Using the documents AND your knowledge of the time period 1914 to 1925, discuss how the Red Scare influenced post-World War 1 America.

Document A
Source:

Document B
Source: Freedom of Opinion?
CHICAGOANS CHEER TAR WHO SHOT MAN
Sailor Wounds Pageant Spectator Disrespectful to Flag.
Universal Service

Document C
Source:  A. Mitchell Palmer, "The Case Against the Reds", vol. II 1919

"Tongues of revolutionary heat were licking the alters of churches, leaping into the belfry of the school bell, crawling into the sacred corners of American homes, seeking to replace marriage vows with libertine laws, burning up the foundations of society…"

Document D
Source: The Gauntlet Thrown Down, Outlook, 5/21/19

Document E
Source: Jim Seymour, 1921

What's all this fuss they're making about them guys?
Darned if some people ain't kickin' because they got
What was comin' to 'em;
Sayin', be Jesus,
It's cause they're reds.
That's bad enough,
But that ain't all ---
Not by a damn sight.
Why, man alive,
They're only a couple o' God damn dagoes!...
Now me: I'm an American, I am ...
Send 'em up, say I,
Show 'em that our courts is American.
We don't get our law from Italy.
We don't care whether they done it or not.
To hell with 'em!
They're dagoes.

Document F
Source:  Bartolomeo Vanzetti, to Judge Thayer, upon being sentenced to death, April 9, 1927

"This is what I say: I would not wish to a dog or to a snake, to the most low or misfortunate creature of the earth --- I would not wish to any of them what I have had to suffer for things that I am not guilty of. But my conviction is that I have suffered for things that I am guilty of. I am suffering because I am a radical and indeed I am a radical; I have suffered because I was an Italian, and indeed I am an Italian; I have suffered more for my family and for my beloved than for myself; but I am so convinced to be right that if you could execute me two times, and if I could be reborn two other time, I would live again to do what I have done already.

 I have finished. Thank you."

Document G
Source:  Let's Go to the bottom first, Literary Digest, 11/15/1919

Document H
Source:  A. Mitchell Palmer, "The Case Against the Reds," Part III Peacemaking, 1919

"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 of their own minds and their unclean morals we can get rid of them! And not until we have done so shall we have removed the menace of Bolshevism for good."

Document I
Source: Emma Goldman, Living My Life, December 21, 1919

On the deck above us I could hear the men tramping up and down in the wintry blast. I felt dizzy, visioning a transport of politicals doomed to Siberia, the escape of former Russian days. Russia of the past rose before me and I saw the revolutionary martyrs being driven into the exile. But no, it was New York, it was America, the land of Liberty! Through the port-hole I could see the great city receding into the distance, its sky-line of buildings traceable by their rearing hands. It was my beloved city, the metropolis of the New World. It was America, indeed America repeating the terrible scenes of tsarist Russia! I glanced up- the Statue of Liberty!

Essay

Post World War I America was a time of instability for the American people. The fear of communism sparked several events that led up to a time called the Red Scare. National panic was caused by events such as the Palmer Raids, the conviction of Sacco and Vanzetti, and the wave of Eastern European immigration.

In 1917 communism became more than a theory, it turned into a theory in action. The Comintern threatened they were going to spread communism all over the world. Document 1 illustrates how the formation of the Communist Party of America in 1919 started nation-wide fear. Local law enforcement officials would seize "Red" literature and burn it to suppress the spread of communism. This hysteria caused major mistrust among Americans, particularly immigrants. Strikes, riots, and as doc 10 shows, radical accusations were being made. They were tried and sentenced. This paranoia is perfectly expressed when "[Goddard] was shot down by a sailor of the United States navy when he did not stand and remove his hat while the band was playing the Star-Spangled Banner." (doc 2)

The Russian immigrants came to America in search of a "better" life. When the Bolsheviks, under their leader Vladamir Lenin, took over Russia the country turn to communism. Russia also experienced high unemployment rate, lack of food, and terrible living conditions. Because of this many Eastern European people came over to America. Many Americans were obsessed with the idea that communism would spread with the immigrants coming over. In document 8 A. Mitchell Palmer expresses a view that is shared with many Americans. "They have stirred discontent in our midst, while they have caused irritating strikes and while they have infected our social ideas with the disease of their own minds…we can get rid of them!" Due to this fear the Espionage Act was passed threatening anyone who spoke against the American government. In document 7 a Bolshevik is shown pulling civilization down to chaos, not able to grab onto solid America. The Americans tried to run the Russians out of their country. "Through the port-hole I could see the great city receding into the distance…It was America, indeed America repeating the terrible scenes of tsarist Russia! I glanced up-the Statue of Liberty!" (doc 9)

After A. Mitchell Palmer's house was mysteriously bombed, he became very angry and suspicious. "Tongues of revolutionary heat were licking the alters of the churches, leaping into the belfry of the school bell, crawling into the sacred corners of American homes, seeking to replace marriage vows with the libertine laws, burning up the foundations of society." (doc 3) This was the charge given by him toward the "Reds". This charge sparked the Palmer Raids, in which he and J. Edgar Hoover organized The Anti-Radical Division. Thousands of people were arrested in one night for the suspicion of communism. Their goal had been to uncover weapons and explosives among communists, but it failed miserably. In the end, around five hundred were deported. This event made the American public starkly aware of the toll communism was starting to take on their society. The hysteria led to the political cartoon displayed in document 4, portraying anarchy as the culprit for the bombings. These radical ideas of communism, anarchy, and anti-Americanism only escalated the effects of the Red Scare.

One extreme example of the effects of the Red Scare was shown through two men, Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti. In 1920, they were charged with the murder of a man. But more importantly, they were Italian immigrant anarchists. In many American minds, this alone already had them convicted. The view of the American people towards these two was "It's cause they're reds. That's bad enough, …Send 'em up, say I, show 'em that our courts is American. We don't get our law from Italy. We don't care whether they done it or not." (doc 5) Even though some supported their release, many called for their conviction. Sacco and Vanzetti were involved in years of "legal limbo" that took its toll on the two captives. Upon being sentenced to death in 1920, Vanzetti stated to the judge, "I am suffering because I am a radical… and an Italian, and indeed I am." (doc 6) The major publicity of this particular case brought to light the reality of the Red Scare and the effect it was having on the American public.

The Red Scare was a tumultuous time in American history, but paled in comparison to other scares later in the fifties. The effects that it had on many immigrants and Americans alike will be forever remembered as valiant and brave. We will never know how much they had to deal with, and can feel lucky, even with the social injustices we experience in our world today. Let us thank them in the afterworld.