<!doctype html public "-//w3c//dtd html 4.0 transitional//en"> <html> Chris Burford wrote: <blockquote TYPE=CITE>The follow report from the CNN website does not look wholly unfair or inaccurate even though it ends in a patronising fashion. The biggest weakness I could see is it does not mention McCarthyism. Is it obviously incorrect on any point? Chris Burford London Congress passed the Smith Act in 1940 -- making it unlawful to advocate the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. That statute was used against leaders of the Socialist Workers Party and fascist organizations before World War II -- and against the CPUSA during the postwar years.</blockquote> glb: Was the Smith Act ever used retroactively? It certainly was not applied to the attempt to "nulify" the FDR presidency in the '30's. Congress investigated but they found that the DuPont family, Morgan Bank, and others of that kind, were some of the main instigators. The DuPonts, with their contol of Remington Arms, were willing to supply the weapons. End of investigation; George Seldes (if I remember correctly my reading of "Plot to Seize the White House" by Jules Archer) salvaged the  hearing's records, which were to be destroyed. If I may opine, I would guess that the Smith Act was not used very often against fascist activities.</html>