red scares

A Dictionary of Contemporary World History | 2004 | 700+ words | Copyright

red scares (1919–20, USA) A term relating to allegations about Communist subversion, following the Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917. In February 1919 workers in Seattle staged a general strike, which the city Mayor declared was part of a Bolshevik plot. There were a number of bomb outrages across the country—probably the work of anarchists—and further strikes and May Day demonstrations. The formation of the American Communist and Labor Party in August 1919 confirmed for many Americans that the country was in crisis. Two hundred and fifty Russian immigrants were shipped back to Russia, and J. Edgar Hoover, a young member of the staff of Attorney-General Mitchell Palmer, reported that ‘revolution was imminent’. Palmer authorized widespread raids, over 6,000 persons were arrested, and 556 of them deported. Public hysteria built up during early 1920, but subsided when 1 May passed off peacefully. One result of this first scare was the 1924 immigration legislation.

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JAN PALMOWSKI. "red scares." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 29 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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