Subversive Activities Control Board
The Subversive Activities Control Board (SACB) was a United States federal committee.[1] It was the subject of a landmark United States Supreme Court decision of the Warren Court, Communist Party v. Subversive Activities Control Board, 351 U.S. 115 (1956), that would lead to later decisions that rendered the Board powerless.[2]
Board overview
The board was founded on November 1, 1950, pursuant to the McCarran Internal Security Act.[3] The original 5 members of the panel were Seth W. Richardson of Washington, D.C., the Board's Chairman,[4] along with Peter Campbell Brown of New York, Charles M. LaFollette of Indiana, David J. Coddaire of Massachusetts, and Dr. Kathryn McHale of Indiana.[5] Mr. Brown later served as Chairman in 1952 and 1953.
The SACB was empowered to order the registration of organizations that it found to be "Communist fronts", "Communist action" groups or "Communist infiltrated" groups:[6]
In 1955, President Dwight D. Eisenhower appointed former Arkansas Governor Francis Cherry as SACB director. The appointment was continued by Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. However, the 1965 U.S. Supreme Court Albertson v. Subversive Activities Control Board case eliminated the SACB's authority to enforce Communist registration requirements.
The Subversive Activities Control Board was officially abolished by Congress in 1972.[7]