Constitutional Academy: Civil Liberties, The Constitution, and The Perils of Secrecy

ESD 112 > History Programs > Athan Theoharis

Featured Speaker - Athan Theoharis, Marquette University (Emeritus)

May 3, 2007, 5:00 - 8:30pm
ESD 112 Conference Center

On May 3, Athan Theoharis (Professor Emeritus of History at Marquette University) drew from his immense expertise in FBI history to paint the story of federal surveillance policy during the Cold War. He guided participants through a reading of case study documents that reveal central threads of the story but also speak to the challenges of studying history. Speaking of The Patriot Act, Theoharis discussed ways in which the Cold War story has contemporary resonance.

Presentation Materials:

Video of the Presentation:

Primary Documents Discussed:

The King "Suicide" Letter (1964):: The letter, written on anonymous stationary and accompanied by recordings of Martin Luther King Jr. engaged in sexual activities, suggested that King should kill himself before accepting the Nobel Peace Prize.
J. Edgar Hoover Memo 5.28.1940:: Records Attorney General Jackson’s decision not to maintain oversight over surveillance.
White House Memo 5.21.1940:: FDR’s secret wiretapping directive. Note: Incomplete document.
Attorney General Memo 2.26.1952:: Attorney General McGrath states that he can not approve microphone surveillance involving trespass (but not explicitly banning such uses.)
Attorney General Memo 5.20.1954:: Attorney General Brownell interprets limits to surveillance resulting from Irvine v California. He concludes, "It is my opinion that the Department should adopt that interpretation which will permit microphone coverage by the FBI in a manner most conducive to our national interest. I recognize that for the FBI to fulfill its important intelligence function, considerations of internal security and the national safety are paramount and, therefore, may compel the unrestricted use of this technique in the national interest."
Executive Conference Memo 7.20.1959:: The FBI interprets the Attorney General’s 1954 memo to extend to criminal investigations.
C.A. Evans Memo 12.28.1962:: Records that FBI officials alone had authorized the bugging of Fred Black’s Washington DC hotel room and office, which became important when the Justice Department notified the Supreme Court in 1966 that Black had been bugged.
DeLoach Memo 5.27.1966:: Frankly records the number of FBI bugs installed between 1960 and 1966 and then number of such briefed to the Justice Department with paragraphs expressing FBI officials’ disdain (and concern) that Justice Department officials felt compelled to brief the courts about such illegal actions when learning of same during criminal prosecutions. Included is recognition of the illegal process of installing microphones: "It is noted that in a majority of our microphone installations, trespass on the premises of the target is involved and revelation of the extent of our microphone coverage could well play into the hands of such groups as the Long Committee and the vociferous elements speaking for constitutional guarantees against the invasion of privacy. Most disturbing to this element, ultimately, would be the revelation that the Bureau would become involved in burglary-type activity to effect an installation on the premises of a target."

Court Cases discussed during the presentation:

FONG YUE TING v. U S, 149 U.S. 698 (1893):: http://supreme.justia.com/us/149/698/case.html
SCHENCK v. U.S. , 249 U.S. 47 (1919):: http://supreme.justia.com/us/249/47/case.html
OLMSTEAD V. U.S., 277 U.S. 438 (1928):: http://supreme.justia.com/us/277/438/case.html
NARDONE v. UNITED STATES, 302 U.S. 379 (1937):: http://supreme.justia.com/us/302/379/case.html
NARDONE v. UNITED STATES, 308 U.S. 338 (1939):: http://supreme.justia.com/us/308/338/case.html
DENNIS v. UNITED STATES, 339 U.S. 162 (1950):: http://supreme.justia.com/us/339/162/case.html
COLE v. YOUNG, 351 U.S. 536 (1956):: http://supreme.justia.com/us/351/536/case.html
GREENE v. McELROY, 360 U.S. 474 (1959):: http://supreme.justia.com/us/360/474/case.html
United States v. Coplon, 185 F2d 629, 637 (2dCir 1950)
YATES v. UNITED STATES, 354 U.S. 298 (1957) :: http://supreme.justia.com/us/354/298/case.html

Additional Resources:

The 4th Amendment:: The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
Section 605 of the Federal Communications Act of 1934:: "No person not being authorized by the sender shall intercept any communication and divulge or publish the existence, contents, substance, purport, effect or meaning of such intercepted communication to any person."
Tracked in America: This documentary Web site explores more than two centuries of surveillance in America. Included are two hours of audio interviews, 300 photographs, 25 personal stories beginning in 1917, and a teacher’s guide.
Time Magazine’s Secret Wiretaps Archive Collection: Features excerpts from 80 years of articles about wiretapping. From that page, you can link to the full text articles.
Civil Liberties in Wartime: Compiles related Justice Talking audio files, New York Times articles, and lesson plans. The page has an interactive timeline. Lesson plans are targeted at Middle and High School. There is an "In Their Own Words" corner which includes quotes from representatives of the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches as well as the press and schools.
Teaching with the News: Classroom Ideas from the American Bar Association: Explores the NSA wiretapping program and introduces other government surveillance programs.
ABA Rules on Search and Seizure:: What can police search, and when?
The American Bar Association Division for Public Education: Moderated an online discussion of privacy among six social science, legal, and humanities scholars, with full text.
The Center for Democracy and Technology: This organization provides news, information, and resources on a range of cyberspace issues, including data privacy.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation: This organization’s web pages contain news and information about freedom of expression, privacy, and other rights. A "hot topics" section includes medical privacy, encryption, and junk e-mail, among others.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center: This website, dedicated to the issue of privacy, has relevant legislative, administrative, and court actions, as well as resources and policy archives.
The Online Privacy Alliance: These web pages share information about a group of corporations and associations that discuss, and exchange ideas about, the development and improvement of organizational privacy policies.
The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse: This website offers consumers the opportunity to learn about their privacy rights, including advice on how to protect personal privacy.

History Programs: