In the past, hundreds of witnesses suspected of Communism have refused to answer questions in court proceedings and congressional hearings, pleading the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution of the U.S. The Fifth Amendment provides that no person may be required to give testimony against himself, and stems from the English common-law prohibition against torturing or threatening witnesses to compel testimony. In this sense, few Americans want the Fifth Amendment abolished.
But how could witnesses be compelled to testify, if the purpose was not to incriminate them but to get information about other Communists and the Communist movement as a whole?...
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