The notion that Alger Hiss might be implicated in espionage for the Soviet Union also proved very problematic for the Feds and, more particularly, “a bludgeon against the Roosevelt and Truman administrations, which had not acted quickly against Hiss” (via Teaching American History). After all, how could a spy working for the USSR end up embedded at such a high level within the American government? And how had he slipped under the radar undetected for so many years?

But the accusations against Hiss also had international implications. After all, Hiss was present at the Yalta Conference, a clandestine gathering of the Allied powers’ top leaders in February 1945. While Hiss attended this event, anything he did to tip off the Soviets probably paled in comparison to other means utilized by the Soviets to surveil the U.S. and Great Britain. Strategies included heavily bugged chambers where the British and American delegations debriefed and discussed strategy.

Hiss also represented the United States at the Potsdam Conference and operated as a key State Department official during the United Nations’ formative stages. According to History, officials adopted and signed the United Nations Charter on June 26, 1945, and it would officially go into effect on October 24, 1945. In other words, Hiss wielded an incredible amount of power and influence both on the national and international levels, which meant a potentially catastrophic leak of vital information to America’s new and dangerous enemy.

How did Alger Hiss respond to these allegations? Hiss denied Whittaker Chambers’ allegations with vigor, and he refused even to acknowledge knowing Chambers, according to PBS. What’s more, he filed a civil suit against Chambers for slander, as reported by the Maryland Law Review.

In the wake of Hiss’ slander lawsuit, evidence continued to pile up. It included typewritten and handwritten documents containing State Department content. Besides these documents, a Woodstock typewriter would also get entered into evidence. How did Hiss refute these materials? As reported by PBS, “Hiss and experts on his side argued that the typewriter had been tampered with to produce the desired evidentiary results.” While this most definitely reeked of a “conspiracy theory,” many in the public preferred it to the notion that the American government might be infiltrated and compromised at the highest levels.

But Chambers would fail to produce this essential evidence in the beginning. Preserved on undeveloped rolls of 35 mm film, these documents would come back to haunt Hiss soon. According to the FBI, “Chambers, who had renounced the Communist Party in the late 1930s, testified reluctantly … He ultimately acknowledged he was part of the communist underground in the 1930s and that Hiss and others had been members of the group.” Despite Hiss’ initial angry protestations against Chambers, he would later admit that, indeed, he did know Chambers, per History.

Besides suggesting veracity for Senator Joseph McCarthy’s domestic communist infiltration claims, the Alger Hiss affair also provided Richard Nixon an opportunity to enter the fray and make a name for himself (via Britannica). Nixon worked as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives and hailed from the “Golden State” of California. He played a prominent role in the investigation that resulted in Hiss’s indictment.

For the first time, the indictment brought to the fore the realization that America had a communist spy problem. Yet, despite the obvious implications that Hiss was involved in espionage, President Truman disapproved of the sensationalism of the case. Truman also detested how Hiss’s political opponents used the case against him. As a result, Truman acted in a way that appeared contradictory. On the one hand, he reacted with disgust while flipping through the documents that incriminated Hiss. But on the other hand, he still saw the political mob forming against Hiss as a “red herring.”

When later asked to explain how he could hold two such contradictory viewpoints simultaneously, he replied, “Of course Hiss is guilty. But that damn Committee isn’t interested in that. All it cares about is politics, and as long as they try to make politics out of this Communist issue, I am going to label their activities for what they are — a ‘red herring'” (excerpted from Richard Nixon’s “Six Crises” via Law 2). 

Whittaker Chambers also knew about Alger Hiss’ hobbies, which included ornithology or the study of birds. Chambers could not have known about this without a close relationship with Hiss per the Nixon Foundation. “Hiss left that Caucus Room that day deterred and degraded as the Committee proved an automobile he had sold in 1936 went through the hands of an intermediary and straight to a man with a record of being a Communist organizer. It corroborated Chamber’s detailed testimony precisely.”

Not only did Nixon investigate Hiss, but he even testified at his trial. Yet, despite the continued growth of evidence appearing to prove Hiss’ guilt, newspapers such as the Washington Post would attribute a guilty verdict in Hiss’ perjury trial to Nixon’s “oratory skills.” What’s more, the documents that proved most damning to Hiss earned the moniker “the Pumpkin Papers.” Why? Because the 35 mm film strips got stored in a hollowed-out pumpkin at Chambers’ house. This terminology sounded absurd, and those with a predilection to side with Hiss played this up. 

During the proceedings, Hiss faced accusations of lying about passing these papers to Chambers. After uncovering the “Pumpkin Papers,” the Justice Department had all they needed to prosecute Alger Hiss, according to the FBI. Unfortunately, the statute of limitations had already run out regarding the espionage charges. It looked like Hiss might get off scot-free.