Red Scare and the Government’s Response
Russia had been an ally of the United States during World War I. After being freed from autocratic rule, however, Russia didn’t become a democracy. Vladimir I Lenin fought a second revolution against the Bolsheviks and after winning the Civil War, Lenin’s Russia became a Communist country. Under a Communist system, individuals have no personal rights. The government owns all land and property, and controls all resources. Lenin wanted to spread communism throughout the world just as the United States wanted to spread democracy.
Communist beliefs and values were the antithesis of American beliefs and values. Americans feared the idea that free enterprise and private ownership were threatened by communism. This threat became known as the “Red Scare,” which permeated the United States during the 1920s. The Red Scare was supported by the Espionage Act of 1917 and from the Supreme Court decision from the Schenck v. UnitedStates trial in 1919.
The Espionage Act of 1917 made it illegal for anyone to interfere with military operation. Charles Schenck opposed World War I and used the postal service to urge men not to respond to draft notices. Schenck felt that he was simply exercising his right to free speech. The court decided that his free speech should be silenced because it constituted a “clear and present danger” to the United States. The decision from the Schenck case was used to justify arresting those suspected of supporting Communistic activity; Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer set up special forces to search for and arrest Communists. These searches became known as “Palmer Raids.”
Mitchell Palmer
The Red Scare was also blamed for the arrest of Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, who were arrested for the murder of a guard and manager of a shoe factory. Controversy surrounded their famous trial and appeal: tampered evidence, bad advice from their lawyer, and a biased judge, found their case finally concluded with a guilty verdict, and a sentence of death. Supporters believed they were convicted for their unrelated anarchist views and not the actual crime Sacco and Vanzetti lost their appeal and were executed in 1927.
Labor strike activity rose immediately after World War I. Many people blamed the Red Scare for people believing that Communists were behind labor strikes. During this time period, strikes were put down quickly and forcefully. As wages rose during the economic boom after World War I, unionized unrest settled.