Manipulating Fear: The Texas State Government and the Second Red Scare, 1947-1954 Page: 1

                                
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
From 1947 to 1954 the Texas State Legislature passed an expansive group of anti-
communist laws, which effectively curtailed the ability of the Communist Party to exist within
the state. Passed during each biannual legislative session between 1947 and 1954, the eight
laws reflected not only the attitude of State Legislature to the possible threat of a communist
incursion within the state, they revealed an attempt to deal with the rising power of the Soviet
Union as well as the increasing geopolitical tension brought on by the Cold War. The actions
taken by the Texas State Legislature were, however, not unique. Twenty-two states took
legislative action focused on eliminating the potential for an individual communist or the
Communist Party to influence the state.1 Texas passed the most laws focused on halting the
potential expansion of communist influence than any other state, and Governor Allan Shivers
also used these laws to promote his own political fortunes in the 1950s through attacks on
labor organizations.
Texas, when compared to other states in enacting anti-communist legislation during the
Second Red Scare, tied with Arkansas as the most restrictive state in the United States (US).
Between 1947 and 1954, Texas and Arkansas created comprehensive sets of legislation that
banned the Communist Party, prevented communists from receiving state funds, removed the
Communist Party from politics, and required any communists who entered the state to register
1 James L. Gibson, "Pluralism, Federalism, and the Protection of Civil Liberties," The Western Political Quarterly 43,
no. 3 (September 1990): 522.

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