Today In History: Supreme Court Upholds the Feinberg Law

In the mid-1930s, and again in the late 1960s-early 1970s, students of Teachers College brought their viewpoints and counter viewpoints on societal and world issues to the forefront. Activism took on a new dimension. There was growing unrest on the Columbia University campus, as well as at other universities – all coping with the impact of the Second Red Scare, or McCarthyism (1939-1945); Vietnam War (1955-1974) and draft; and ongoing racial discrimination fueling the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968). -- Student Voices in Print and Perpetuity (Curiosity Cabinets, Spring, 2024).

During the "Second Rare Scare", also known as "McCarthyism", a New York Law was created in 1949 that barred communists, far-left activists, and other political subversives from teaching in public schools. In 1952 the Supreme Court upheld the Feinberg Law, approving its doctrine as evident in a series of actions that led to approximately 1,500 investigations of teachers, mostly in New York, but also in Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit and Buffalo, among other cities.  Believed to be "card carrying communists", teachers were fired or, under pressure, forced to resign.

In New York, the Law guaranteed all teachers under suspicion the right to a full hearing before the Board of Regents, but, once their organization was determined to be subversive, they could be dismissed purely on the basis of their membership. The Law also allowed the Board to dismiss teachers who expressed, either verbally or physically, seditious or treasonable thinking.

In 1967, the Feinberg Law was ruled a violation of the freedom of individual expression and was repealed.

The following articles are drawn from Proquest Historical Newspapers, which informs and inspires classroom teaching and learning.

• N.Y. Feinberg Law Upheld by Supreme Court 6 to 3: The World's Day: Washington: N.Y. Anti-Communist Law Upheld. (1952, Mar 03). The Christian Science Monitor (1908-) 
• Texts of Supreme Court's Majority and Minority Opinions in Ruling on Feinberg Law: Wrote the Majority pf Opinions Douglas in Dissent Holds Feinberg Law Restricts Academic Freedom.  (1952, Mar 04). New York Times (1923-) 
• Fine B.  (1952, Mar 09). Education in Review: Feinberg Law, Upheld By the Supreme Court, Will Now Be Applied in All State Schools. New York Times (1923-) 
• Crist, J. (1952, Mar 09). What Ruling on Feinberg Law Means: Even Without the New Measure, City Has Curbed Reds. New York Herald Tribune (1926-1962) 
• Walz, J. (1952, Mar 09). What's Legal and Illegal for American Communists: Supreme Court Decision Further Limits Their Activities in the Public Schools. New York Times (1923-) 
• Brown, E. (1952, Mar 22). The Argument Against: Notes & Comments. New York Amsterdam News (1943-1961) 
• Buder, L. (1952, Sep 29). Regents Will Act on Subversive List: Wilson Says State Board Will Begin to Carry Out Mandate of Feinberg Law. New York Times (1923-) 
• 193 Teachers Here Face Red Inquiry: Board, in First report to the State Under Feinberg Act, Cites Its Investigations. (1952, Nov 27). New York Times (1923-) 
• MacKenzie, J.P. (1967, Jan 24). U.S. Supreme Court Strikes Down New York Teacher Loyalty Laws. The Washington Post, Times Herald (1959-1973) 
• End of the Feinberg Law. (1967, Jan 26). New York Times (1923-) 

Tips:

• Bailey, B. (2017). Red Scare : Communists in America (First edition.). Cavendish Square. e-book.
• Bock, L. (1971). The Control of Alleged Subversive Activities in the Public School System of New York City, 1949-1956. New York: Teachers College, Columbia University. Ed'D. Closed Stacks Dissertations ; LC72 .B63 1971.
• Bryson, L.  (1939) Which Way America? : Communism - Fascism - Democracy. New York : The Macmillan Co. e-book.
• Heins, M. (2013). Priests of Our Democracy : The Supreme Court, Academic Freedom, and the Anti-Communist Purge (1st ed.). New York University Press. e-book.
• Mandelbaum, S. J. (1964). The Social Setting of Intolerance : The Know-Nothings, the Red Scare, and McCarthyism. Scott, Foresman. Closed Stacks Curr ; E183.9 .M3 1964.
• Office of Public Relations. (1951). Lyman Bryson Faculty File. Teachers College Digital Collections.
• Pfannestiel, T. J. (2003). Rethinking the Red Scare :  The Lusk Committee and New York’s Crusade Against Radicalism, 1919-1923 (1st ed.). Routledge. e-book.
• Tsvetkova, Natalia.. (2022). The Cold War in Universities : U.S. and Soviet Cultural Diplomacy, 1945-1990. Brill. e-book.

Images:

• General Research Division, The New York Public Library. (1939). Which Way America? Communism - Fascism - Democracy. Book Cover. Courtesy of New York Public Library Digital Collections.
• Poster Image:  Symbol of Justice, Courtesy of Canva.

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