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In American history, the First Red Scare took place in the period 1917-1920, and was marked by a widespread fear of anarchism and communism, as well as the effects of radical political agitation in American society. Fueled by anarchist bombings and spurred on by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, it was characterized by illegal search and seizures, unwarranted arrests and detainments, and deportation of hundreds of suspected communists and anarchists.
The First Red Scare began during a period of war and national upheaval. The 'First Red Scare' began during World War I in which the United States fought from 1917-1918. The communist revolution in Russia and the ensuing Russian Civil War (1917-1923) inspired a widespread campaign of violence by various anarchist groups and aggressive labor unions.
The First Red Scare's origins lie in alleged subversive actions of foreign and leftist elements in the United States, particularly militant followers of Luigi Galleani, and in the attempts of the U.S. government to quell protest and gain favorable public views of America's entering World War I. In 1917, President Wilson established the Committee on Public Information to circulate and distribute anti-German and pro-Allied propaganda and other news. To add to the effectiveness of the Committee, the Bureau of Investigation (the early name for the Federal Bureau of Investigation until 1935) disrupted the work of German-American, union, and leftist organizations through raids, arrests agents provocateurs and legal prosecution. Revolutionary and pacifist groups such as the Socialist Party of America and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW; its members were known as Wobblies) strongly opposed the war. Many leaders of these groups, most notably Eugene Debs, were prosecuted for giving speeches urging resistance to the draft. Members of the Ghadar Party were also put on trial in the Hindu German Conspiracy Trial.
The effort was also helped by the United States Congress, with the passing of the Espionage Act in 1917 and its sister act the Sedition Act of 1918. The Espionage Act made it a crime to interfere with the operation or success of the military, and the Sedition Act forbade Americans to use "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, flag, or armed forces during war.
Postal inspectors refused to distribute materials deemed as subversive to the war effort. Many foreign language and radical or anarchist publications were disrupted or closed as a consequence. One of the most notorious was Luigi Galleani's Cronaca Sovversiva (Subversive Chronicle), an Italian anarchist newsletter, which not only advocated the overthrow of the government, but also advertised a booklet innocuously titled Health is in You!, actually an explicit bomb-making manual.
After the war officially ended, the investigations abated for a few months, but did not cease. They soon resumed in the context of Russian Revolution of 1917, the Russian Civil War and the Red Terror. To some Americans, this was a time of uncertainty and fear over the prospects of an anarchist, socialist or communist revolution in the United States
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The First Red Scare began during a period of war and national upheaval. The 'First Red Scare' began during World War I in which the United States fought from 1917-1918. The communist revolution in Russia and the ensuing Russian Civil War (1917-1923) inspired a widespread campaign of violence by various anarchist groups and aggressive labor unions.
The First Red Scare's origins lie in alleged subversive actions of foreign and leftist elements in the United States, particularly militant followers of Luigi Galleani, and in the attempts of the U.S. government to quell protest and gain favorable public views of America's entering World War I. In 1917, President Wilson established the Committee on Public Information to circulate and distribute anti-German and pro-Allied propaganda and other news. To add to the effectiveness of the Committee, the Bureau of Investigation (the early name for the Federal Bureau of Investigation until 1935) disrupted the work of German-American, union, and leftist organizations through raids, arrests agents provocateurs and legal prosecution. Revolutionary and pacifist groups such as the Socialist Party of America and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW; its members were known as Wobblies) strongly opposed the war. Many leaders of these groups, most notably Eugene Debs, were prosecuted for giving speeches urging resistance to the draft. Members of the Ghadar Party were also put on trial in the Hindu German Conspiracy Trial.
The effort was also helped by the United States Congress, with the passing of the Espionage Act in 1917 and its sister act the Sedition Act of 1918. The Espionage Act made it a crime to interfere with the operation or success of the military, and the Sedition Act forbade Americans to use "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" about the United States government, flag, or armed forces during war.
Postal inspectors refused to distribute materials deemed as subversive to the war effort. Many foreign language and radical or anarchist publications were disrupted or closed as a consequence. One of the most notorious was Luigi Galleani's Cronaca Sovversiva (Subversive Chronicle), an Italian anarchist newsletter, which not only advocated the overthrow of the government, but also advertised a booklet innocuously titled Health is in You!, actually an explicit bomb-making manual.
After the war officially ended, the investigations abated for a few months, but did not cease. They soon resumed in the context of Russian Revolution of 1917, the Russian Civil War and the Red Terror. To some Americans, this was a time of uncertainty and fear over the prospects of an anarchist, socialist or communist revolution in the United States
Have a nice day 
