Declaration of Independence The Palmer Raids After WW1, unemployment increased and several workers joined labor unions and participated in strikes. During the same time, anarchists planned to send bombs to eight cities in an attack to the wealthy and powerful Americans in the country. One of the bombs partly destroyed the attorney general's own home in Washington, D.C. Attorney General Mitchell Palmer encouraged raids on anyone suspected to be a communist or radical and J. Edgar Hoover, the chief of the FBI organized the raids. From February 1917 to November 1919, federal agents deported over 300 immigrants and as many as 6,000 persons from 33 cities were arrested. Many of the people arrested were members of the Communist Party or members of labor unions. Attorney General Palmer declared that there were still more than 300,000 dangerous communists inside the United States which increased fear amongst common Americans. Free speech Department of Justice Declaration of Independence Constitution Raid: is a sudden assault or attack. The Palmer raids attacked people in the US who were suspected of being communists.

The “Red Ark” On December 21, 1919, 249 Russian immigrants were deported because of their alleged anarchist or Communist beliefs. The most famous passenger was the anarchist and anti-war activist Emma Goldman, who had been arrested on 1917, for opposing the WW1 draft. All of the passengers were deported to the Soviet Union. The deportation was part of the post-World War I Red Scare that targeted Russian immigrants. an ark is a ship.

Schenck v. U.S. (1919) Supreme Court case Charles Schenck was arrested for violating the Espionage Act, passed by Congress in 1914. The Espionage Act made it illegal to criticize the government or do anything that is not helpful to the war effort. Schenck, a member of the Socialist Party, opposed the war and printed and distributed pamphlets urging citizens to oppose the draft. When he was arrested, Schenck claimed his 1st amendment rights were violated. The Supreme Court Decision: The court ruled against Schenck saying that the Espionage Act did not violate the first amendment and that in times of war the government may limit freedom of speech. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes explained that when a "clear and present danger" existed such as shouting fire in a crowded theater, freedom of speech may be limited.

Trial of Sacco & Vanzetti On April 15, 1920, a man in Massachusetts, was shot and killed. The murderers, who were described as two Italian men, escaped with more than $15,000. After going to a garage to claim a car that police said was connected with the crime, Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested and charged with the crime. Although both men carried guns, neither man had a previous criminal record. On July 14, 1921, they were convicted and sentenced to die. Protests were held in Massachusetts and around the world calling for the release of Sacco and Vanzetti, especially after a man who was already in jail confessed that he had participated in the crime with an Italian gang. The Massachusetts Supreme Court refused to change the verdict. In the days leading up to the execution, protests were held in cities around the world, and bombs were set off by anarchists in New York City and Philadelphia. On August 23, Sacco and Vanzetti were electrocuted. In 1961, a test of Sacco’s gun using modern forensic techniques apparently proved it was his gun that killed the guard, though little evidence has been found to substantiate Vanzetti’s guilt. In 1977, Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis issued a proclamation apologizing to Sacco and Vanzetti, stating that they had been treated unjustly just for having an Italian name.

SOURCE: United States, Statutes at Large, Washington, D.C., 1918, Vol. XL, pp 553 ff. The Espionage Act (1918) “…Whoever, when the United States is at war, shall make false reports or false statements with intent to interfere with the operation or success of the military or naval forces of the United States. . . or shall wilfully obstruct (stop) . . . the recruiting or enlistment service of the United States, and whoever, when the United States is at war, shall wilfully utter, print, write, or publish any disloyal, profane (vulgar), language about the United States, or the Constitution of the United States, or the military or naval forces of the United States, or the flag . . . shall be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000 or imprisonment for not more than twenty years, or both....”