The Red Scare in Vermont

CHESTER, Vt. – What happened in Vermont when the anti-Communist fear known as the “Red Scare” swept the country? Quite a bit, as it turns out. Rick Winston, author of the recently published “Red Scare in the Green Mountains: Vermont in the McCarty Era,” explores some forgotten history as we see how a small, rural “rock-ribbed Republican” state with a historically libertarian streak handled the hysteria of the time.

There were several fascinating stories in the Green Mountains, including a high-profile academic firing, a conservative senator who helped take down Joseph McCarthy, controversies involving left-leaning summer residents, and some veteran newspaper editors who spoke out against McCarthy’s tactics.

Rick Winston was the co-owner of Montpelier’s Savoy Theater for 29 years, and was programming director for the Green Mountain Film Festival for 14 years. He has taught film history at Burlington College, Community College of Vermont, Goddard College, and the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and has made presentations throughout Vermont on film history.

This talk is free, open to the public, and accessible to those with disabilities. To request accommodations or for more information, contact the library at 802-875-2277 or info@whitinglibrary.org.

The Red Scare in Vermont is a Vermont Humanities Council program hosted by Whiting Library. (Supported in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this program do not necessarily represent those of the NEH and VHC).