Discuss the importance of both amendments in the context of the anticommunist “witch hunt” of the 1950s.

During the 1950s, when there was a hysterical fear of Communism (see the 1956 film Invasion of the Body Snatchers as an illustration), many people took the 5th Amendment when asked if they were or had ever been members of the Communist Party. That is, they were invoking its privilege against self-incrimination to avoid answering the question. Folksinger Pete Seeger, however, cited the 1st Amendment, arguing that the difference was between (a) “you have no right to ask me this question” and (b) “you have no right to ask any American such questions.” Seeger was convicted of contempt of Congress, but the Supreme Court reversed his conviction on appeal. Discuss the importance of both amendments in the context of the anticommunist “witch hunt” of the 1950s.

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