By their participation in the social movements of the 1960s and early 1970s, New Left and antiwar college teachers engaged in dissent that, though theoretically consistent with their constitutional rights, proved dangerous to their careers. Although the McCarthy years were unquestionably more harsh than the Vietnam War era, the repression faced by New Left and antiwar college teachers and those who supported them has not been fully acknowledged. It was far more severe than commonly recognized.; Faculty dissenters confronted sanctions from college administrations, from colleagues, from local, state, and federal governments, and from private citizens. A great many college teachers lost their jobs as a result of activity in support of the New Left and the anti-Vietnam War movement. Others were denied promotions and pay raises. A few professors were targeted by right-wing terrorist groups; some were beaten by police during antiwar demonstrations; several were among the targets of Cointelpro, the FBI's secret program of political repression.; This study attempts to document the personal and career consequences for American college and university teachers who, exercising their Constitutional right to political dissent, were active in or supportive of the New Left and the movement against the Vietnam War. The recollections of many of the professors themselves, through oral history interviews, provided a major primary source of information. Interviews were supplemented by documentary evidence such as local and student newspapers, college and university archives, the personal papers of various professors, AAUP reports, and various secondary sources.; The persecutions of New Left and antiwar faculty during the Vietnam War era clearly indicate that repression in academia did not end with the fading of McCarthyism. This study found indications that the Vietnam War era was one of the most repressive for left-wing faculty. More work needs to be done to uncover the full extent of the story.
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