed legislation prohibiting communists from holding academic jobs. The claims that communists were working in government institutions, however, were some of the most concerning to the Truman government. It was because of these doubts and fears, President Truman signed an executive order on March 21, 1947. This executive order was issued to set up a wide range of programs to monitor government workers’ loyalty. In issuing his directive, Truman stated that all government employees must show full and unflinching patriotism to the United States, anything less was considered a danger to the process of democracy. As a result of this loyalty order, a large number of government workers were dismissed, and numerous others had to surrender their occupations.
Background
The end of WWII taught the world about the dangers that nuclear weapons possession and the United States alliance with the Soviet Union had degraded from military partners to steadfast opponents. When the news that USSR had managed to build a nuclear weapon spread in the United States, American political authorities were seized by the terror of the communists. Concerns about unrestrained Soviet intelligence activities in the United States, as well as rising economic tensions between both the countries, started to impact United States politics and international policies.
Red scare
In the congressional elections of the year 1946, the conservative activists and Republican Party utilized the threat of “Red Scare” – communists knew as “reds” had infiltrated the United States, despite President Truman’s anti-communist policies. Fears that communists had infiltrated the administration of the United States ultimately formed a major campaign theme. This led the Republican candidates to earn overwhelming success across the country, giving them authority over both the houses of the parliament.
McCarthyism
In the year 1950, American politician Joseph McCarthy led a campaign against the US government. He declared that he possessed a record of all government workers devoted to the Soviet Union. He had no proof to back up his claims and only supplied one name: Owen Lattimore. But Lattimore did not work for the United States government. Investigations into Lattimore’s work led nowhere and he was never convicted of any crime. Despite this, McCarthy had an extremely brilliant career and a big individual reputation as a result of his accusations of treason, which, while generally unverified, severely harmed the Democrats. Many others aided the scare in different methods, resulting in few prosecutions but significant job losses among government personnel, teachers, doctors, and journalists.
Process
The president’s proposal allowed the FBI to conduct background checks on some government workers. Around 5 million federal employees were investigated. Treason, spying, sabotage, leaking private government data, sedition, espionage, and any kind of affiliation or alliance with a communist organization, were all grounds for dismissal from the federal government.
If the official inquiry revealed material that placed a government worker in an unfavorable image, it permitted additional field inquiries. Around 150 loyalty boards across the United Stated have presented the findings of the field inquiries. The boards then carried on their independent investigations. The testimonies of several confidential witnesses were gathered. If there was a logical suspicion about a worker’s allegiance, they were fired. No one had the authority to overturn the judgments declared by the loyalty court.
Truman’s stance on the order
A few days before signing the Loyalty order, in a letter to George Earle, Truman stated that people were agitated about the infiltration of communists in the country. He went on to say that he thought the United States was safe from communists. This exchange led people to believe that Truman was not concerned about the infiltration of communists into the United States.
Despite his fears that the program would devolve into a smear campaign, Truman backed it as essential to maintaining national stability through a period of high pressure. Most People of the United States sided with him and praised his anti-communist and anti-subversion stance. Each inquiry, each loyalty vow, and each interview took place against a backdrop of dread in an unpredictable post-war globe; therefore the chronology of these occurrences is critical.
Criticism
The loyalty order issued by Truman has been denounced as an unjustified onslaught on the American people and an instrument of terror. Several books have stated that the loyalty program had a more serious impact on the employees who were not dismissed.
Abolishment
Dwight D. Eisenhower, a Republican, signed Executive Order 10450 in April of the year 1953, canceling the loyalty order issued by Truman and abolishing the boards. Instead, Eisenhower’s directive instructed federal agency chiefs and the US Office of Personnel Management to scrutinize government employees, aided by the FBI, to see if they represented a potential concern.
Summing it up
Fear spread throughout the United States when concerns grew about communists wishing to propagate their ideas throughout the globe. It was due to these concerns that President Truman issued the Loyalty Order.
Frequently Asked Questions
Was a specific number/code assigned to the executive order?
Yes. The number/code of this order was 9835.
What was the primary goal behind the loyalty program?
The primary goal behind the loyalty program was to eliminate communists from the United States.
How long did it take the government to complete the investigations?
The investigations took nearly 7 years to complete.
In which year did the investigations start and end?
The investigation took place between 1947 and 1953.
What did the investigations discover?
The investigations discovered that very few employees were suspected logically. The majority of employees were suspected without any logical reason.
