As any American teen that has been exposed to pop culture or any form of political media knows, Communism is the root of all evil. Many people would laugh at that statement while also acknowledging that there is some truth to that – at least in America –. The very fact that it 's this widely understood notion that teens do not even question it says something about its depth in American history. So, it’s time to understand Communism and its impact on American society and politics. However, since Communism has a fairly long history, we are going to mainly focus on the 1920s Red Scare. The 1920s Red Scare was – in the most basic terms – the fear of Communism in 1920s America. What caused this fear? The answer is a recurring theme in American history
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Poor Europeans who came over to the United States to escape persecution, discrimination and economic hardships soon found themselves in a foreign country with similar prejudices against them along with low paying jobs. Communism and socialism, a threat to rich Americans, mainly white Anglo-Saxons, was the best chance for immigrants (Roman Catholics, Eastern Europeans, etc.) and minorities at a better life in America. At this time in history, labor strikes – at least in the eyes of American capitalists –weren 't just people exercising their right to assemble, it was a direct attack on the foundation of America, by people who weren 't even truly American - "Aliens were presumably 'reds ' and 'reds '" - (Evans, "The Sacco and Vanzetti Cases"). They were no longer Americans, they were anarchists, a threat to American …show more content…
So why are the events of the red scare are so imbedded in America 's history? It 's fair to say that it wasn 't just because America hated communism. The propaganda set during that time was so strong and well implemented that it still lives today. Immigrants struggle to make it in America, they have different political views, views that don 't necessarily benefit the already rich and powerful. So, what must the powerful citizens of America do to secure their overwhelming control of money and the government? Shut-it-down. Take prejudices against the minority, the poor and paint them as threats to the republic. Granted communism often leads to turmoil and is the very opposite of the American competitive market, but it alone wasn 't what the red scare of the 1920s was
Poor Europeans who came over to the United States to escape persecution, discrimination and economic hardships soon found themselves in a foreign country with similar prejudices against them along with low paying jobs. Communism and socialism, a threat to rich Americans, mainly white Anglo-Saxons, was the best chance for immigrants (Roman Catholics, Eastern Europeans, etc.) and minorities at a better life in America. At this time in history, labor strikes – at least in the eyes of American capitalists –weren 't just people exercising their right to assemble, it was a direct attack on the foundation of America, by people who weren 't even truly American - "Aliens were presumably 'reds ' and 'reds '" - (Evans, "The Sacco and Vanzetti Cases"). They were no longer Americans, they were anarchists, a threat to American …show more content…
So why are the events of the red scare are so imbedded in America 's history? It 's fair to say that it wasn 't just because America hated communism. The propaganda set during that time was so strong and well implemented that it still lives today. Immigrants struggle to make it in America, they have different political views, views that don 't necessarily benefit the already rich and powerful. So, what must the powerful citizens of America do to secure their overwhelming control of money and the government? Shut-it-down. Take prejudices against the minority, the poor and paint them as threats to the republic. Granted communism often leads to turmoil and is the very opposite of the American competitive market, but it alone wasn 't what the red scare of the 1920s was