The Espionage Act was passed during WWI to punish treasonable or disloyal activities. This Act remained in place and active after WWI. During this time and on through WWII, many innocent people were questioned, arrested, fined, and in some cases, killed. With the American people feeling that anyone around them coul

"When I was much younger than I am today, when I did not realize as fully as I do today the full implications of Soviet policy in particular and Communism in general, it is quite true that I did make documents available to a man, Whittaker Chambers, whom I knew to be a Communist agent".

Several things made the actual guilt of Hiss an issue that will be argued by scholars through the years. In jail Hiss met several communist leaders who were also interned at the penitentiary. He never talked with them or became friends other than passing hellos. He never contacted anyone who was linked to the Communist party after his conviction, nor did his wife. On the side of guilt, Allen Weinstein tried to publish a book to show Hiss' innocence. After looking through documents that were released to the public under the Freedom of information Act, and studying all the information carefully, he concluded that Hiss was actually guilty. The word of Weinstein's conclusion spread through the media and the public opinion solidified even more on the idea that he truly was a Communist.

This first trial ended with the jury deliberating for 14 hours and 10 minutes. Due to the deadlock, the Judge had to tell the jury twice to return and try to come to a unanimous vote. The judge finally ended the trial with a hung jury. The government refused to let this issue die and immediately started proceedings to get a new trial underway.

The second trial lasted nine weeks and started on November 17, 1949. The defining piece of evidence that was to prove Hiss innocence was the typewriter that was used for the documents he had given to the Communists. The typewriter had been given to one of Hiss' maids. The defense hoped that the date it was given to her would clear Hiss of any accusations that his typewriter was the one used for the copying. This did not work out due to the maid being unable to remember the exact date she received it. Hiss was found guilty in this trial. Hiss spent 44 months in the federal penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. He could have been released on parole after 20 months but was denied the application with no explanation. The american public was not ready for a convicted spy to be released, even if the conviction was for perjury.

The initial accusations of Hiss being a Communist were addressed at the House Un-American Activities Committee, a body dominated by Republicans and conservative Democrats. This body was known as HUAC. On August 5th, 1948, Hiss gave a prepared statement that he did not know Chambers and had never been a member of the Communist party. He also stated that he had no friends that were Communists or had ever been Communists. These statements would be the main evidence used in future investigations and trials.

Barone, Michael. "Epitaph, Hiss and History" [http://www.usnews.com/usnews/issue/25epit.htm] , November 1996

Smith, John Chabot. Alger Hiss, the True Story. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1976

The person who started the process that accused Hiss of being a Communist was Whittaker Chambers. Hiss, a well educated and a true certified gentleman in the United States, had an excellent background, while Chambers was almost the opposite. Chambers went Columbia University and was forced to leave school after writing a play, which was deemed blasphemous. He was fired from the New York public library after he was caught stealing books. He worked for several Communist publications as a writer. He later worked with the Communist underground collecting information and delivering it to the Soviet connections he dealt with. The end of the 1930's brought with it a change of opinion and beliefs for C

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