American Hysteria Summary

What does it mean to be an American? There is no definitive response to this question, but one thing holds true—the reply is linked to what that particular person believes is the national identity of the United States. Andrew Burt’s thesis of political hysteria and how it is linked through national identity is illustrated through the politicized episode of the Red Scare in his book, American Hysteria: The Untold Story of Mass Political Extremism in the United States.

Political hysteria is a phenomenon under the social science discipline of politics/government. Burt uses the term political hysteria to describe recurring events in American history where, based on a shared sense of threat from others, a movement of national politics takes center

stage that leads to a group of people to become a symbolic threat to the nation and its identity. Burt’s thesis of American political hysteria and national identity are that they are linked, because political hysteria occurs when there is a change in the American national identity. The shift in the national identity causes some to fear loss of their social status and therefore, look for a scapegoat (Burt 18). To elaborate, those who are fighting to maintain their status due to the changing American identity, point the finger at another more vulnerable group of people. During the struggle to maintain their status and inclusion, they exclude those whom they accuse, and therefore, victimize them in the process. This dualistic, “us versus them” mentality polarizes one group from the other. Burt’s book is an interdisciplinary study because the episodes of political hysteria are not solely limited to the political realm, but also involve history, religion, economics, sociology, and psychology. Burt uses history in order to prove his thesis as he studied events of the past and uses them as examples in his book. Additionally, Burt refers to religious phenomena, how the economy is affected, the interactions between different groups of people, and how an individual’s experiences and behavior cause them to incite political hysteria. This can be seen in chapter four, The Red Scare via the anti-Bolshevik movement led by A. Mitchell Palmer.
The Red Scare began with the general labor strike in Seattle whose characteristics were similar to Bolshevik attempts in Europe.

The similarities between the events taking place in Europe and the strikes in Seattle alarmed the public and brought fear of revolution within the United States as Americans began to associate immigrant strikers with Bolshevism. Both the media and the mayor of Seattle exacerbated these fears. Other political figureheads, such as Democratic senator Lee Overman for instance, began to politicize anti-Bolshevism. According to Burt, Overman conducted an investigation into suspected Bolsheviks and released a report that was full of anti-Bolshevik propaganda (Burt 82). The report also called for laws to be put into effect that would allow for the incarceration and expulsion of anyone associated with the Bolsheviks. American anxieties increased with the continual threats that included bombs being mailed to prominent members of government; the American public demanded government action against these

threats.
The Red Scare did not become fully politicized until Attorney General A.

Mitchell Palmer took leadership of the movement. The catalyst to the political hysteria occurred when anarchist, Carlo Valdinoci’s explosives went off in front of Palmer’s home killing Valdinoci, and damaging Palmer’s home. This incident drove Palmer to use all of his available resources and authority in government to create the General Intelligence Division in order to investigate, and subsequently deport Bolsheviks (Burt 86). Another series of strikes, coupled with public pressure, pushed Palmer into action. Palmer raided offices of suspected Bolsheviks on several occasions and violated their rights. Palmer’s actions were not questioned, but instead demanded by the public, as the fear of anarchy superseded the constitutional rights of these agitators. In order to propel his anti-Bolshevik crusade, Palmer distributed fear-inducing propaganda and used the media to further stoke the fears of an impending threat to the American way of life. The exploitation of fear can be seen as Burt quotes Palmer’s letter to the media, “My one desire is to acquaint people like you with the real menace of evil-thinking which is the foundation of the Red movement” (Burt 86). One can see here how Palmer politicized the Red Scare through the use of these tactics to gain momentum and notoriety in an attempt to achieve his goal of candidacy for president of the United

States.
Burt’s thesis on political hysteria and national identity can be seen throughout the chapters in his book as he uses various points in history to support his thesis. Burt’s thesis illustrates how those who feel marginalized by society due to a flux in the country’s national identity, cope by placing the blame on a symbolic threat, and in the process, push them to the fringes of society. One such episode of hysteria that was politicized was the Red Scare where Palmer exploited anti-Bolshevik fears in an attempt to gain the highest position in the country—the presidency. Burt’s book can be viewed as an interdisciplinary study as the episodes of political hysteria are complex in nature with multiple players involved in different aspects of the plot to induce, expand and exploit the public’s fears. Particularly in chapter four, the reader can see economics through the implications of the labor strikes, psychology via Palmer’s reaction to the bombing near his home and sociology in the American’s pressure for action and nativist attitudes towards immigrants and total disregard of their constitutional rights. Through this reasoning, Burt’s book cannot be limited to a single disciplinary approach.