1954: Alger Hiss released from prison on this day in history

Upon his release, Hiss immediately declared that he wished to “reassert my complete innocence of the charges that were brought against me by Whittaker Chambers.”

He claimed that his conviction was the result of the “fear and hysteria of the times,” and stated that he was going to “resume my efforts to dispel the deception that has been foisted on the American people.” He was confident that such efforts would “vindicate my name.” Some observers remained skeptical of Hiss’s protestations.

Senator Karl Mundt felt that further investigation of the matter would probably be a waste of time, unless Hiss decided “to come clean and tell the whole story.” Chambers issued a brief statement in which he declared that the “saddest single factor about the Hiss case is that nobody can change the facts as they are known…They are there forever.

That is the inherent tragedy of this case.”The controversy over the facts in the Hiss case is also here forever. It remains a highly charged issue.

His defenders argue that Hiss was a victim of the Red Scare that swept through the U.S. during the 1940s and 1950s.

Others are equally adamant in maintaining his guilt, claiming that documents recently released from Soviet archives strongly support the case that Hiss was a spy for the Soviet Union.

Other Notable Events on this day in history

• 1095 Pope Urban II orders first Crusade
• 1868 Custer massacres Cheyenne on Washita River
• 1965 Pentagon calls for troop increase
• 1970 South Vietnamese forces attacked near Cambodian border