The Red Scare

What was the Red Scare? The Russian Revolution took place in 1917. The revolution was led by Lenin and the Bolsheviks. They were communists who called for the workers to overthrow the capitalist class. In the U.S., a handful of terrorists threw, planted, and mailed bombs. This ignited a national hysteria against foreign-born radicals.

The Attorney General In 1920, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer headed the Justice Department. He rounded up 7,000 immigrants and deported 700. (Most were foreign born, but naturalized citizens.) In 1924, J. Edgar Hoover (one of Palmer’s aides) became head of the FBI.

The Palmer Raids In 1919, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer conducted the Palmer Raids. The first raid occurred in November 1919: 450 Russians were arrested in simultaneous raids in 12 cities. The largest raids took place in 1920: 10,000 communists were arrested in simultaneous raids in 33 cities.

Deportation When you send immigrants back to their country of origin.

Violation of Civil Liberties None of the people had committed a crime. They were convicted for their thoughts, not their actions. This is a violation of the First Amendment - the right to freedom of speech. The 7,000 arrested were held without bail, a lawyer, or a trial. This was a violation of their Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendment rights.

The American Civil Liberties Union ACLU The ACLU was founded in 1920 to defend people from the Red Scare. The founding members were Clarence Darrow, Upton Sinclair, Jane Addams, and Helen Keller.

Immigration Act of 1924 Russian and Italian immigrants were considered radicals So Congress cut off immigration from Eastern Europe (Russia) and Southern Europe (Italy).

Sacco and Vanzetti During the anti-immigrant hysteria, two Italian immigrants were singled out. Sacco and Vanzetti were two Italian immigrants who lived just outside of Boston. They were accused of armed robbery and murder in the course of the robbery. There was little evidence, they had alibis, and another man confessed to the crime. Their real “crime” was that they were anarchists.

Anarchist: A person who wants no government. In those days, anarchists believed they could stage massive strikes and overthrow the government. The judge, jury, and the public were unanimous: The two men were sent to the electric chair.