The Red Scare
World War I was finally over, however, there was a new threat to Americans. The fear of invasive Communist ideals began to grow rapidly in the United States. Communism is, in Democratic views, a terrible and oppressive way to govern a country. As the United States has always been a democracy, it is easy to understand the great fear of the American people. This widespread terror was known as the Red Scare. There are many questions in the complexity of this event. Why was this terror, called the Red Scare? Why were Americans so worried? What were results, or actions taken? What contributed to the Red Scare?
The spread of communism, known as the Red Scare originated from the communists being called “Reds” for their loyalty to the red soviet flag.
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The country was filled with patriotism and loyalty for the ideals held by the American people. Any group of people that did not hold these beliefs were deemed “unpatriotic” and became a target. On June 2, 1919, eight bombs, in eight cities were set off simultaneously. U.S. Attorney General Palmer’s house was one of the targets and evidence indicated that the bomber was an Italian-American radical from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. “Enraged by the bombings, the United States government responded by raiding the headquarters of radical organizations and arresting thousands of suspected radicals. Several thousand who were aliens were deported. The largest raids occurred on January 2, 1920 when over 4000 suspected radicals were seized nationwide. Over 800 were arrested in New England from locations that included Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Fitchburg, Lawrence, and Lynn.” (www.mass.gov). The bombings only confirmed what the Americans had feared. Tensions escalated and the government jumped into action by arresting many people who were believed to be “unpatriotic”. These arrestees were held for long periods of time, denied representation and visitation from friends and family, and beaten and treated inhumanly. The United States was willing to take any precautions necessary to keep communism and communists out of the government and the country. Many Americans grew to hate immigrants because of the Red Scare. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director J. Edgar Hoover had a major part in seeking out communist activities. For example here is some evidence of their work, “The information obtained by the FBI proved essential in high-profile legal cases, including the 1949 conviction of 12 prominent leaders of the American Communist Party on charges that they had advocated the overthrow of the government” (www.history.com). Countless Americans felt the pressure of communism on a personal level. Thousands of so-called
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