Red Scare: Incitement to Hatred of Anarchy and Communism

There were many political ideologies after the war which were both good and destructive some of which had the people paranoid. Ideas like Communism, and anarchy which caused an event now known as the “Red Scare” in which the government even got involved in by stopping the influx of immigration into the country which was mostly from Europe because of the lack of trust the war created. During the twenties people who went against democracy were isolated and treated differently, even going as far as two men being executed for being accused of murder with no basis or evidence. Many issues of which were not a concern came back in the twenties even racist ideologies came back after the war since it was not what everyone was focused on at that time. As time went on after the war many different Political Ideas which were in the U.S due to immigration, Racism, and poverty had a wide variety of perspectives on Political Policies, Social Issues, and Pop culture.

The red scare was a great threat to political views since it went caused the death of A president and the trial of two men who were most likely innocent. For example, ̈Americans were scared of communists especially as they had overthrown the royal family in Russia in 1917 and murdered them in the following year. In 1901, an anarchist had shot the American president dead”. This event greatly impacted Americans since it basically showed that not even the most important person in their country, the president was safe. It made people. This event further fueled the hatred for Anarchy, and communism but something good came out of it as this was the main reason the secret service was created in order to prevent events like this to happen. Secondly, ¨A series of bomb explosions in 1919, including a bungled attempt to blow up A. Mitchell Palmer, America’sAttorney-General, lead to a campaign against the communists”. This second event further fueled the hatred even starting a campaign against communists even causing the arrest of over 6000 people using questionable methods. Many people debated the legality of these arrests but the judicial system seemed to ignore their protests. People really started to question the legality of these arrests when two men were arrested with no real evidence Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti who were charged with a robbery where two guards were killed both men were known to be anarchists which caused a controversial trial where the two men were killed. The paranoia was justified because of the casualties with anarchists killing the president and a failed attempt to kill the Attorney-General.

Many social aspects of life changed which came to a large number of strikes occurring and many people being accused based on their beliefs. For instance, “The most frightening event was a strike by police in Boston, Massachusetts. The policemen demanded higher wages. But the police chief refused to negotiate with them. As a result, the policemen went on strike. When they did, thieves began to break into unprotected homes and shops”. This really defines the amount of impact since it has only happened once in history. People never expect the police to go on strike since they are the people who protect people it most likely caused fear since people could see it as a step into anarchy with no law or people not enforcing the law. Secondly, “Feelings of fear and suspicion extended to other parts of American life. Many persons and groups were accused of supporting communism… The Red Scare caused many innocent people to be afraid to express their ideas. They feared they might be accused of being a communist”. There have been many times where freedom of speech has been restricted from John Adams to Abraham Lincoln it has made people afraid to express an opinion. This was really impactful because when most people think of The U.S they think of freedom but it was different in this era since the paranoia caused wild accusations which suppressed people's opinions. These events again changed social life as the police strike caused an anarchist-like area in the U.S and the accusations caused people to suppress their own opinion.

Even Pop culture was affected with many celebrities being accused and even followed by high-ranking spies. For example, “I am not now or at any time have ever been a member of the Communist Party,' “so swore famed composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein on an affidavit. Still, the FBI was convinced he was a dangerous political subversive and spied on him for the next three decades, even getting him blacklisted at CBS and denying his request to renew his passport”. Even the famous artist was not safe with the government trying to interfere with their life trying to deny their entrance back to the U.S.. even as Bernstein denied his alliance with communism the government still pursued him and even tried to interfere with his passport. Secondly, Chaplin was banned from the U.S. Instead of fighting to re-enter the country… released a statement about his experience: '...Since the end of the last world war, I have been the object of lies and propaganda by powerful reactionary groups who, by their influence and by the aid of America's yellow press, have created an unhealthy atmosphere in which liberal-minded individuals can be singled out and persecuted. Under these conditions, I find it virtually impossible to continue my motion-picture work, and I have therefore given up my residence in the United States'. This event again shows the Government's influence over pop culture this time now succeeding in kicking arguably one of the most famous actors of the era, even making Chaplin release a statement saying that the U.S was an “unhealthy environment” even expressing his dislike for the red scare. This really shows the impact on people since there were many people who were inspired by Chaplin and it probably raised even more fear but now aimed at celebrities who had positions of influence.

The twenties were not all as happy as it seemed to be with the great economy and increase of parties after the war, it was also a time of paranoia where people were getting accused left and right which caused a restriction of freedom of speech, it had a great impact on Political Policies, Social Issues, and Pop Culture. The red scare had a great impact on people with multiple assassination attempts that added fuel to the fire which caused multiple protests against people with beliefs opposed to capitalism. The red scare also caused issues with the people where there were movements against communism and people who were suspected of aligning with communist beliefs. Celebrities were affected as well with many of them being watched over by the government with suspicion of them being communists which also caused the deportation of many of them. Overall, The Red Scare was not a good look for America since it was a very hypocritical country since it was founded on the basis of freedom and yet they kept executing people and deporting celebrities on the invalid reason of suspicion.