But a month later he had retreated swiftly. In late November 1947 the moguls, through Johnston’s trade association, announced that they would suspend the screenwriters and directors who came to be called the Hollywood Ten until they declared “under oath” that they were not Reds; the industry, it was reported, would “not knowingly employ a Communist.”185 There was dissent at first. John Huston, George Stevens, John Ford, William Wyler, and other leading directors told Speaker of the House Joseph Martin and the HUAC chairman that they were “opposed to communism” but wanted “guarantees of the Constitution,” too.186 But with the decimation of CSU and its progressive voice, picking off writers, directors, and actors became easier. The blacklist had begun.

The practice was endorsed quickly by IATSE, the Teamsters, and most of the Hollywood unions. It was enforced, too. This exclusionary practice, contrary to popular opinion, did not affect writers, directors and actors alone.187