There was a committee in NY State calld some like the Rap-Coudert
committee.  iT was a predecessor of the House UnAmerican Activities 
(Sen Jos McCarthy).  My questions are: what is correct name and
spelling of Rap Coudert and was it in existence in 1948?

Dear cochnmd,

1. The correct spelling is: "Rapp-Coudert".

2. The "Rapp-Coudert Committee", headed by Senators Frederic Coudert
and Herbert Rapp, was formed in the autumn of 1939 to investigate the
suspected presence of Communists among teachers and staff in New York
public schools. They conducted numerous hearings in 1940 and 1941,
resulting in the dismissal of many. The Rapp-Coudert Committee's work
finally ended in 1942. It should not be confused, as it is sometimes
the case, with the Rapp-Coudert Commission, a Temporary State
Commission on the State Education System that developed a master plan
for school consolidation and existed from 1941-1947.


Sources:

City College of New York: Timeline
http://www.ccny.cuny.edu/pr/history/timeline.htm

American Association of University Professors: Book Reviews
http://www.aaup.org/publications/academe/01nd/01ndBR.HTM

City College of New York Fund: Timeline
http://www.citycollegefund.org/ccny/Timeline/Years2.html

Brown University: Third Annual Catskill Conference
http://www.brown.edu/Research/Catskills_Institute/confrep/foner.html

New York State Education Department, Board of Regents: School District
Organization and State Aid
http://www.regents.nysed.gov/histdist.html

The School of Darkness, by Bella Dodd (in Google Cache!)
://www.google.de/search?q=cache:JQ1Fjj3DwzsJ:ca.geocities.com/doswind/dodd/dodd_08.html+rapp+coudert+1939&hl=de&ie=UTF-8

International Socialism Journal: Book Review
http://pubs.socialistreviewindex.org.uk/isj68/sustar.htm


Search terms used:
Coudert committee
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=Coudert+committee&meta=
"Rapp-Coudert Committee"
://www.google.de/search?q=%22Rapp-Coudert+Committee%22&hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&start=0&sa=N
"rapp coudert"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=%22rapp+coudert%22&sa=N&tab=gw
rapp coudert
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&newwindow=1&q=rapp+coudert&meta=
rapp coudert 1941


Hope this answers yor questions!
Best regards,
Scriptor