Preview

Russia Comunism

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
396 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Russia Comunism
Was the fear of Communism justified during the beginning of the 20th century? Why or why not? 

After the end of World War I, America had to transition from wartime, to routines of peacetime. Laborers from all types of occupation, began declaring strikes demanding higher pay. These strikes began being led by political radicals, and were held in comparison to the communist revolution in Russia. Meanwhile, the Socialist Party continued to grow, forming two American communist parties in 1919. After the bombing of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer’s home, an epidemic named the “Red Scare”, began repressing mainly foreign political radicals in the U.S. Aided by J. Edgar Hoover, the head of the Justice Department, the Red Scare developed into a “series of raids on radical groups, often without either search or arrest warrants.” The Red Scare had a conflict of interests from Palmer, who had been personally attacked by prolabor factions. In an article to justify his raids, he stated “It is my belief that while they have stirred discontent in our midst, while they have caused irritating strikes, and while they have infected our social ideas with the disease their own minds and their unclean morals, we can get rid of them!” Communism did, and always be a threat to the U.S. and other democratic nations, but the Red Scare greatly promoted racial discrimination between immigrants and Americans.

Was the action taken “un-American?” Why or why not?

The raids caused the deportation of hundreds of immigrants. Many Americans shared the views of Attorney General palmer, but some Americans felt that their civil liberties were being breached. Many industry spokesmen for industry’s that depended on immigrant labor, began attacking Palmer’s views to stop associating political radicals with immigrants. William Allen White, editor of the Emproria Gazette in Kansas, openly criticized Palmers movement. He believed that “a man may believe what he chooses”, and “ he should be

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    For a number of years, the nation was in the grip of a new Red Scare.…

    • 434 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Bartolomeo Vanzetti Case

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In 1919, a bomb went off outside the house of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. Anarchist had sent the bomb through the mail to the Attorney General Palmers house. The following months were known as the red scare. Antiradicalism was running high in the United States, and thousands of immigrants with anarchist beliefs were being deported; their crime was their opinion. When two men were killed outside the Slater and Morrill Shoe…

    • 795 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    I. The “Red Scare” of 1919-20 resulted in Attorney General. Mitchell Palmer using a series of raids to round up and arrest about 6,000 suspected Communists.…

    • 1705 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The bombs were detonated by Galleanists in eight American cities, one of which damaged damaged the home of A. Mitchell Palmer. Due to the bombings, in June 1919, Palmer addressed the House Appropriations Committee. He claimed that one day the radicals would be able to overthrow the government and because of this he requested an increase in his wage to commence an investigation into the radicals. To strengthen his force, Palmer appointed J. Edgar Hoover to a new division of the Justice Department's Bureau of Investigation, the General Intelligence Division. Hoover’s responsibility was investigating the members of the radical groups and learning about the events of the radicals. On November 7, 1919, agents of the Bureau of Investigation executed a series of violent raids against the Union of Russian Workers in 12 cities. Of the 650 people arrested in New York City, the government only managed to deport a meager 43.Shortly after, Palmer reported that his department had gather a massive 60,000 names. On January 2, 1920, the Justice Department launched another series of raids. At least 3000 were arrested due to these…

    • 617 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The First Red Scare began after the Bolshevik Russian Revolution of 1917 and during the First World War (1914–18). Anarchist and left-wing political violence and social agitation aggravated extant national social and political tensions. Historian L.B. Murray reports that the “Red Scare” was “a nation-wide anti-radical hysteria provoked by a mounting fear and anxiety that a Bolshevik revolution in America was imminent — a revolution that would destroy [private] property, Church, home, marriage, civility, and the American way of Life.” Newspapers exacerbated those political fears into xenophobia — because varieties of radical anarchism were perceived as answers to popular poverty; the advocates often were recent European…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hum/120 News Story

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Now that the war is was finally over. The last cry of help has been heard and peace was supposedly coming to the United States. Was this information wrong? An ideological war, which prompted mass paranoia known as the Red Scare had spread through the US. It began in 1919 and ended in 1921. “Red Scare”, was the label given to the actions of the riots, legislation, and the hatred and persecution of conscientious, and “subversives” objectors during that period of time. The "Red Scare" (2010)…

    • 1223 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    1920s Honors Homework

    • 1651 Words
    • 7 Pages

    The Red Scare, the fear of communism, spread quickly when the revolution in Russia happened. Vladimir L. Lenin took over conquering with the Red Army and created the Soviet Union. When communism took over the U.S.S.R, some Americans were frightened while others began to form Communist Parties within the U.S. As the Communist parties grew violent, in 1919, a plan was created in which bombs were mailed to government officials. One of the attacked, A. Mitchell Palmer, became a main advocate against anti-communists (Anticommunism). Using the wartime laws he arrested thousands of suspected participators in the communist movement. Five legally elected officials were barred and right to call an overthrow of government was suspended in New York. Immigrants, or otherwise referred to as aliens, were deported as soon as they were suspected as a person involved in communist affairs. In one year, 1919-1929, two hundred forty-nine immigrants from Russia were deported without cause (The Red Scare). Due to the poverty among European immigrant workers, communism was found a favorable option among the people. When labor strikes began the government played them off as immigrants favoring communist ways. In another event, suspected anarchist’s homes were broken into without search warrants by the federal officials of the United States. The 1921 law limited immigrants from other countries and created three percent quotas (Nativism). Americans turned to suspect immigrants and racism against immigrants flourished. Keeping the “American race” alive and maintaining superiority became an important way of life.…

    • 1651 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Red Scare Causes

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages

    During the start of the 1920’s, Americans went through a time period called the Red Scare. “Red Scare” refers to the nationwide fear of communnists, socialists, and anarchists conspiring to start a worker’s revolution. The Bolshevik Russian Revolution, which was when the Bolsheviks toppled the Russian monarchy and the communist Bolsheviks took over with their leader, Vladimir Lenin, was one of the main causes.This revolution lead to fear that immigrants, especially from Russia,southern Europe, and eastern Europe,intended to overthrow the government using the anger of the working class and the strikes to provoke fear. The other causes range from fear of immigrants caused by WW1 propaganda techniques,widespread labor unrest, the rising tide of…

    • 399 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Throughout the late 1800s, the growing tension between workers and their employers became increasingly apparent. As more and more people in Chicago agreed that they were being taken advantage of, it was expected that soon something would be done about it. On page 73 of Green’s Death in the Haymarket, he explains, “Everyone in Chicago knew that it would only take on bolt of lightning to set off a thunderstorm of protests…”1 This proved to be true as many Chicago socialists and anarchists grouped together and appointed Albert Parsons to compete for city council. While running for city counsil, he was able to meet people of similar interests such as August Spies. With leading men like Parsons and Spies, the workers imagined an optimistic outcome. Labor unions such…

    • 1429 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Decade of Fear

    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Decade of Fear was essentially caused by one man – Joseph McCarthy. When he served on the Senate from 1947-1957, he seemed to make it his personal mission to eradicate all traces of communism from the earth (or at least America). Right away, he went after Hollywood, black-listing anyone involved in the entertainment industry whom he thought might be linked with communists. The following year, he released a list to the public with the names of 154 organizations he believed to have communist affiliations. This initially gained him support from the citizens, as 110 of those organizations did have some form of link to communism.…

    • 338 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The climate of fear in the 1950’s of communism in the United States was in part caused by the effects of the Korean War. The Korean War was one of several military conflicts that occurred during the Cold War, as the United States and its allies attempted to stop the spread of communism. The Korean War was the direct result of the splitting of Korea after WWII into two zones, the communist North, and the democratic South. The United States feared the spreading of communism because America was just coming out of WWII and saw the Soviet Union emerging as a super power. If Communist forces were allowed to expand their power it is said that it may create a domino effect which was a theory in the 1950’s that speculated…

    • 1719 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    the election of 1928. <br><br>If there was one man who singlely used America's fear of immigrants to advance his own political goals it was Attorney General Palmer. The rise of Communism in Russia created a fear of its spread across Europe, and to America. Palmer tied this fear to that of immigration. He denounced labor unions, the Socialist party, and the Communist party in America, as being infultrated with radicals who sought to overturn America's political, economic, and social institutions. Palmer exasperated this fear in Americans and then presented himself as the country's savior, combatting the evils of Communism. He mainly centered his attack on Russian immigrants. During the infamous Palmer raids thousands of aliens were deported and even more were arrested on little or no evidence. Their civil liberties were violated, they were not told the reasons for their arrests, denied counsel, and not given fair trials. What followed was an investigation of Palmer led by Louis Post which overturned many of Palmer's actions. Palmer's cretability was shattered after in a last minute attempt to gain the 1920 presidencial nomination, he made predictions about a May Day radical uprising, the nation perpared itself, but on May 1st 1920 all was peaceful. While the raids had stopped, the hostilities towards immagrants still remained prevelent.<br><br>Immigrants were used by…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    With the arrival of the Red Scare, racism and discrimination against immigrants escalated and Americans forgot the ideas that were set up on equality. New immigration laws were put into action, restricting 3% of the immigrants to enter the country based on people of the same race/nationality inhabiting an area already. Organizations such as the Klu Klux Klan started to show their ugly heads once again. Members of the group started performing hate acts towards those groups they disliked.…

    • 381 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Roaring Twenties

    • 2697 Words
    • 11 Pages

    THE ROARING TWENTIES Americans, in the years following the end of World War I found themselves in an era, where the people simply wished to detach themselves from the troubles of Europeans and the rest of the world. During the years of the Twenties, the economy was prosperous, there was widespread social reform, new aspects of culture were established, and people found better ways to improve their lifestyle and enjoy life. The 1920's exemplified the changing attitudes of American's toward foreign relations, society, and leisure activities. Following the end of World War I, many Americans demanded that the United States stay out of European affairs in the future. The United States Senate even refused to accept the Treaty of Versailles which officially ended World War I and provided for the establishment of the League of Nations. The Senate chose to refuse the Treaty in the fear that it could result in the involvement of the United States in future European wars. Americans simply did not wish to deal with, nor tolerate the problems of Europe and abroad. There were many problems running rampant throughout the country following the conclusion of the war. One of the greatest problems which arose was the Red Scare which was seen as an international communist conspiracy that was blamed for various protest movements and union activities in 1919 and 1920. The Red Scare was touched off by a national distrust of foreigners. Many Americas also kept a close eye on the increasing activities of the Klu Klux Klan who were terrorizing foreigners, blacks, Jews and Roman Catholics. Once Americans put the war behind them, they were able to forget the problems of European affairs, and focus on the country, their town, and themselves. Americans found themselves in a period of reform, both socially and culturally. Many feared that morality had crumbled completely. Before World War I, women wore their hair long, had ankle length dresses, and long cotton stockings. In the twenties, they…

    • 2697 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    McCarthyism not only destroyed the lives and careers of many Americans but also the innocent image of the country. Senator Joe McCarthy from Wisconsin was the same as any man. But when he cried Communism the world seemed to listen.<br><br>Following the Cold War between Russia and the United States there came many hardships, such as unemployment and high inflation. These hardships produced a restless society. The society then looked for something or someone to blame (Fried, 39). They found someone to blame. Communists. Throughout the country there was a witch hunt known as the Red Scare. A basic idea was formed: Communism was evil. Anyone who participated in such evil was considered illegitimate and were to be excluded from such things as sharing ideas, and jobs (Reeves, 136). This fear of Communism or anti-Communism as it was called could be described as a type of "virus." When all was calm in America the virus would fade, but the moment a crisis struck, the virus came back stronger than ever (Feuerlicht, 35). Communism was a threat not only for countries overseas but a threat for America and its people. It was a threat on the American way of life, a bruise on the phrase "the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." (Feuerlicht, 45) And McCarthy helped spread this fear.<br><br>McCarthy and his ways challenged the Bill of Rights. "When free speech or due process are denied to any individual everyone's rights are jeopardized. Today's oppressors may become tomorrow's accursed group." (Feuerlicht, 154) And nothing is guaranteed more than the destruction of America when the freedoms promised by the Bill of Rights are denied (Feuerlicht, 154). McCarthy installed a fear in the people. But people feared tremendously the loss of their jobs. They feared that their political afflictions would reflect on their job status (Reeves, 99). By trying to keep America from becoming a Communist nation, McCarthy and his followers turned the country into an anti - Communist…

    • 1592 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays