The Red Scare: The Rise Of Communism

After World War I , the american government was going thru a phase of social struggles ; prohibition laws , the suffragette movement and the chicago race riot.(chnm.gmu.edu).The war brought a wave of migration into the american land, many americans weren't happy about the situation , they believed that the immigrant people will bring with them their “foreign” ideas and ruin the american values. The americans feared the idea of communism especially after the Bolsheviks Revolution ; in 1919 The “Palmer Raids” took place under the leadership of then Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. Palmer believed that communism was corrupting the american values , he even made an essay called “The case against the Reds” (reds referring to communist). “The

With the power of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 Palmer began to arrest and deport aliens based on their political beliefs because no one was allowed to speak against the government especially during times of war. Over 6,000 suspected communist were arrested due to suspected rebellious movements. This was known as the “Palmer Raids”. Mitchell Palmer accused and identified immigrants who were communist because he wanted to keep democracy safe; raids were meant to determine suspected communists to deport them. Immediately after World War 1, the first Red Scare erupted. The American public was scared that communism would enter the United States. Left-wing supporters were suspected. During the Red Scare, two Italian men Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested for murder and were suspected to be anarchists, even though there was no evidence to support this. Many struggles came along with the Palmer Raids and the Red Scare such as trying to contain communism and dealing with

The Red scare was a series of witch hunts for suspected communist sympathetic members of congress and public office holding Citizens who were supposedly “Red” this lasted from (1919-1920) started by the Bolshevik revolution in Russia. During the first war the Red Scared was represented the widespread concern that Americans had developed over the fear of communist subversion within society. The American people went into a mass hysteric frenzy over the news and many

In the 1950’s, Senator Joseph McCarthy turned Americans against each other by installing fear in the people regarding toward Communism. During this time, in fact, people were getting blacklisted even if they weren't communist. In an incident at the Republican Women’s Club of Wheeling, McCarthy delivered a speech. The situation involving the Senator escalated when he stated that the State Department is infested with Communist. In this point in time, due to the false allegations, people went on a decade long period of witch hunts. Sam Roberts, the author of “A Decade of Fear” stated that in fact, “...thousands of alleged Communists in the U.S. were arrested and deported during what became known as the Red Scare.”

Further events, such as McCarthyism and Senator McCarthy’s false accusations led to the further growth of the Red Scare. The Red Scare led to hysteria amongst U.S. citizens, common Americans went to the extreme to build shelters in case of warfare. (Doc C). As lifestyles of Americans were threatened, it was justifiable of U.S. citizens to find ways to protect themselves. While the Second Red Scare went to an extreme, Eisenhower’s administration helped diminish the fright American citizens felt.

The Red Scare occurred in the 1950’s when several government officials were accused of involvement with communism based solely on rumors. Civilians were scared and thought they had no reason to trust the federal government. This caused chaos between the United States civilians and the federal governments and authorities. NewsELA said, “On February 20, 1950, McCarthy addressed the Senate and made a list of questionable claims. His proof was flimsy and he proved nothing, but the Senate called for a full investigation of these “communists.” Federal officials had to complete a full investigation of the people accused but in the end, nobody was found guilty of any sort of communism.

The Red Scare in the 1950’s was actually America’s second red scare. The 1920’s red scare was what helped start suspicion over Communists, but was put off during World War 2. It was no coincidence that what many people called the second red scare ignited after World War 2, during the Cold War, in the 1950’s. The 1920’s red scare started because Americans were paranoid over the fact that Russia may seek revenge after they had overthrown a royal Russian family in 1917. What started Communist ideas in the U.S at the time was the fact that since the war was over many of people were out of jobs which

The 1950's were viewed as a decade of prosperity for many Americans. For lesbians and gay men, it was both a time of great fear and immeasurable courage (“Coming Out in America”). During the fifties, being different in America was seen as a crime to many Americans especially to an individual named Senator McCarthy. Senator McCarthy was a Republican senator from Wisconsin during the late forties and fifties. He is known best for being the leader of what are called Red Scare and the Lavender Scare. The Red Scare was the fear of the emergence of Communism in America during the Cold War. Not only did Senator McCarthy accuse people of being communist throughout the decade, but also accused some of being homosexuals as well. The discrimination of homosexuals during the forties and fifties is referred to as the Lavender Scare. Because of the spread of Communism and the societal views on homosexuality during the fifties, many Americans thought of this as the era of great conflict and fear.

Around this time, Americans feared the invasion of Communism, which triggered the FBI to investigate people within the U.S. whom were suspected of sabotage and undermining Democracy in the name of Communism.

The Red Scare represented the widespread concern that Americans had developed over the fear of communist subversion within society. Americans believed, especially during the Cold War, which was a period of tension between the United States and Soviet Union, that communism was attempting to infiltrate every aspect of their lives. While this is not necessarily the best analogy, you can relate the widespread fear of communism during the Cold War as being similar to the heightened alert Americans had toward terrorism and suspected terrorists during the beginning of the modern century.

    What is The Red Scare? The Red Scare is fear resulting from communists wanting to control citizens. From 1919 to 1921, The First Red Scare occurred in which Americans feared the Soviet Union’s idea of communism spreading to The United States. After this panic was resolved, there was another epidemic of fear called The Second Red Scare. This lasted from 1947 to 1957 and was driven by the panic of communism growing and spreading in The United States. The Second Red Scare was perpetuated by international events and dismay such as the Korean War and fear of the Soviet Union’s nuclear weapon capabilities. From this, the House Un-American Activities Committee was formed. The committee’s purpose was to investigate alleged communists and infiltrators within the government, subcommittees, and Hollywood. “Americans also felt the effects of the Red

The First and Second Red Scare of the United States paved the way for a long standing fear of communism and proved to be one of America’s largest periods of mass hysteria. Throughout the years authors and analysts have studied and formed expository albeit argumentative books and articles in an attempt to further understand this period of time; the mindset held during this period however is shown to be completely different compared to now.

As you can see many people, many important people had been affected. Many books were also burned or banned such as Robin Hood, Civil Disobedience, etc (Anti-Communism). As was stated before many people had lost their jobs because the government was suspicious of people.

127) Fear is the most primal instinct. It causes people to do and act in certain ways in which they are not accustomed. It can turn brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, politician against politician, and country against country. Fear instigates panic. It was that panic that prompted the Palmer Raids. The Palmer Raids were started by A. Mitchel Palmer. He felt that in order to keep the American values in tact communism had to be out of the picture. Palmer believed that communism was "eating its way into the American workman". He thought it was the root of all evils in his society. Palmer felt that communism was "seeking to replace marriage vows with libertine laws, burning up the foundations of society". In December of 1919, in their most famous act, Palmer's agents seized 249 resident aliens. Those seized were placed on board a ship, the Buford, bound for the Soviet Union. Deportees included Emma Goldman the feminist, anarchist and writer who later recalled the deportation in her autobiography. Another reason for the Red Scare was the strike held by mine workers. They were thought to be making threatening moves against the Capitalist system through subversive Socialist organizations. These strikes were part of a series of events taking place in 1919. This strike,

The American domestic policy was greatly affected in immigration policy and the rights of workers due to the fear of communism. Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 created communism and caused the United states to experience the first Red Scare. Many people feared the presence of immigrants so much, that they were willing to go to extremes to eliminate them, “series of attacks in the United States, 1919–1920, on suspected socialists, anarchists, and communists, under the authority of Attorney General Alexander Mitchell Palmer” (Encyclopedia of the Interwar Years). Palmer abused his authority, because of his political beliefs and arrested about 10,000 people of German ancestry, accusing them of being socialists and communists.The extreme nature of legislative acts, such as the Alien and Sedition Acts,