In 1948, two men squared off against each other in a hearing, and later, a trial that would have vast ramifications for America and the Cold War with the Soviet Union. The men couldn’t have been more different.
Beginning at the End
A descendant of an old Baltimore family, Alger Hiss (1904–1996) was suave, handsome, well-spoken, and arrogant. After earning his degree from Harvard Law, he eventually entered government service as an attorney during the Roosevelt administration, rose rapidly through the ranks, and was soon working in the State Department in international affairs. He attended the Yalta Conference as part of Roosevelt’s team and was instrumental in helping found the United Nations following World War II. Now in 1948, he stood accused not just of being a member of the communist party, but of being a Soviet spy as well.His accuser was Whittaker Chambers (1901–1961), a pudgy man who always looked a bit unkept and spoke in a low voice. The product of a dysfunctional home, he had dropped out of Columbia University to join the communist party, where he wrote for the Daily Worker before becoming a spy for the Soviet Union. He carried out his duties as an intermediary between U.S. government personnel and Soviet agents, but then experienced a conversion of faith. That led to his charges of Hiss’s espionage, accusations that shook the foundations of the federal government.
