490:
fired for suspected homosexuality from the State
Department alone—a far greater number than were dismissed for their membership in the Communist party. The Cold War and anti-communist efforts provided the setting in which a sustained attack upon gay men and lesbians took place. The history of this 'Lavender Scare' by the federal government has been extensively documented by historian David Johnson. Johnson has demonstrated that during this era government officials intentionally engaged in campaigns to associate homosexuality with Communism: 'homosexual' and 'pervert' became synonyms for 'Communist' and 'traitor.' LGBT people were treated as a national security threat, demanding the attention of Congress, the courts, statehouses, and the media.
32:
146:
1213:
236:(1956) restricted the application of the executive order. In this case of a food and drug inspector for the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare who had been dismissed for his association with radicals, the Court faulted the executive order for its failure to define "national security" and for other ambiguities. It faulted its application in the case of a position not clearly related to national security. It noted conflicts with statutes like the
220:
such an organization at any time during military service was grounds for immediate discharge from the military. According to scholars, since at least as early as 1960, Executive Order 10450 was also applied to ban transgender individuals from serving in the United States military. Due to the difficulty in proving something like an individual's sexuality, accusations of homosexuality were very dangerous to one's career, regardless of their accuracy.
326:
137:
infamous, dishonest, immoral, or notoriously disgraceful conduct, habitual use of intoxicants to excess, drug addiction, or sexual perversion." At the same time, the executive order's provisions contained advice on evaluating character problems, as in its provision that the medical valuation of a psychological problem should show "due regard to the transient or continuing effect of the illness."
170:. From 1947 to 1961, the number of firings based on sexual orientation were far greater than those for membership in the Communist party. It was not until 1973 that a federal judge ruled that a person's sexual orientation alone could not be the sole reason for termination from federal employment, and not until 1975 that the
286:, which stated that "The United States Government does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, or sexual orientation in granting access to classified information." The order's language concerning employment and sexual orientation was also repealed when Clinton signed
197:
Eisenhower administration in the creation of
Executive Order 10450. Thus, the Hoey Committee was one of the first steps of institutionalizing homophobia in government work in the United States, and served as a guide for future government officials to do the same, as the Eisenhower administration did two years later.
551:
In the early 1970s, changing attitudes began to make the Civil
Service Commission's exclusion of homosexuals less acceptable. ... The definitive change in commission policy came as the result of a class action suit brought in San Francisco (Society for Individual Rights, Inc. v. Hampton, 63 ER.D. 399
219:
applied only to the State
Department and select military agencies. Executive Order 10450 extended to all employees of the federal government, notably the armed forces. Anyone enlisting was required to sign a statement swearing that he had no connections with an organization deemed subversive. Joining
191:
The Hoey
Committee, an investigative committee created by a Democrat controlled Senate in 1950, was commissioned to investigate and receive testimony from various federal government agencies, the judiciary, and law enforcement officials in Washington DC. The purpose of the committee was "to count the
136:
Previously, the criteria used to define a security risk were largely political, that is, affiliation with suspect organizations or a clear demonstration of disloyalty. Executive Order 10450 added more general estimations of character, stability, and reliability. Its language was broad: "Any criminal,
182:
explained that the new order was designed to encompass both loyalty and security risks and he differentiated between the two: "Employees could be a security risk and still not be disloyal or have any traitorous thoughts, but it may be that their personal habits are such that they might be subject to
489:
From 1947 to 1961, more than 5,000 allegedly homosexual federal civil servants lost their jobs in the purges for no reason other than sexual orientation, and thousands of applicants were also rejected for federal employment for the same reason. During this period, more than 1,000 men and women were
451:
The
Lavender Scare helped fan the flames of the Red Scare. In popular discourse, communists and homosexuals were often conflated. Both groups were perceived as hidden subcultures with their own meeting places, literature, cultural codes, and bonds of loyalty. Both groups were thought to recruit to
211:
said that it established not a loyalty test but a "suitability test." Some in government referred to their new "integrity-security" program. Some of those the press expected to be excluded from federal employment included "a person who drinks too much," "an incorrigible gossip," "homosexuals," and
196:
were that almost "5000 homosexuals were within the military and civilian work force." The report concluded that gay people should not be allowed in government work because of their susceptibility to seduction and communism making them a security risk. The report served as a key resource to the
857:"Executive Order 13764: Amending the Civil Service Rules, Executive Order 13488, and Executive Order 13467 To Modernize the Executive Branch-Wide Governance Structure and Processes for Security Clearances, Suitability and Fitness for Employment, and Credentialing, and Related Matters"
124:(FBI), with the task of investigating federal employees to determine whether they posed security risks. It expanded the definitions and conditions used to make such determinations. The order contributed to the ongoing
917:
177:
Without explicitly referring to homosexuality, the executive order responded to several years of charges that the presence of homosexual employees in the State
Department posed blackmail risks. Attorney General
1044:
1039:
161:
Under the order, thousands of lesbian and gay applicants were barred from federal employment, and over 5,000 federal employees were fired under suspicions of being homosexual. It came as a part of the US
192:
number of homosexuals in these departments" and discuss the merits of their inclusion in them
Notably, they did not talk to any LGBTQ+ people or groups. The findings of the Senate report, entitled
452:
their ranks the psychologically weak or disturbed. And both groups were considered immoral and godless. Many people believed that the two groups were working together to undermine the government.
183:
blackmail by people who seek to destroy the safety of our country." The executive order had the effect of banning gay men and lesbians from working for any agency of the federal government.
937:
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153:(pictured in 2010) was fired from his government job in 1957 for being gay. He would later sue the government in a case that went to the US Supreme court and would found the gay rights
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ended its policy of requiring "homosexual education and charity groups to publicly state that homosexuality is a 'sickness, disturbance, or diseased pathology'" before obtaining
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473:. Los Angeles: The Williams Institute on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Law and Public Policy at UCLA School of Law. p. 5-3. Archived from
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432:"An interview with David K. Johnson author of The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government"
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439:
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The order's language restricting national security access based on sexual orientation was also repealed in 1995 when
President
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504:"Lifting the ban on gays in the civil service: Federal policy toward gay and lesbian employees since the Cold War"
1274:
1113:
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306:
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42:
94:
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261:
249:
670:
1008:
237:
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Documenting
Discrimination on the Basis of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity in State Employment
79:
Made heads of departments and agencies responsible for review of personnel and applicant backgrounds
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announced that they would consider applications by gays and lesbians on a case by case basis.
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31:
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The Lavender Scare: The Cold War Persecution of Gays and Lesbians in the Federal Government
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60:
8:
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of the mid-1950s, barring thousands of lesbian and gay applicants from government jobs.
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626:"April 27, 1953: For LGBT Americans, a Day That Lives in Infamy | Josh Howard"
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Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America
372:
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150:
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377:. File Unit: Executive Orders: 10441 - 10460, 1862 - 2016. 27 April 1953.
205:
The press recognized the revolutionary nature of the new executive order.
1108:
767:"The Lavender Scare: How Fear and Prejudice Impacted a Nation in Crisis"
527:
272:
82:
Added several reasons for job termination, including sexual orientation
374:
Executive Order 10450: Security Requirements for Government Employment
519:
166:" witch hunts which contributed to and complemented the McCarthyist
1133:
116:
program. Instead, it charged the heads of federal agencies and the
131:
464:
Sears, Brad; Hunter, Nan D.; Mallory, Christy (September 2009).
104:
on April 27, 1953. Effective May 27, 1953, it revoked President
925:
186:
85:
Mandated re-appraisal of previously-reviewed background checks.
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signed Executive Order 13764, the last of his Administration.
194:
Employment of Homosexuals and Other Sex Perverts in Government
223:
1161:
Conduct Unbecoming: Gays and Lesbians in the U.S. Military
293:
The order was explicitly repealed in 2017, when President
140:
1255:
Discrimination against LGBTQ people in the United States
623:
846:, Vol. 2 (ed. James Ciment: Routledge, 2006), p. 742.
842:
Donald P. Haider-Markel, "Gay and Lesbian Rights" in
833:, Vol. 2 (ed. James Ciment: Routledge, 2006), p. 739.
829:
Donald P. Haider-Markel, "Gay and Lesbian Rights" in
671:"Congressional Investigations and the Lavender Scare"
321:
260:
lifted a policy barring gays from employment in the
463:
76:Expanded the security criteria for government jobs
1270:Sexual orientation and the United States military
699:Defense Department Form 98, Revision 1 June 1959.
402:"Gay rights campaigner Frank Kameny dies aged 86"
1231:
565:"Cold War, Lavender Scare, and LGBTQ+ Activism"
132:Comparison to the previous Executive Order 9835
25:Security Requirements for Government Employment
891:Executive Order 10450 at the National Archives
911:
200:
603:. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
187:Prior influences on the order's construction
927:LGBT+ people and the United States military
649:: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (
918:
904:
771:Armstrong Undergraduate Journal of History
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1144:Transgender American Veterans Association
844:Social Issues in America: An Encyclopedia
831:Social Issues in America: An Encyclopedia
782:
732:
664:
662:
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312:Moynihan Commission on Government Secrecy
224:Repealing the ban on radical sympathizers
1240:Executive orders of Dwight D. Eisenhower
252:ended a ban on gays and lesbians in the
144:
596:
587:
1232:
668:
657:
381:from the original on 15 September 2016
243:
172:United States Civil Service Commission
141:Ban on lesbian and gay federal workers
1119:American Military Partner Association
899:
746:from the original on January 26, 2019
624:04/27/2012 3:48 pm EDT (2012-04-27).
501:
353:Executive Order 10450, Section 8(1)iv
681:from the original on 16 January 2018
412:from the original on 13 October 2015
399:
575:from the original on 2 January 2023
438:. The University of Chicago. 2004.
13:
1265:LGBTQ history in the United States
1139:American Veterans for Equal Rights
16:1953 order by President Eisenhower
14:
1286:
884:
720:from the original on May 28, 2022
669:Adkins, Judith (15 August 2016).
571:. US Department of the Interior.
400:Geen, Jessica (12 October 2011).
1212:
1211:
1199:LGBT people and military service
324:
30:
1114:Veterans Benevolent Association
869:from the original on 2017-07-20
849:
836:
823:
802:
791:from the original on 2023-05-19
758:
702:
693:
632:from the original on 2015-06-29
542:from the original on 2023-01-14
442:from the original on 2019-04-28
307:Executive order (United States)
122:Federal Bureau of Investigation
617:
557:
502:Lewis, Gregory B. (Sep 1997).
495:
457:
424:
393:
365:
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1:
362:, accessed November 29, 2010.
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250:U.S. Civil Service Commission
508:Public Administration Review
264:. Around the same time, the
112:of 1947, and dismantled its
7:
300:
49:Executive Order number
10:
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597:Johnson, David K. (2004).
201:Other aspects of the order
1250:1953 in American politics
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784:10.20429/aujh.2020.100208
72:
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48:
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1093:Ban on "hermaphroditism"
954:LGBT veterans healthcare
238:Veterans' Preference Act
118:Civil Service Commission
1015:United States v. Marcum
820:, 351 U.S. 536] (1956).
1275:1950s in LGBTQ history
628:. Huffingtonpost.com.
158:
1175:Coming Out Under Fire
1129:Servicemembers United
1018: (C.A.A.F. 2004)
1009:Don't ask, don't tell
999:Executive Order 10450
677:. National Archives.
569:National Park Service
288:Executive Order 13087
284:Executive Order 12968
254:federal civil service
148:
102:Executive Order 10450
20:Executive Order 10450
1245:1953 in American law
862:. Federal Register.
317:Dwight D. Eisenhower
217:Executive Order 9835
180:Herbert Brownell Jr.
114:Loyalty Review Board
110:Executive Order 9835
98:Dwight D. Eisenhower
61:Dwight D. Eisenhower
989:Newport sex scandal
765:Erin Owens (2020).
716:. August 15, 2016.
351:National Archives:
244:Repealing the order
208:The Washington Post
120:, supported by the
21:
969:Sexual orientation
815:2011-01-09 at the
710:"Executive Orders"
436:press.uchicago.edu
358:2022-05-28 at the
230:U.S. Supreme Court
159:
155:Mattachine Society
19:
1227:
1226:
1182:OutServe Magazine
1072:Stockman v. Trump
1065:Karnoski v. Trump
1004:Crittenden Report
714:National Archives
675:Prologue Magazine
215:Truman's earlier
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871:. Retrieved
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475:the original
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332:LGBTQ portal
295:Barack Obama
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280:Bill Clinton
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151:Frank Kameny
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1260:McCarthyism
1109:Knights Out
1027:Transgender
750:January 26,
685:October 27,
416:20 December
290:in 1998.
270:section 501
149:Astronomer
1234:Categories
873:2017-08-05
795:2023-05-19
724:August 27,
636:2015-06-25
546:2023-03-12
514:(5): 392.
484:2018-12-20
446:2018-12-20
339:References
273:tax-exempt
1045:2018 Memo
1040:2017 Memo
959:Section 8
579:2 January
536:197166465
168:Red Scare
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