- Mar 9, 2011
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In the McCarthy Hearings that took place during the 83rd Congress of 1953-1954, close to five hundred witnesses plead the Fifth Amendment when questioned before the three congressional committees.
Of those who plead the Fifth, McCarthy would say, 'If you use [the Fifth Amendment], it proves you're guilty."
McCarthy Hearing Testimony Unsealed
One of those questioned by the hearings was Howard Fast. He recounts his use of the Fifth Amendment in an article in February 1954:
"Each time I called upon the protection of the Fifth Amendment during my appearance before the McCarthy Committee last year, I demanded from the Senators the right to state why I was using this privilege. They were almost hysterical in their unwillingness to grant me that right. The hearing was being televised, and they had no desire to allow an explanation of the beginnings of the Fifth Amendment to go out over the air to millions of Americans. Nevertheless, an explanation of the origin of this amendment is most important in the struggle for our civil liberties, as well as to augment our knowledge of our democratic heritage. It is not accidental that the Constitution of the United States provided that no person should be forced to give evidence against himself. Quite to the contrary, this became one of the ten articles of the Bill of Rights precisely because it was of deep import and meaning to the men and women who lived at the time of the American Revolution..."
Howard Fast: Why the Fifth Amendment?
Of those who plead the Fifth, McCarthy would say, 'If you use [the Fifth Amendment], it proves you're guilty."
McCarthy Hearing Testimony Unsealed
One of those questioned by the hearings was Howard Fast. He recounts his use of the Fifth Amendment in an article in February 1954:
"Each time I called upon the protection of the Fifth Amendment during my appearance before the McCarthy Committee last year, I demanded from the Senators the right to state why I was using this privilege. They were almost hysterical in their unwillingness to grant me that right. The hearing was being televised, and they had no desire to allow an explanation of the beginnings of the Fifth Amendment to go out over the air to millions of Americans. Nevertheless, an explanation of the origin of this amendment is most important in the struggle for our civil liberties, as well as to augment our knowledge of our democratic heritage. It is not accidental that the Constitution of the United States provided that no person should be forced to give evidence against himself. Quite to the contrary, this became one of the ten articles of the Bill of Rights precisely because it was of deep import and meaning to the men and women who lived at the time of the American Revolution..."
Howard Fast: Why the Fifth Amendment?
