THE REGENTS VERSUS THE PROFESSORS: E DWARD T OLMAN'S ROLE IN THE C ALIFORNIA L OYALTY O ATH C ONTROVERSY

In 1950, the U niversity of C alifornia B oard of R egents approved a policy that all faculty members, as a condition for continued employment, were required to either sign an oath indicating that they were not members of the C ommunist P arty or explain why they would not sign. A group of faculty members, led by psychologist E dward T olman, refused to sign the oath and were fired. This article discusses how T olman emerged as the leader of the faculty nonsigners and how his stature within psychology enabled him to recruit assistance from the A merican P sychological A ssociation and the S ociety for the P sychological S tudy of S ocial I ssues.