The First and Second Red Scare - Research Paper Example

?The Red Scare Communism is a sociopolitical movement that drives a society into being less and less by advocating for communal ownership of capital and free access to consumer goods. By 1930s, it had gained popularity among some people especially the intelligentsia and the labour leaders as an attractive economic ideology. However, such an ideology was not welcomed majority of the people because it had many economical disadvantages leading to anti-communist movements. Therefore, organized opposition to communism in the US emerged as a reaction to the rise of communism and the term Red Scare refers to two unique and strong Anti-communism periods in the US. The first Red Scare The first main manifestation of strong anti-communism in the US occurred in 1919 and 1920 following the 1917 Bolshevick Revolution in Russia. It also came as a result of strong patriotic years of the First World War in which social agitation and left-wing political violence worsened the national political and social tensions. According to Murray (1971), the Red Scare can be described as a nation-wide anti-radical hysterical which was triggered by increasing anxiety and fear that the Bolshevick revolution was going to occur in America. This revolution was to change home, marriage, Church, civility and the American way of life1. During this time, newspapers increased the existing political fears into xenophobia because different radical anarchism was seen as the answers to poverty. At the same time the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) had supported many labor strikes in the period of 1916-1917. The press portrayed this as a radical threat which was inspired by the left-wing to work against the American society. However, this was a misinterpretation of the legitimate labor strikes by the press as plots to establish communism, crimes against society and crimes against the society2. In 1919, a plan to mail 36 bombs to popular members of the US economic and political establishment and immigration officers was discovered by the authorities. On 2nd June 1919, eight bombs exploded simultaneously in eight cities and the house of the Alexander Mitchell Palmer, the US Attorney General in Washington DC was one of the targets. Twelve famous lawyers and Felix Frankfurter, a Justice in the Supreme Court, criticized Palmer raids as unconstitutionally illegal3. Felix Frankfurter published a report concerning the US Department of Justice and the illegal practices in it. The report documented the violation of the 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th Amendments to the US constitution through the wanton violence and illegal acts which he states as Palmer-authorized. Palmer responded defensively by warning that left-wing revolution that was government-deposing would begin on 1st May, 1920. However, it failed to take place denoting that there was a shift in public opinion concerning communism. There were legal criticisms against Palmer’s claims for example that less than 600 deportations out of the thousands of resident foreigners were substantiated with evidence. The resident foreigners had been illegally arrested and deported back to their home countries. As a result to the shift in public opinion during first the Red Scare, left-wing and communist organizations for example the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and the IWW lost many members. During the first Red Scare period, the ‘criminal syndicalism’ laws were enacted by many US states4. These laws outlawed the campaign for violence in as a tool for affecting and achieving social change. The passage of the ‘criminal syndicalism’ laws triggered aggressive police investigations of individuals accused of advocating for such type of violence, their arrest and deportation. The individuals were being arrested and deported because they were suspected to be either communist or left-wing members. The wave of arrests, trials and deportation by the government became the characteristic events of the first Red Scare. The second Red Scare The second Red Scare took place after the Second World War specifically 1947-1957. This strong anti-communism period coincided with increased common and widespread fear of communist espionage which was a result of the Chinese civil war, Berlin Blockade, Soviet Eastern Europe and Korean War. There were also confessions by several high-ranking US officials concerning the spying for the Soviet Union3. There were also internal causes of Red Scare fear for example the events of the late 1940s. These include the Iron Curtain (1947-91) and trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, and the nuclear weapon which belonging to the Soviet Union. During this time, many people who were suspected to be afflicted to communism suffered. Liberal democrats were also accused of being soft on communists and as result, Loyalty Boards were set up by the Truman Administration. The main function of these boards was to remove any person suspected to be affiliated to Communism from the government. During this time, federal administration ran hearings without any limiting/controlling rules that would have governed a court for example evidence. In these hearings, witnesses were not under an oath when testifying and there was no penalty given to anyone for perjury. These Boards did not have the power to imprison the tried individuals. They could only fire them from their jobs4. The American foreign policy was basically anti-communist in nature. During the second Red Scare period, the Truman Justice Department came up with a list of all organizations that opposed this policy and concluded that they must be Communists. To step up such efforts of bringing to the public light all affiliates to communism and achieve the anti-communism effect, the membership lists of such groups were circulated by the Attorney General2 . According to the views of many citizens, any individual who was mentioned as a suspected member of the Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA) was guilt of treason. The strong fight against communism also found its way into the movie business1. An investigation into purported influence in the movie business by Communists was conducted by the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). They investigated studio executives, movie directors, actors and writers and inquired if they had ever been or they were a member to the Communist Party. This led to a panic in the movie industry and as a result, the movie industry quickly sought good will with the public and the Congress by launching its own communist hunt. The panicked movie industry brought in ex-FBI agents to assist them in cleaning up the studios of anybody related to Communism. The ex-FBI agents recorded on a blacklist the names of all persons thought to have suspicious political believes. The basis of this was that the government was anti-communism and so anyone who does not fully agree with it was a Communist. Individuals enlisted by the ex-FBI agents were no longer allowed to work in the movie studios. The panic in the movie business spread to other entertainment and news media like radio, newspapers and television leading to a similar wave of quick self-purging. Another group of individuals collected and published the names of all individuals in the world of entertainment and arts who were though to be Un-American in their politics. Those who were not famous suffered because of this but many of those who were famous successfully fought back such claims. Despite managing to hit back or defend themselves, the careers of many people were ruined or harmed by the Report of Communist Influence in Television and Media also known as the Red Channels. Leonard Bernstein a musical director, Aaron Copland a composer, Will Geer an actor, Ruth Gordon an actress among others were the best-known individuals who were specifically enlisted in the Red Channels. There was a dramatic increase in public anxiety in 1949 when it came to the knowledge of the Americans that the Soviet Union had tested its first atomic bomb successfully. This became the first realistic threat from abroad to the US in the American history leading to a sharp and swift reaction. The US government launched an investigation into the possible links between the leaking of US atomic secrets to Russia and the American Communists. These investigations resulted to a number of high-profile prosecutions by the government which culminated into conviction and finally the execution of Ethel and Julius and Rosenberg. One of the leaders who were really active in the Communist hunting is John McCarthy, an ambitious US senator whose actions led to the founding of McCarthyism. McCarthyism basically consisted of throwing unsubstantiated charges against a certain person until the person became pressed too closely for evidence. Having destroyed the original public reputation of the victim, McCarthy would then turn to his challengers5. By late 1940s and 1950s, it was enough to be mentioned or accused of being communist hence someone could profoundly be damaged by unproved charges. Political opponents were not jus misguided or mistaken but they became part of a ‘conspiracy so immense’ which McCarthy claimed that if they were not stopped, then America and the rest of the world would finally fall into communism. McCarthy travelled to the home states of his opponents and critics and campaigned against them as traitors to their own nation. McCarthy threw his accusations energetically that it was difficult for his victims to defend themselves5. Conclusion In order to save the US from Communism, the First Red Scare and Second Red Scare were inevitable and it is evident that the Red Scare periods were successful. Though majority of the accusations were true, some people also became false victims of strong campaigners of anti-communism especially McCarty operating under his famous McCarthyism. References Haynes, J. (2000). Red Scare or Red Menace?: American Communism and Anti Communism in the Cold War Era. Chicago. Ivan R. Dee. Fried, A. (1997). McCarthyism, The Great American Red Scare: A Documentary History. New York. Oxford University Press. Murray, R. (1964). Red Scare a Study in National Hysteria, 1919–1920. New York. McGraw-Hill Education. Murray, L. (1971). Political Hysteria in America: The Democratic Capacity for Repression. New York. Basic Books. Powers, R. (1997). Not Without Honor: A History of American Anti-Communism. New York. Free Press. Schweikart, L. and Allen, M. (2004). A Patriot's History of the United States. New York. Sentinel HC Read More