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Political Intolerance and Political Repression During the McCarthy Red Scare

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2013

James L. Gibson
James L. Gibson
Affiliation:
University of Houston
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Abstract

I test several hypotheses concerning the origins of political repression in the states of the United States. The hypotheses are drawn from the elitist theory of democracy, which asserts that repression of unpopular political minorities stems from the intolerance of the mass public, the generally more tolerant elites not supporting such repression. Focusing on the repressive legislation adopted by the states during the McCarthy era, I examine the relationships between elite and mass opinion and repressive public policy. Generally it seems that elites, not masses, were responsible for the repression of the era. These findings suggest that the elitist theory of democracy is in need of substantial theoretical reconsideration, as well as further empirical investigation.

Type
Articles
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 82 , Issue 2 , June 1988 , pp. 511 - 529
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 1988

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