Fighting the 'Red Menace': fearing Communism's spread from overseas, the U.S. government waged a decades-long battle at home.

For much of the 20th century, America was preoccupied with a threat that seemed to loom within its borders, at the same time it challenged nations around the world: Communism.

To prevent Communists from infiltrating American life, the federal government--Republicans and Democrats alike--waged a periodic war against domestic Communism and those suspected of sympathizing with it. Many alleged Communists were arrested, deported, or called before Congress and effectively prevented from working. Some Americans felt these were legitimate tactics in the face of a dire threat; others considered them "witch hunts" that ruined innocent lives.

POLICE RAIDS

The anti-Communist battle began on November 7, 1919, with authorities kicking in doors in New York and 11 other U.S. cities. Federal agents and police burst into homes and meeting halls, rounding up immigrants and others suspected of having Communist ties.

The raids were initiated by A. Mitchell Palmer, the attorney general under President Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat. By the time the roundups--later known as the "Palmer Raids"--ended in 1920, hundreds of immigrants had been deported for being "Red"--a color originally symbolizing radicalism and anarchy, and later identified with Communism. Thousands of others--both immigrants and American citizens--spent time in jail.

What prompted the raids? In 1917, with World War I still raging, Communists took over Russia and renamed it the Soviet Union. They called for the overthrow of capitalism and implemented a totalitarian government that attempted to control all facets of society.

After the war ended in 1918, Communism threatened to sweep across Europe. At home, labor strikes and social unrest hit some American cities, with many blaming "Reds."

While it was not then--and has never been--a federal crime to belong to the Communist Party, officials prosecuted some suspected Communists under wartime sedition and espionage laws, which outlawed speaking against or interfering with the government or the military.

CAPITALISM THREATENED

Membership in the Communist Party in the U.S. was actually tiny during the 1920s--about 20,000. The Great Depression, which began in 1929 and made millions of Americans jobless and hungry, gave the party a boost because it seemed to call into question the capitalist system.

Though still a fringe group, Communists began to gain a greater voice in the labor movement, in Hollywood, and in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party. Many kept their ties to the Communist Party secret.

After World War II ended in 1945, the decades-long Cold War began. Soviet leader Joseph Stalin gobbled up countries in Eastern Europe (and former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill said in a 1946 speech in Missouri that "an iron curtain has descended across the continent").

In 1949, China fell to Communist forces led by Mao Zedong. The next year, Communist North Korea attacked South Korea, starting the Korean War. After the Soviets tested their first atomic bomb in 1949, American schoolchildren hid under their desks during air-raid drills in preparation for an attack.

American movies, books, TV, and radio began warning of the "Red Menace." FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, who had coordinated the Palmer raids as the attorney general's assistant, helped heighten the public's fear about Communism. "A physician, a lawyer, an educator, a personnel manager in a business firm, a television scriptwriter--each may be a concealed Communist," he said.

LOYALTY COMMITTEES

In 1946, Republicans won control of Congress by painting Democrats as "soft on Communism." President Harry S. Truman, a Democrat, responded by creating loyalty review boards for federal employees, a move echoed by states, cities, and many companies. Anyone holding very liberal or unorthodox political opinions might face a ruined career.

In Congress, Senator Joseph McCarthy, a Republican from Wisconsin, revived his own flagging political career by becoming the nation's chief Communist hunter. In 1950, he famously waved a piece of paper and claimed to "have here in my hand a list of 205" Communists working in the State Department. He badgered officials appearing before his committee during televised hearings to admit to Communist ties. Though later largely discredited, his name became synonymous with the era.

The House Un-American Activities Committee also publicly investigated suspected Communists. A little-known Republican committee member from California, Richard M. Nixon, made a name for himself with his investigation of Alger Hiss, a suspected Soviet spy who had served in the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Hiss denied he was a spy but was eventually convicted of perjury. (In 1952 Dwight D. Eisenhower chose Nixon as his vice presidential running mate, and Nixon was elected President in 1968.)

The committee also focused on Hollywood: Actors, directors, and writers were summoned and asked to "name names," in other words to identify anyone they suspected of Communist ties. Playwright Lillian Hellman was one of those who refused, saying "I will not cut my conscience to fit this year's fashions."

THE BLACKLISTS

In this climate of fear, Hellman and 10,000 to 12,000 others in various fields were "blacklisted" and lost their jobs. Hundreds were also sent to prison or deported. A few fared better. Testimony before the committee in 1953 revealed that Lucille Ball had once registered as a Communist. She later told the committee that she had done so at her grandfather's urging and did not hold Communist beliefs. Her fans stood by her and her career continued.

The same year, two American citizens, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were convicted in a high-profile trial of passing atomic secrets to the Soviets. The Rosenbergs, who were members of the Communist Party, were executed, although some questioned the evidence against them.

Harassment of suspected Communists weakened the party in the U.S., but did not destroy it. The harshest blow to the party was a 1956 speech by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev in which he admitted that Stalin had used "mass terror" to kill and imprison millions of people. Khrushchev's revelations disillusioned many party members and sympathizers. "I was filled with loathing and disgust," wrote former Communist and author Howard Fast.

By 1959, American Communism was practically dead, with only about 3,000 remaining in the party. By the time the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, the party had become a political curiosity whose time had long since passed. But the debate about how the government investigates threats to the nation's security, abroad and at home, continues to this day.

Fear of communism Led to Hunts for Disloyal Americans

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

* Do you believe that actions like those taken during the Palmer Raids could occur in the U.S. today?

* Why do you think so few people spoke out against McCarthy?

TEACHING OBJECTIVES

To help students understand how the spread of Communism throughout the world raised alarms about its spread to the U.S, resulting in extensive investigations of those suspected of disloyalty, many of which had harmful and controversial consequences.

CLASSROOM STRATEGIES

CRITICAL THINKING: Give students an inkling of the fear many Americans felt during the McCarthy era. Ask them if they have ever heard unsubstantiated and/or unflattering rumors about someone in their school or community. What has been their reaction and the reaction of friends and acquaintances to such rumors? Did they ever help spread such rumors? Did they ever investigate to find out whether the rumors were true?

ROLE-PLAY/WRITING: Ask students to assume the role of an innocent person who had been falsely accused of being a Communist during the Palmer Raids or by Senator McCarthy. Their job is to write a letter to be read aloud at a high school assembly.

Their letter should not only proclaim their innocence, but also explain to the assembled students why unsubstantiated claims about a citizen's loyalty can also hurt the country at large and discredit democracy.

PARALLELS IN 2003?: Remind students about the concerns voiced by many Arab-Americans, that they are being lumped together with terrorists from Arab backgrounds. Remind them that then, as now, Americans had genuine concerns about their security. The question students should discuss is whether the measures taken by the government to protect Americans are necessary or go too far.

PHOTO ANALYSIS: Ask students to study the photograph of Senator McCarthy standing in front of the map tided "Communist Party Organization USA," showing alleged Communist activity in the various states. Discuss how maps, graphs, and other visual aids can lend a sense of authority to the position of the person making a claim or allegation.

WEB WATCH: For additional information on the McCarthy era, including background on affected individuals, go to www.spartacus.sehoolnet.co.uk /USAmccarthyism.htm

Upfront QUIZ 4

FILL IN THE BLANK

Directions: Fill in the blank with the correct answer.

1. The 1919 "Palmer Raids" looking for suspected radicals were named for A. Mitchell Palmer, the highest-ranking law officer in the federal government. What office did Palmer hold at the time?__(two words)

2. In 1917, a Communist revolution in__sparked fear among many Americans and the U.S. government. They were concerned that Communism would sweep across Europe and eventually threaten the U.S.

3. Communism's stated goal was the overthrow of__, the free-enterprise economic system in industrialized countries like the U.S.

4. Communism received a boost in popularity in the U.S. during the Great__, an economic collapse that left millions of American workers unemployed and hungry. Many people saw this development as a sign that the Communist economic system might work better than capitalism.

5. Americans grew more concerned about Communism following World War II, when the Soviet Union seized control of countries in Eastern Europe. Fears escalated in 1949 when Communists took control in__and in 1950, when a Communist invasion brought war to the country of__.(two words)

6. The decades-long tension between the U.S. and Soviet Union was known as the__War.

7. Senator Joseph__led the hunt for American Communists in the 1950s.

8. __, who first gained national prominence when he served on the House Un-American Activities Committee, was later elected President of the United States. (two words)

9. In 1953, Americans Julius and Ethel__were executed after being convicted of spying for the Soviets.

10. The harshest blow to the U.S. Communist Party came from disclosures of mass terror in the__under Stalin.(two words)

Upfront Quiz 4

1. attorney general 2. Russia 3. capitalism 4. Depression 5. China; South Korea 6. Cold 7. McCarthy 8. Richard Nixon 9. Rosenberg 10. Soviet Union