Beaty, John Owen, 1890-1961

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College professor and author, of Dallas, Tex., who was active in the conservative movement; d. 1961.

From the description of Papers, 1949-1961. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 154691238

Professor at Southern Methodist University.

From the description of John Owen Beaty antisemitic material, 1950-1954. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 709766099

Educator and author who was active in the conservative movement.

From the description of Papers, 1949-1961. (University of Oregon Libraries). WorldCat record id: 19336654

John Owen Beaty (1890-1961) taught English at Southern Methodist University, from 1919 until his retirement in 1957. During this time, he also served as head of the English Department from 1927 until 1940. Beaty, a native of Crow, West Virginia, received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Virginia, and later completed his Ph.D. in philosophy at Columbia University in 1921. Professor Beaty also spent a semester studying in France at the University of Montpelier.

Dr. Robert Hyer, first president of Southern Methodist University, appointed Beaty to the English Department in 1918. Beaty taught courses in sophomore English, as well as in Old English and the history of the English language. He served in active duty during World War II in the Military Intelligence service, and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army. He remained in the army reserves for a total of thirty one years.

Dr. Beaty published fourteen books, including Race and Population (1928), Swords in the Dawn (1937), Image of Life (1940), The Iron Curtain over America (1951), and Crossroads. Dr. Beaty also served as a co-editor of Facts and Ideas, and Famous Editions of English Poets, as well as working with the Modern Language Association of America and the Dictionary of American Biography. His writing was not confined to his own areas of academic interest, as he also wrote various newspaper articles on foreign affairs. Dr. Beaty was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and other honors include membership in the Modern Language Association, Texas Institute of Letters, the American Legion, and serving as president of the Conference of College Teachers of English.

Claims made in his 1951 work The Iron Curtain over America, as well as a pamphlet published shortly thereafter, How to Capture a University, triggered much controversy within SMU during the early 1950s. Dr. Beaty was charged with being anti-Semitic and spreading claims in his work that either could not be supported with the references he cited, or that were the product of inappropriate use of sources. The Iron Curtain over America attracted a great deal of attention and apparently was widely read, going through eight reprintings in 1952 alone. The context of the times when these two works appeared is especially important: the fear of communist expansion worldwide in the years after World War II, the fall of China to communist forces in 1949, and domestic efforts-both on the part of the Truman administration and by Congress (including by Senator Joseph McCarthy) to expose communist infiltration-gave Beaty’s work a very receptive audience. The Iron Curtain over America charged that communism could be characterized as a Jewish conspiracy, and that world communism was rapidly gaining ground everywhere, with little or no response from the Democratic Truman administration. His later pamphlet argued that Southern Methodist University, while responsible for teaching Christianity and promoting Christian values, was nevertheless being infiltrated by communist and un-Christian influences.

Such claims garnered support, certainly, but also charges of anti-Semitism and shoddy research, and SMU responded by setting up a committee-comprised of members of the SMU board of trustees and several Methodist bishops-to investigate Dr. Beaty’s claims. SMU President Umphrey Lee charged the Board of Trustees with addressing the allegations Dr. Beaty made in his 1954 pamphlet. The Board established a special committee charged with investigating those claims, and that committee’s findings-depositions, exhibits, and final report-are a major portion of the collection. That committee eventually found his charges to be unsupported by any evidence, and the Board of Trustees subsequently voted to censure him.

Dr. Beaty continued to serve in the English department until his 1957 retirement. He later moved to Virginia, and died in September 1961.

From the guide to the John O. Beaty controversy papers SMU 1992. 0167., 1949-1964, (Southern Methodist University Archives, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University)

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf Beaty, John Owen, 1890-1961. Papers, 1949-1961. University of Oregon Libraries
referencedIn Kimmel, Husband Edward, 1882-1968. Papers of Husband Edward Kimmel, 1954-1955. Library of Congress
referencedIn Barr, Stringfellow, 1897-1982. Papers of the Virginia quarterly review [manuscript] 1920-29. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Willson, James McCrorry, 1887-1972. Papers, 1887-1972, 1935-1940. Texas Tech University Libraries, Academic Library
creatorOf Beaty, John Owen, 1890-1961. John O. Beaty controversy papers, 1950-1960. Southern Methodist University DeGolyer Library
creatorOf Beaty, John Owen, 1890-1961. Papers, 1949-1961. University of Oregon Libraries
referencedIn Gerald L. K. Smith Papers, 1922-1976 Bentley Historical Library
creatorOf Beaty, John Owen, 1890-1961. Letter to Miss Texie Watts discussing the sale of his book, The iron curtain over America (Dallas, 1953) [manuscript] 1953 April 3. University of Virginia. Library
creatorOf Beaty, John Owen, 1890-1961. John Owen Beaty antisemitic material, 1950-1954. The Jacob Rader Marcus Center of the American Jewish Archives
creatorOf Smith, Gerald L. K. (Gerald Lyman Kenneth), 1898-1976. Gerald L.K. Smith papers, 1922-1976. Bentley Historical Library
creatorOf John O. Beaty controversy papers SMU 1992. 0167., 1949-1964 Southern Methodist University Archives, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University
Role Title Holding Repository
Place Name Admin Code Country
United States
Texas--Dallas
Texas
Texas--Dallas
Subject
Antisemitism in education
Antisemitism in higher education
College teachers
Communism in education
Conservatism
Conservative literature
Conservatives
English teachers
English teachers
Occupation
Authors, American
College teachers
Political activists
Activity

Person

Birth 1890

Death 1961

Information

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