The children's librarian and the Samuel Adams School -- Anti-communism in Massachusetts -- The Fifth Amendment in Norwood, Massachusetts -- Loyalty oaths, libraries, and Quakers in Pennsylvania -- Public funding for the local library -- "Citizens for Philbrick" anti-communist campaign to fire the librarian -- Fund for the republic -- Contempt of Congress -- National scrutiny -- Quakers and the House Un-American Activities Committee -- Legal and moral victories.
Summary
This study examines the effects of McCarthyism and anti-communist investigations at the local level. The author uses the case of Mary Knowles -- a librarian who was investigated in the 1950s for alleged communist sympathies -- to analyze how communities, local officials, and ordinary people were impacted by the politics surrounding the Cold War.
