Kefauver Committee
The Kefauver Committee, officially known as the Senate Crime Committee, was established in 1950 as a response to growing concerns about organized crime and its connections to interstate commerce in the United States. Led by Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee, the committee included a bipartisan group of five senators who conducted extensive hearings in various major cities, such as New York, Miami, and Chicago. The public hearings featured testimonies from a wide range of witnesses, including notorious criminals and law enforcement officials, and were notable for being televised, which attracted a significant national audience and heightened public interest in the issue of organized crime.
The committee's primary objectives were to investigate links between organized crime and interstate commerce, identify individuals and corporations involved in these activities, and ascertain whether they violated existing laws. Although the Kefauver Committee did not uncover many new crimes or criminals, it successfully drew attention to the problem of organized crime and its influence, culminating in twenty-two recommendations for legislative reform, including the establishment of a federal crime commission. Ultimately, while the committee's impact on crime was limited, it significantly influenced public awareness and showcased the emerging power of television in American politics.
Kefauver Committee
Congressional committee established to investigate organized crime in the United States
Date Operated from 1950 to 1951
The Kefauver Committee exposed a link between organized crime and public officials and bolstered Senator Estes Kefauver’s career.
The Kefauver Committee was the brainchild of its namesake, Senator Estes Kefauver. A Tennessee congressman since 1939, Kefauver became interested in crime after serving as chairman of a House of Representative judiciary subcommittee. After joining the Senate in 1949, Kefauver decided to make crime a congressional issue. In 1950, he introduced Senate Resolution 202, which called for an investigation of crime in interstate commerce. Kefauver’s action resulted in the formation of the Senate Crime Committee, which soon became known as the Kefauver Committee.
The committee included three Democrats and two Republicans, all members of either the Senate Judiciary or Commerce committees. They included Kefauver, Herbert R. O’Conor of Maryland, Lester C. Hunt of Wyoming, Alexander Wiley of Wisconsin, and Charles W. Tobey of New Hampshire. Kefauver served as chairman from May 10, 1950, to May 1, 1952. When he stepped down as chairman, he chose O’Conor as his replacement.
The Kefauver Committee had three responsibilities: to determine if a link existed between organized crime and interstate commerce; to determine and investigate people, firms, and corporations involved; and to determine if any of these interstate criminal operations violated federal or state laws. The committee held hearings in fourteen major cities including Miami, New York, Kansas City, and Chicago. Kefauver and his associates questioned politicians, law enforcement officials, and criminals. Some eight hundred witnesses testified before the committee, including an assortment of racketeers, gamblers, bookies, and alleged crime bosses, some left over from famed gangster Al Capone’s criminal organization.
Televised Hearings
In 1951, the Kefauver Committee hearings were televised. The medium was new, and the committee was only the fifth congressional committee to be broadcast. Kefauver’s hearings caused a nationwide sensation as the American public tuned in to see government officials confront sleazy crime lords. The Kefauver Committee provided more drama than any regular television program. Some 200,000 to 300,000 people watched the committee hearings; businesses suffered, and theaters and hotels went vacant. Even housewives did daily chores in front of the television. Some merchants bought televisions and broadcast the hearings to draw customers back into their stores.
The televised hearings also promoted Estes Kefauver’s career. While he investigated stereotypical villains such as James “Smiling Jimmy” Sullivan, Carlos “Little Big Man” Marcello, and the “Five Iron Men,” the Tennessee senator was likened to a knight in shining armor. Television transformed the ostensibly dull, gangly Kefauver into a nationally known crime fighter. He was soon recognized as a potential candidate for the 1952 presidential election.
Impact
In the end, the committee concluded that there was a nationwide organized crime syndicate with ties to political officials. The committtee drew up twenty-two recommendations including the establishment of a an independent federal crime commission operating from the executive branch. Other suggestions included the creation of a racket squad in the Justice Department, harsher penalities for narcotic producers and smugglers, and immigration reform to make it easier for the government to deport criminals.
The Kefauver Committee publicized, rather than eradicated, crime. Few new crimes or criminals were discovered. Few new questions were asked. The committee did, however, draw public attention to organized crime and aided local officials in the fight against corruption. The committee affected its chairman more than it did crime. Very few of the committee’s suggestions were enacted into the law. Perhaps more than anything else, the Kefauver Committee hearings exemplified the power of television.
Bibliography
Kefauver, Estes. Crime in America. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1951. Kefauver’s own account of the activities of the Senate Crime Investigating Committee. It includes colorful stories of organized crime figures and a detailed explanation of the committee’s recommendations.
Moore, William Howard. The Kefauver Committee and the Politics of Crime, 1950-1952. Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 1974. This work is a critical examination of Estes Kefauver and his crime committee. Kefauver is portrayed as a self-serving, exploiting politician who exaggerated the power of the criminal underworld.
Woodiwiss, Michael. Organized Crime and American Power: A History. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2001. Explores the history of organized crime in the United States by emphasizing the connections between criminals and government officials.