'Red Scare' & Palmer Raids

Question 1

What happened in 1917?

Answer 1

• Russian Revolution
• Empire taken over by communists

Question 2

Why was the USA impacted by the ‘Red Scare’ in 1919?

Answer 2

• Fear of communist revolution
• After what happened in Russia and Europe post WW1

Question 3

What international event in 1919 intensified fear of communists in the US?

Answer 3

• Founding of Third Communist International
• Supported global communist revolutions

Question 4

What political and religious beliefs in the USA fuelled anti-communism?

Answer 4

• Opposed communism’s atheism
• Capitalist, religious

Question 5

What events in 1919 within the US caused Americans to associate strikes with communism?

Answer 5

• Wave of strikes
• Leading to lawlessness and communist agitation

Question 6

How did Americans view communists and immigrants during the ‘Red Scare’?

Answer 6

• Un-American
• Particularly after the heightened patriotic atmosphere following WW1

Question 7

What ideology did Americans also fear during the Red Scare?

Answer 7

• Anarchism
• Opposition to organised government
• Reputation for political violence

Question 8

What event in 1919 intensified fear of anarchists?

Answer 8

• Anarchist bombing campaign
• Targeting politicians and businessmen (e.g. J.D. Rockefeller)

Question 9

What government actions were taken in response to the Red Scare?

Answer 9

• Anti-racial division established under Justice Department (J. Edgar Hoover)
• Palmer Raids (ordered by A. Mitchell Palmer)

Question 10

What prompted Attorney General Palmer to initiate Palmer Raids?

Answer 10

• Bombing attempt on Palmer himself
• Communist newspaper found on bomber

Question 11

What were ‘Palmer Raids’?

Answer 11

• Series of raids
• On homes of suspects (‘Reds’)

Question 12

What happened to those who were arrested during the Palmer Raids?

Answer 12

• 6000 arrested
• Mostly released within weeks
• Lack of evidence found
• Over 500 deported

Question 13

What legal basis did Palmer use to justify the raids?

Answer 13

• Sedition Act of 1918 (crime to convey information intended to interfere with the war effort)
• Although the war already ended

Question 14

Why did public opinion turn against the Palmer Raids and the Red Scare by the late 1920s?

Answer 14

• Criticism of unconstitutional actions
• Concerns over press censorship
• Labour shortages
• Influential legal opposition

Question 15

How was Palmer discredited in the 1920?

Answer 15

• Failed prediction of a revolution
• On May Day 1920

Question 16

Describe two features of the Palmer Raids

Answer 16

• Mass arrests without proper evidence: over 6000 arrested, only very few weapons were found (3 pistols), lack of evidence
• Legal and constitutional violations: no proper warrants, justified actions on the act that only applied during the war, deportation of over 500 individuals, unconstitutional