The Red Scare: The Rise Of Communism

Many times, the 1920s are referred to as a roaring and prosperous time in America. The country embodied many societal changes and innovations never seen before. Despite great advances, America faced great problems on the homefront. The events of World War I fueled strong nativism for one’s country and the idea that it was possible to revolt against government. Most notably, Russia faced a revolution of their own. In this revolution, communism took hold and its influence began to spread across the world. From this, the first American “Red Scare” of communism emerged. In the Red Scare, radicals in the United States threatened Americans’ way of life through domestic terrorism, radical movement groups, and socialist political parties. Americans …show more content…
There is no doubt that the Red Scare resulted in a series of immoral events with great disregard of the law. . One major effect of the Red Scare is the re-emergence of the Ku Klux Kan (KKK). This new area of the KKK was also spurred by harsh nativism as they directed their hatred to more than just African Americans. They targeted Jews, Catholics, and eastern Europeans. Not surprisingly, the organization witnessed a dramatic increase of membership and political power given the post-Red Scare climate. They had over one million members nationwide and even paraded down Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. in 1928 proudly showing their faces. The re-emergence of a racist group, such as the KKK, the widespread impact of the Red Scare well beyond the early 1920s. The Red Scare also stunted workers rights throughout the 1920s. The American government called for a plan to forbit mandatory union membership and limit strikes. In the beginning of the decade, about 20 percent of workers belonged to a union. By the end of the 1920s, that number dropped to 10 percent.. During the Red Scare, labor and political uprisings were often linked to unions. After the Red Scare, these ideas remained and were never addressed. As a result, without proper labor changes, many workers were employed by unsafe and unfair employers and could do little about it. This data and the government’s actions on labor are another example of the Red Scare’s effect on people not necessarily involved with or supportive of its ideologies. Just like the effect on labor later in the decade, immigration also experienced its share of problems. In the latter part of the 1920s, the government still continued to enforce a harsh immigration policy. One specific piece of legislation was the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act of 1924. This Act put an end to