Cold War Internal Security and Surveillance of the New Left: Senate Hearing Testimony of Robert J. Thomas, 1970

Domestic Dissent

Pamphlets

Thomas, Robert J. Extent of Subversion in the “New Left”: Testimony of Robert J. Thomas (1970) documents congressional investigation into domestic intelligence gathering and the classification of political dissent as a national security concern during the Cold War. Issued under the authority of the Senate Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act, this hearing centers on testimony from a Los Angeles Police Department intelligence officer and establishes a primary record of how federal and local authorities monitored and interpreted New Left activism. The material supports research into internal security policy, policing of antiwar movements, and the legal framing of dissent in the United States during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Thomas, Robert J. Extent of Subversion in the “New Left”: Testimony of Robert J. Thomas. Hearings Before the Subcommittee to Investigate the Administration of the Internal Security Act and Other Internal Security Laws of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Ninety-First Congress, Second Session. Part I. January 20, 1970. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1970. The pamphlet records proceedings before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee, including formal statements, oath administration, and extended questioning of Thomas in his capacity as a sergeant assigned to the LAPD intelligence division. The text details investigative focus on organizations linked to the National Conference for New Politics and related activist networks, presenting law enforcement assessments of student protest, antiwar organizing, and political coalition-building. It includes the official release statement noting that testimony originally taken in executive session was “released from the injunction of secrecy and ordered to be printed,” along with committee membership listing senators such as James O. Eastland, Sam J. Ervin Jr., Edward M. Kennedy, Birch Bayh, Strom Thurmond, and John L. McClellan. Exchanges between senators and the witness document the evidentiary basis for claims of subversion, with emphasis on surveillance practices, intelligence interpretation, and interagency communication.

The hearing demonstrates the operation of Cold War internal security systems, showing how congressional committees and municipal intelligence units collaborated to define and investigate perceived political threats. Through sworn testimony, procedural questioning, and documented investigative targets, the material reveals mechanisms by which protest movements were scrutinized and categorized within federal security frameworks. It provides primary-source evidence for the study of state surveillance, legislative oversight of intelligence activity, and the continuity of anti-subversive policy beyond the McCarthy era. Softcover pamphlet; light toning, minor edge wear, and faint handling marks; interior clean and fully legible. Overall condition: Very good.

Item #22931

Price: $250.00