Where are the best places to send requests for records establishing whether a private citizen, now deceased, was the subject of investigation or scrutiny during the Red Scare of the 1950s?  FBI?  Legislative Records?*

You Could check the new releases on the Vault, or search The Vault, many very interesting releases?

Could also try a FOIA.

Focus the FOIA and provide specific names, alias's, dates and locations. If the subject is listed on a previous report, then reference the report, page and line number. It really seems as if history repeats itself....

Link to FOIA.gov

https://www.foia.gov/

Hi Warren --

You are welcome to submit a query to the Center for Legislative Archives at legislative.archives@nara.gov -- we hold the records of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and the Internal Security Subcommittee (SISS) of the Senate Judiciary Committee. There are individual name files in the records of both committees.

Alternatively, Hathi Trust has digitized the cumulative and supplemental indexes to the publications from HUAC. This is an easy way to check if an individual was mentioned in the printed hearings and reports of this committee.

Cheers!

Sarah

Hi Warren,

Textual Reference at Archives 2 holds FBI case files up to 1985. Many of these files are restricted and require that a FOIA request be submitted to NARA. However, before you do that, you will need the FBI case file number so we can search our records; the case files in our holdings are not name searchable.

If you do not have the case file number, you will need to file a FOIA request directly to the FBI requesting the file designations for records transferred to the National Archives. For more information, please visit their website at https://www.fbi.gov/foia/.

Sincerely,

Textual Reference Team

Archives 2

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