Un-American Activities: The Trials of William RemingtonIn 1948, William W. Remington was one of the bright young men in the Truman administration. He was tall and handsome, a product of Dartmouth and Columbia. From 1940 on, he had risen through government ranks, serving on wartime boards, the President's Council of Economic Advisors, and eventually as a major official in the Department of Commerce, with a promising future ahead. By 1954, however, Remington was dead--assassinated in his cell by a team of inmates in a high-security Federal prison.In Un-American Activities, historian Gary May tells the fascinating story of William Remington--a story of intrigue, injustice, government corruption, and anti-Communist hysteria. May labored for eight years in reconstructing Remington's case, searching through FBI files, government documents, and waging an epic battle against then-U.S. Attorney Rudy Guiliani to become the first historian to obtain access to grand jury records. The result is a brilliant account of one man's tragic odyssey and a government run amok. Remington's future collapsed in 1948, when he was charged with being a Communist and a Soviet spy. The accuser was Elizabeth Bentley, an admitted ex-Communist herself and a former courier for Soviet spymasters. Remington's life fell into a whirlpool, as he fought government improprieties, illegalities, and the assumption he was guilty. Cleared by government loyalty boards, he was indicted by a grand jury--whose foreman was secretly helping Elizabeth Bentley prepare her memoirs. Remington suffered through two trials for perjury, and the chief witness against him was his own embittered ex-wife. He was convicted and sentenced to the federal penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, where his reputation as a Communist preceded him. But May's account also offers fascinating insight into the depth of Soviet penetration into wartime America: As he follows Remington's life, from the radical circles at Dartmouth and the Tennessee Valley Authority in the 1930s through his Washington career, he finds that Remington may well have been guilty of the charges against him.Gary May is one of the leading historians writing about postwar America. His first book, China Scapegoat, won the Allan Nevins Prize and was hailed as "as well as a novel, as powerful as a good film" by the The Los Angeles Times. Here he brings his analytical and narrative skills to bear on one of the forgotten stories of the McCarthy era, uncovering a gripping tale of espionage, corruption, and personal tragedy. |
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UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIES: The Trials of William Remington
User Review - Jane Doe - KirkusA revealing chronicle of the life of William W. Remington, a casualty of the McCarthy era's anti-Communist fervor. Remington entered Dartmouth in 1934 at the age of 16 and was a promising economist ... Read full review
Contents
1 Present in the Flesh | 3 |
2 The New StudentDartmouth 19341936 | 15 |
3 Enfant TerribleKnoxville 19361937 | 26 |
4 A Square CharacterDartmouth 19371938 | 36 |
5 Flirting with DangerDartmouth 19381939 | 43 |
6 Renegades | 53 |
7 Obliging a Lady | 68 |
8 Fighting Back | 97 |
14 Missionary Work | 181 |
15 Not in This Day and Time | 193 |
16 Object of Hate Engine of Destruction | 207 |
17 A Lot to Explain | 234 |
18 The Only Verdict Possible | 262 |
19 His Own Worst Enemy | 277 |
20 The Ends of Expediency | 297 |
In Dubious and Ambiguous Battle | 320 |
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Common terms and phrases
agents American Ann Remington appeared April August Bentley’s Bill Remington Blaisdell Bridgman Brunini Bureau Cagle called Chanler Chanler asked Cohn Committee Communist Party court Dartmouth December December 28 defendant Donegan Elizabeth Bentley espionage FBI Summary Report February File—Civil Service Commission Golos grand jury Green Papers hearing Helen Hereafter cited ibid indictment investigation january joined judge june knew Knoxville later lawyers Leibell March Martin McConnell McCoy membership Memorandum Minton Nathan Gregory Silvermaster never Noonan November November 24 October oseph perjury political prison questions quoted Rauh Papers records Redmont remember Remington FBI File Remington File—Civil Service Remington Papers Remington Testimony—First Trial Remington Testimony—Grand Richard G Richardson Roy Cohn Saypol September Silvermaster FBI File Soviet statement talk testify testimony Testimony—Grand jury Thomas Donegan thought tion Todd told U.S. attorney wanted Washington Post Washington Times-Herald William Remington William Walter Remington witness wrote York Post
Bibliographic information
| Title | Un-American Activities: The Trials of William Remington |
| Authors | Associate Professor of History Gary May, Gary May |
| Edition | illustrated |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press, USA, 1994 |
| ISBN | 0195049802, 9780195049800 |
| Length | 393 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |