The Red Scare
By January of 1920, the United States was virtually paralyzed by the grip of the great Red Scare. Suspicion had spread to every corner of the country fueled by claims that public schools, universities, churches, the press, Congress, and even the president’s cabinet had been infiltrated by Bolsheviks.
Teachers who sought to shine the light of knowledge on the situation in Russia by studying Bolshevik doctrines with their students risked losing their jobs. Ministers who expressed sympathy for the goals of organized labor were criticized as leaning toward Bolshevism. Journals that spoke out against such a witch hunt mentality were labeled radical, and the average man on the street thought twice before subscribing to certain magazines for fear of the suspicion they would arouse in his neighbors or colleagues.
During this period, people who expressed liberal democratic ideas were lumped together with those calling for a violent revolution. Openly criticizing the government or capitalism could land a person in jail. Membership in the wrong group could lead to calls for deportation. Though freedom of speech was still protected under the Constitution, it was a risky business to exercise it.
How could a democratic nation founded on the principle of civil liberties come to this point? What could make Americans so fearful of a Bolshevik under every bed that they would ignore the violation of civil rights? Actually, several different factors combined to kindle the Red Scare. Once ignited, the sparks were fanned into a raging fire.
The Radical Movement
The irrational hysteria that gripped the nation was not, of course, created out of thin air. Vladimir Ilich Lenin and Leon Trotsky shocked the world with the Russian Revolution in November 1917. To Americans who were seeking a return to normal, peaceful living after the war, the Bolsheviks’ call for a worldwide revolution was not part of the plan. The Communist goal to abolish all private property was downright un-American, and their slogan, "Workers of the World unite, you have nothing to lose but your chains" sent a chill down many an American businessman’s back.
There were, however, some Americans who cheered on the Bolsheviks. In the fall of 1919, two Communist parties were born in the United States, and they did indeed seek to spread the revolution. The Communist party and the Communist Labor party were created from the left wing — the more liberal or radical branch — of the Socialist party. Prior to World War I, the Socialists had enough of a following to win many seats in local and state governments. But when the leaders of the party spoke out against the war, Socialists were viewed as pro-German and unpatriotic. Many of their leaders were jailed, and soon Socialists began quarreling among themselves over the issue of communism. The left wing of the party was dominated by foreign-born members. These working-class immigrants, without a firm grasp of the principles upon which the nation was founded, believed Bolshevism could succeed in the United States. Their principles were spelled out in their manifesto: "The world is in crisis. Capitalism, the prevailing system of society is in process of disintegration and collapse…. Humanity can be saved from its last excesses only by the Communist Revolution."
Another group that cheered on the Bolsheviks was the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), or Wobblies, as they were called. A radical labor union, the Wobblies were not only antiwar, but had in the past professed a belief in violence to achieve their goals. Already known for their inflammatory slogans, the Wobblies quickly took up the Bolshevik line, with lyrics such as these:
All hail to the Bolsheviki!
We will fight for our class and be free
A Kaiser, King, or Czar, no matter which you are
You’re nothing of interest to me;
If you don’t like the red flag of Russia
If you don’t like the spirit so true,
Then just be like the cur in the story
And lick the hand that’s robbing you.
The average American worker was skeptical of the Wobblies, and their membership was relatively low. Still, the Wobblies had a way of drawing a great deal of attention and fear. In 1919, the Wobblies organized a general strike in Seattle that shut down the city for two days. Though the strike was defeated and the workers’ demands were not answered, the incident left many Americans wondering, "Is this how the revolution will start?" As strike after bitter strike broke out in 1919, the suspicion increased that the Bolsheviks were behind it all.
Just how widespread was the Communist influence in the United States? In 1919, both Communist parties combined had seventy thousand members, equal to one tenth of 1 percent of the population. Why so much fear over such a small segment of the populace? Though their numbers were small, their voices were loud. The Communists distributed many radical journals and leaflets, filled with Marxist propaganda, including Lenin’s letter "To the American Workers." And in addition to the Communist party members, there were an uncounted number of so-called parlor reds. These were the sophisticated, often wealthy intellectuals who usually supported the Bolshevik cause with more words than action. For many of them, communism was of interest as a passing fad rather than as a passionate cause. Even so, frightened Americans pointed to the parlor reds as a sign of just how far the hateful, radical Bolshevism had spread.
Even more frightening than the propaganda and the parlor reds were the bombs. Of the thirty-six mail bombs mentioned earlier, the first was delivered to Mayor Ole Hanson of Seattle. Uninjured by the bomb, Hanson wrote a book and embarked on a speaking tour of the nation, describing how he beat the Bolshevik strike in his city. He was just one example of the many people who profited from the proliferation of the Red Scare.
