| − | General<ref>"The Secretary-General of the Conference was Alger Hiss... Secretary-General: Alger Hiss" [[#refUN46|UN 1946-47]]: 14, 48 (PDF 15, 49)</ref> of the founding conference of the [[United Nations]]. Hiss was [[conviction|convicted]] of [[perjury]] in 1950, after denying involvement in [[USSR|Soviet]] [[espionage]]. Hiss partisans and many on the [[ideological]] [[Left]] for many years hotly disputed the jury’s verdict in the case.<ref>Francis P. Sempa, "[http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/archives_roll/2001_07-09/sempa_chambers/sempa_chambers.html Whittaker Chambers: A Centennary Reflection]," ''American Diplomacy'', July 2001. Hiss portrayed himself as a "liberal" rather than a communist, referring to "[http://homepages.nyu.edu/~th15/liberalism.html liberals like myself]," writing that he had acquired a "liberal outlook" as a student, which was "strengthened and given focus at the Harvard Law School"; his work for Justice Holmes "increased my liberal convictions"; etc. He also had "[[#refBogdanor08|strong ties]] to the [http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Alger+Hiss Democratic Party]." Thus for decades, many [[liberals]] and [[Democratic Party|Democrats]] portrayed Hiss as an [http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryAmerican/Since1945/?view=usa&ci=9780195182552 innocent victim of McCarthyism], the victim of an [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/spies/hiss/11.html elaborate frame-up], railroaded by [http://homepages.nyu.edu/~th15/history.html the demagoguery] of [[Richard Nixon]] and the [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]]. Cf. Tony Judt, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=qjPwuBv-0PUC Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century]'' (Penguin Group, 2008), ISBN 1594201366, p. 301</ref> The [[#reflegacy|overwhelming consensus]] among historians today is that Hiss was guilty. | + | General of the [[United Nations]] founding conference.<ref>"The Secretary-General of the Conference was Alger Hiss... Secretary-General: Alger Hiss" [[#refUN46|UN 1946-47]]: 14, 48 (PDF 15, 49)</ref> He was [[conviction|convicted]] of [[perjury]] in 1950, after denying involvement in [[USSR|Soviet]] [[espionage]]. Hiss partisans and many on the [[ideological]] [[Left]] for many years hotly disputed the jury’s verdict in the case.<ref>Francis P. Sempa, "[http://www.unc.edu/depts/diplomat/archives_roll/2001_07-09/sempa_chambers/sempa_chambers.html Whittaker Chambers: A Centennary Reflection]," ''American Diplomacy'', July 2001. Hiss portrayed himself as a "liberal" rather than a communist, referring to "[http://homepages.nyu.edu/~th15/liberalism.html liberals like myself]," writing that he had acquired a "liberal outlook" as a student, which was "strengthened and given focus at the Harvard Law School"; his work for Justice Holmes "increased my liberal convictions"; etc. He also had "[[#refBogdanor08|strong ties]] to the [http://encyclopedia.farlex.com/Alger+Hiss Democratic Party]." Thus for decades, many [[liberals]] and [[Democratic Party|Democrats]] portrayed Hiss as an [http://www.oup.com/us/catalog/general/subject/HistoryAmerican/Since1945/?view=usa&ci=9780195182552 innocent victim of McCarthyism], the victim of an [http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/terrorists_spies/spies/hiss/11.html elaborate frame-up], railroaded by [http://homepages.nyu.edu/~th15/history.html the demagoguery] of [[Richard Nixon]] and the [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]]. Cf. Tony Judt, ''[http://books.google.com/books?id=qjPwuBv-0PUC Reappraisals: Reflections on the Forgotten Twentieth Century]'' (Penguin Group, 2008), ISBN 1594201366, p. 301</ref> The [[#reflegacy|overwhelming consensus]] among historians today is that Hiss was guilty. |