Anti-communists efforts in the United States following World War I.
In the winter of 1917, Bolsheviks wrested control of Russia and established a communist state. Almost immediately, the new socialist regime emerged as a perceived threat to American democracy, private property, and capitalism. As American foreign policy formed to halt the spread of communism throughout the developed world, domestic policy grew along side it fueled by fears of anarchism and communist domination. On the heels of the Russian Revolution and the continuing saga of World War I, the United States government began a zealous internal campaign to stamp out any dangers posed by those suspected of extremist ideology. Popularly known as the “Red Scare,” illegal searches, unwarranted arrests, and the expulsion from the U.S. of radicals and subversives came to exemplify the era.
The U.S. Congress passed a variety of legislation, including the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918, designed to expel unwanted foreigners and arrest political dissenters seen as a risk to national security. Particular among these were those suspected of communist and anarchist leanings. At the helm of the effort was the newly appointed Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer. Convinced of a communist plot to overthrow the United States government in the wake of the Russian Revolution, Palmer and his subordinates – including an up-and-coming J. Edgar Hoover as head of the General Intelligence Division within the Justice Department – apprehended anyone suspected of communist ties. On the second anniversary of the Russian Revolution on November 7, 1919, a nation-wide raid netted approximately 10,000 alleged communists and other leftist radicals; two months later, another 6,000 were arrested in several U.S. cities. Known as the “Palmer Raids,” many were held without trial on little or no evidence between 1919-1921.
Convinced that a communist revolution would occur in the U.S. on May 1, 1920, Palmer continued rounding up suspected subversives. For many, the belief that such an event could occur was not far-fetched, lending popular support to the anti-communist crusade. Palmer himself was the intended victim of two would-be bomb assassinations by radicals, one of which destroyed the front porch of his Washington, D.C., home, along with several prominent politicians, judges, and businessmen throughout the country. Precipitated mainly by Galleanists, followers of the anarchist Luigi Galleani, the incidents intensified the American public’s fear of a communist-anarchist upheaval. However, when the revolution failed to materialize, Palmer’s support dissipated and attitudes shifted against him. Many challenged his credibility for mistreatment and disregard of civil liberties in detaining suspects.
On March 4, 1921, Palmer stepped down as Attorney General. By 1924, the anti-communist fervor wavered and subsided to a minimum.
References:
Ackerman, Kenneth D. Young J. Edgar: Hoover, the Red Scare, and the Assault on Civil Liberties. New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers, 2007.
Emert, Phyllis Raybin. Attorneys General: Enforcing the Law. Minneapolis: The Oliver Press, Inc., 2005.
Haynes, John Earl. Red Scare or Red Menace?: American Communism and Anticommunism in the Cold War Era. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 1996.
Heale, M. J. American Anticommunism: Combating the Enemy Within, 1830-1970. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1990.
