Established by Congress in 1938 as the Special Committee on Un-American Activities for the purpose of rooting out "subversive" elements, particularly Communism, in American society. In 1945 the name was changed to the House Un-American Activities Committee, HUAC for short. In 1969 the name was changed once again to the House Internal Security Committee, and in 1975 it was disbanded. HUAC failed to win much respect early on, as their accusations tended to be unsubstantiated. When they went after well-known Hollywood figures whose earlier membership in the Communist Party was well documented, they began to receive more attention. Their hearings kicked off the Red Scare of the 1950s and led to many people being blacklisted.