Red Scare

It was November 18, 1918, the day WWI had offici totallyy finish uped. The last cry of abet had been heard and peace was supposedly coming to the linked States or it had seemed. An ideological war which prompted mass paranoia had caused, among me actually an(prenominal) other things, what would be k nowadaysn as the rubicund frighten (****). The Red browbeat was the label given to the compriseions of legislation, the laundry riots, and the hatred and persecution of subversives and scrupulous objectors during that period of time.The purpose of this research is to explore the nemesis that plagued the United States in its time of great panic and anxiety, during the first Red Scare which lasted between 1919 to 1921. This powerful threat turned out to be Communism and it was greatly feared by almost e in truth U. S. citizen. Communism is ashes of social and stinting organization in which property is owned by the res publica group, to be shared in common or to be disturbed a mong members of the community equally or in proportion to their single needs.In 1919, no more than one-tenth of the adult the Statesn population belonged to the new formed communist movement, and even this small percentage were greatly persecuted. afterwards the real war ended in 1918, the ideological war, turned a net profitst conscientious objectors and other radical minorities such as Wobblies, who were members of the Industrial Workers of the cosmea (IWW), and in like manner Socialists. It was suasion that the Wobblies and the Socialists were trying to overthrow the United States disposal. Wobblies, were persecuted against for speaking out against the capitalistic system.Most of what they said, was only to attract attention, but it was taken seriously by the presidency. From the rattling beginning of the Red Scare, the Wobblies were attacked by the government because they were a symbol of radicalism. The government placed legislation not only against the Wobblies but likewise against Socialists and communistics. In 1917, the US government make a law which gave the Secretary of motor the power to arrest or deport any alien advocating or teaching destruction of property or the overthrow of government by force. The government used deportation as a cure for the antigovernment views of its enemies.The unsporting legislation passed by the government, everything was soon to kick the bucket a disaster. All that everyone required was for someone to take avail of the anti-radical legislation and that is what lawyer General A. Mitchell Palmer did in the years 1919-1920. Palmer deported members of the IWW. His Palmer raids had two main targets, which were the communist Party and the Communist beat back Party. These two groups grew out of the IWW and the largest of the three, the Socialist Party of America, had split because of a quandary over World War I.The Palmer Raids were attempts by the United States take time off of referee to arrest and d eport radical leftists, especially anarchists, from the United States. The raids and arrests occurred in November 1919 and January 1920 at a lower place the leadership of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. Though more than 500 extraneous citizens were deported, including a human activity of pro tapnt leftist leaders, Palmers efforts were largely frustrated by officials at the U. S. subdivision of Labor who had responsibility for deportations and who objected to Palmers methods.Once Europe entered the war, the split occurred this locomote up hurt the Socialist companionship and many another(prenominal) who were not Socialists unlike the draft, but the companionship was the point of opposition. These people became targets for attack by American statealists and the American government members were lynched and important Socialist documents were burned. One Friday, January 2, 1920 to be exact, agents from the Department of arbiter raided a Communist hideout and began arrest thousands of people in major American cities throughout the nation. They raided people who stayed in private homes, clubs, puss halls and coffee shops.The raiding got so hectic that in many places that they started arresting citizens and aliens, Communists and non-Communists. Destruction of meeting halls and property began as come up and along with pose their victims in prison, agents held them without an attorney and interrogated them. Prisoners were released a few days later unless they were members of the Communist Party or the Communist Labor Party. These two groups were formed from the American Communist movement and in only two days virtually five thousand people were arrested. Nearly five thousand were seized in the cleaning up that followed during the next two weeks.The arrests were carried out with total scorn for the rights of the prisoners. At this point and time Americans during this time were continuously on the bourne of attacking anyone who wasnt American. These people were extremely patriotic and tack together to rid their nation of any intruder that seemed to threaten them, mainly the minorities whom they were very hostile with. Palmer wasnt the cruelest or the most extreme of these anti-radicals. Senator Kenneth McKellen of Tennessee went so far as to propose sending all native-born radicals to a special punishable colony on the island of Guam.Liberal journalist tried to mock Palmer in many different ways. In some occasions they would compare his dos to the shaving of a dogs hair and how by this it would promote growth in the society. Palmer ignored the journalist, and honestly he didnt care what they said about him and his actions. He still went on with all his raids. On December 27, around 250 deportees sailed for Russia from parvenue York ion the U. S. S. Buford. On Friday, January 2, 1920, agents of the Justice department raided a Communist headquarters and began to arrest thousands of people all throughout the cities.In a period of two days, 5000 people were arrested and 1000 jailed. in that location was no case for this doing and the treatment the prisoners got was unacceptable. The peace and security of the American nation was now being destroyed by the Wobblies and Socialists. The attacks were now focused on them, not anymore on the objectors. They were targeted by the use of the Espionage act as of 1918. This act penalized anyone who obstructed the operation of the armed forces, or displayed disloyalty within the forces. The Justice Department doomed more than 1000 people.Surely among this number were a large number of Socialists and Wobblies. The Espionage Act was not the only law that was made by legislators to discriminate against antiwar groups. In October 1918, Congress passed the Alien Act, which gave the Secretary of Labor the power to deport any alien who, at any time after entering the United States, is plant to have been at the time of entry, or to have become thereafter a member of any anarchist organization. This gave Palmer the authority to pay his raids, during which thousands of people were arrested and detained without actually having been charged.Many tries to repeal the legislation, many Socialists became prominent figures due to their attempts to gain release for their imprisoned friends. The government had formulated and put into effect their aim to rid the country of unwanted international radicals, but the problem remained as what to do with those radicals were citizens of the United States. This was not to go unanswered for long, however. America was now in a state of disturbed peace and could not placid down until it rids its country of its disruptions.In the Fall of 1918, The Russian Revolution occurred and may besides contribute to Americas unrest. Out of nowhere in an extremely violent manner, the Communists citizens took realize of the Russian government and murdered the Tsar and his entire family along with thousands of nonconforming Russia ns. Communism was established on the political philosophy of Karl Marx and was dedicated to establishing a society where there is no private ownership of property and where the government would control the making and distribution of all goods.Karl Heinrich Marx (German pronunciation ka l ? ha? n c ? ma ks, 5 whitethorn 1818 14 meet 1883) was aPrussian-German philosopher and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the fundamental law of the social sciences and the development of the socialist movement. Marxs work in economics situated the basis for our understanding of labor and its relation to capital, and has influenced much of subsequent economic thought. 4567 He published numerous books during his lifetime, the most notable being The Communist Manifesto (1848) and Capital (18671894).Due to the horrible misconduct and the overthrow of government, Americans began to panic. If it could happen in Russia, why couldnt it happen here? No plot to overthrow the government was ever uncovered. Yet, it was the paranoid fear of Communists that drove many Americans to violence. Another reason for the Red Scare was the strike held by mine workers. They were thought to be making threats against the Capitalist system through subversive Socialist organizations. These strikes were part of a series of events which took place in 1919.This strike, which occurred in February, was of 60,000 coal mine workers. In that September, steel workers attacked. Of course the blame was put upon the American Communists, although many communists tried to oppose this strike. Nationalist Americans called for the stop of the Bolshevik Revolution that was victorious place in America. This panic traveling through the United States, made a series of give outs occur. Immediately the Socialist were impeach. Attorney General Palmer took advantage of the panic of the public and asked Congress for fund appropriations to help avoid except danger.Congress not only supplied fu nds, but made sure that all foreign radicals were deported. This plan went very well, but then the government didnt know what to do when the radicals were US citizens. During my research of this this topic, I have learned a number of things. First of all, America was caught in a web of fear and conspiracy. No one could trust his neighbor or his father for fear that he was involved in the Communist movement. Americans were not happy with their government at this time, but this didnt mean that they wanted Communism as an option.Hyphenated Americans were particularly suspected. I have also learned that although Communism might have caused a lot of panic, no plot of Communism was ever found to be true. However, just because nothing was found doesnt mean that there wasnt anything to be found. America was extremely prejudiced toward anyone who wasnt a pure American. The Red Scare provided Americans with a scapegoat, now that we were no longer fighting the Germans. People really believed t hat Communists were everywhere and were plotting to overthrow the government.Citizens were now being treated like the women who were accused of being witches in the Salem Witch Trials. It didnt matter if you were or were not a Communist if someone accused you of being one. You were brand for most of your life. The biggest fear on peoples minds was a communism takeover. People thought that Russia was going to cause an internal revolution within the US that would in the end end up removing the democratic government and replacing it with a potentate and communist government. The thought of Russia even attempting to do an attack was foolish from the beginning.America was also happy with its democratic government and was sure that they would have defeated the revolution. This is why America never had any true reason to fear a communist takeover occurring in the United States. The entire Red Scare was meant to keep communism out, and the main reason they wanted to do that is so they cou ld remain free. On the evening of Monday, December 29,1919, members of the Central Executive delegacy of Buffalos Communist party gathered for a meeting in party headquarters in the second floor of the Teck Theater on principal(prenominal) Street.At about 930 p. m. , thirty police officers climbed the buildings front and stomach staircases, and the fire escape, forced open the doors of the meeting hall and burst in. As the party members stood quietly and watched, the police confiscated party records, including a membership list, communist pamphlets, hundreds of copies of the manifesto of the Communist party of America, a small printing press, a mimeograph machine and two typewriters. Then the police arrested twenty-two party members and locked most of them up in the third precinct police station on Pearl Street. Working through the night, police raided the homes of other party leaders, filling up George Till at 100 a. m. , and Christopher Keegan at 200 a. m. Raiders stimulated Franklin Brill from sleep at his Williamsville home and brought him before District Attorney Guy Moore at 300 a. m. The Committee commonly known as the Lusk Committee, after its chairman State Senator Clayton R. Lusk of Cortlandhad been established in March 1919 to inquire individuals and organizations suspected or promoting the overthrow of the United States government.The raids in November, December, and early January were the closedown of months of activity that had left the country in general, and Buffalo in particular, in a state of panic. On April 28, there was a bomb found in the mail of Seattles outspoken mayor, Ole Hanson. Another bomb was found, exploded and blew the workforce off a Georgia senators maid. One time a New York postal clerk found sixteen more bombs that had not been displace due to a plethora of insufficient postage. Not even a month later after the April 28th bomb scare, another bomb destroyed the front of the home of Attorney General A.Mitchell Palmer i n Washington. May Day riots occurred in several major U. S. cities, summer race riots in others and even rhe the Boston Police strike in September, followed by the across the country steel strike and coal strike heightened animosity against socialists and radicals who were already held to be pariahs because of their pacifist stance during World War I. In June 1919, New York state officials raided the Rand School of Social Science in New York, as well as the headquarters of the I. W. W. along with the Socialists.This raids were created by the New York legislature action that created the Lusk Committee. The idea behind this committee was anit-radical, and its tactics spread nationwide very quickly. make up with the legislation in place, Attorney General Palmer complained that not fair to middling was being done to deportees. Even though after the Red Scare, he argued for the release of a Socialist that was imprisoned during the Scare and during it he helped convict many. In August of 1919, Palmer created an intelligence department to deal with problems that originated with anarchists.He appointed J. Edgar vacuum to lead the new agency. One of the first assignments of this agency was to raid The compact of Russian Workers in New York. The Red Scare finally came to an end after a series of actions by high government officials. henchman Secretary of Labor Louis F. Post began to reject most of the immigrant related cases that were brought to him. Even the Secretary of Labor himself, William B. Wilson turned against Palmer. Out of 6,000 warrants issued during the raids, less than 1,000 resulted in deportations.Even though everyone opposed his actions, he still had the dream of running for president. But He was never nominated. By 1920, the Red Scare, was disappearing and by 1921 it was virtually gone. The hysterical anti-radical outbreak in 1919 and 1920 was relatively short-lived but that it left its record on immigration policy, labor relations, and Constit utional liberties that lasted for generations. Higham argues that the Scare grew out of a fear that a huge part of the American population during World War I derived from enemy territory