Communism: The First And Second Red Scare

Abstract - INTRO
The Red Scare broke into two parts, the First Red Scare and the Second Red Scare. During the First Red Scare in the 1920s, hysteria was developed due to patriotism. It occurred as a result of World War I; while the Second Red Scare took place during the 1950s, and it was a time of paranoia and fear of communism. Millions of Americans were questioned of their loyalty and undergo investigations. U.S foreign policy were also affected by the anti-communism movement, and many were afraid to speak on public issues. With the organization like the HUAC that investigated un-American activities in Hollywood and s Employee Loyalty Program that investigated government employees made the fear of communist gripped the country.

According

to the American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. (2011), mass hysteria is a “condition in which large amount of people exhibit the same state of violent mental agitation.” The Red Scare was one of the greatest Mass Hysteria generated by fear of communism. Communism is “a command system in which the central government directs all major economic decision. Remy (2012). The government planners decide how much to produce, what to produce, and how to distribute the goods and services produced.” (p. 30). During the 1920s was a time of extreme anti-communism in the United States and fear of foreigners was at an all time high.
When the Bolshevik revolution took place, the Russian king was overthrown.

In result the Soviet Union was established to rule Russia and adopted communism as their form of government. For that reason, the United States was scared that communism in Soviet Union would contribute influence in America. The entire American nation was jeopardize with feared that the government would be overthrown by those who didn’t believe in the democratic principles. There were little to no tolerance to those with different political views. Those who viewed differently were immediately labeled as ‘reds’, a name referring to the Soviet Union because of the flag color. Anyone accused ends up living a miserable

life.
During this time, the United States were “witch hunting for Reds” and any suspected immigrants were deported back to their country. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were victims of the Red Scare. They believed in anarchy and were accused of murdering two people during a robbery. Even though the evidence was slim, the judge was biased and was calling them ‘anarchy bastards’. They were prosecuted as a result to different believes and the fact that they’re immigrants, was held against them. For that reason, on April 23 of 1927, they were executed via electric chair.
The Red Scare was an extremist aspect of politics and people reacted in a highly emotional way towards foreigners.

With the concern of communism taking over; fear, suspicion and tension took over the society and it led to reckless charges against innocent citizens. The entertainment industry and the film industry were also involved in this mass hysteria. Hollywood was a target of anti-communist investigation by Congress because communist were said to be putting propaganda into many Hollywood film. A blacklisted is a list of people who were accused for having a Communist background in the entertainment industry. “Approximately 500 actors, writers, producers, and directors—had their careers ruined because they could no longer work.” (Danzer, Klor de Alva, Krieger, Wilson, Woloch.

2003)
At this time, many organization and program were established to ease the tension of communism. President Truman issued an executive order to set up the Federal Employee Loyalty Program with the purpose to investigate government employees and to dismiss those who were disloyal to the U.S. government. The board investigated 3.2 million employees and approximately three thousand resigned because they felt violated to their constitutional rights. The program pose a threat to civil liberties because the US attorney general drew up a list of organizations, and people could be investigated if they were a member of this group in which the individuals were not allowed to see the evidence against them; those who refuse for questionings were sent to prison.
The Red Scare led people to distrust each other and the citizens were prone to accusation. Everyone saw each other as a potential communist spy. The fear of communist that took place in the Red Scare lead to a mass hysteria that swept across the United States.