First Red Scare

Lore & Background

The First Red Scare saw American authorities view the threat of communist revolution in the actions of organized labor, including the Seattle General Strike and the Boston Police Strike, and in a bombing campaign directed by anarchist groups at political and business leaders. Fueled by labor unrest and the anarchist bombings, and spurred on by the Palmer Raids under Democrat President Woodrow Wilson to suppress radical organizations, it was characterized by exaggerated rhetoric, illegal searches and seizures, unwarranted arrests and detentions, and the deportation of several hundred suspected radicals and anarchists. The growing anti-immigration nativist movement among Americans viewed increasing immigration from Southern Europe and Eastern Europe as a threat to American political and social stability.

Bolshevism and the threat of a communist-inspired revolution in the U.S. became the overriding explanation for challenges to the social order, even for such largely unrelated events as incidents of interracial violence during the Red Summer of 1919. Fear of radicalism was used to explain the suppression of freedom of expression in the form of display of certain flags and banners. In April 1920, concerns peaked with J. Edgar Hoover telling the nation to prepare for a bloody uprising on May Day. Police and militias prepared for the worst, but May Day passed without event. Soon, public opinion and the courts turned against Palmer, putting an end to his raids and the first Red Scare.

Reader's Guide

The First Red Scare represents a significant episode in American history where fear of radical ideologies led to widespread civil liberties violations and the suppression of political dissent. The Palmer Raids, conducted under President Woodrow Wilson, resulted in illegal searches and seizures, unwarranted arrests and detentions, and the deportation of several hundred suspected radicals and anarchists. The scare also fueled anti-immigration nativism, with Americans viewing immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe as a threat to stability. The Overman Committee hearings developed an alarming image of Bolshevism as an imminent threat, and the press reveled in the investigation, referring to Russians as 'assassins and madmen.' The scare ultimately subsided after May Day 1920 passed without incident, and public opinion and the courts turned against Palmer. Its legacy includes the passage of the Espionage Act of 1917, the Sedition Act of 1918, and the Immigration Act of 1918, which targeted anarchists and were used to deport figures such as Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, and Luigi Galleani.

Did You Know?

• The Overman Committee was a special five-man subcommittee of the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary chaired by North Carolina Democrat Lee Slater Overman.
• In April 1920, J. Edgar Hoover told the nation to prepare for a bloody uprising on May Day, but May Day passed without event.
• The Immigration Act of 1918 targeted anarchists by name and was used to deport Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, and Luigi Galleani.

Origins in War and Revolution

The First Red Scare did not emerge from a vacuum. It was born from the hyper-nationalism that defined America's involvement in World War I and then intensified by the shock of the 1917 October Revolution in Russia. When the war ended, American authorities began reading every act of organized labor through the lens of communist subversion. The German Revolution of 1918–1919 added another layer of alarm. Back home, anarchist groups launched a bombing campaign against political and business leaders in 1919, and labor disputes like the Seattle General Strike and the Boston Police Strike seemed to confirm fears of a domestic revolution. These real events—combined with imagined threats—created a climate in which Bolshevism, anarchism, and socialism became the default explanation for any challenge to the social order. Even the interracial violence of the Red Summer in 1919 was folded into the narrative of radical subversion.

The Seattle General Strike as a Flashpoint

In January 1919, thirty-five thousand shipyard workers in Seattle walked off the job demanding higher wages. What began as a single-industry dispute quickly snowballed: within two weeks, over a hundred local unions rallied behind a call for a citywide general strike that began on February 6. Sixty thousand workers brought streetcars, schools, and commerce to a halt, yet their General Strike Committee kept the city functioning with trash collection and milk deliveries. The press, however, framed the event as a foreign import, with one paper declaring, "This is America – not Russia." Mayor Ole Hanson positioned himself as the city's defender, boasting of fifteen hundred police and fifteen hundred federal troops at his disposal and vowing that "the anarchists in this community shall not rule its affairs." National labor leaders, alarmed by the inflammatory public reaction, urged a quick end. The strike collapsed by February 11, yet Hanson claimed credit, resigned months later, and toured the country lecturing on "domestic bolshevism," earning thirty-eight thousand dollars in seven months—five times his mayoral salary.

Legal Weapons and the Palmer Raids

Congress armed the government with a suite of repressive legislation in the war's final years. The Espionage Act of 1917 criminalized any interference with military operations, while the Sedition Act of 1918 went further, punishing Americans who used what it termed "disloyal, profane, scurrilous, or abusive language" against the government, the flag, or the armed forces. The Immigration Act of 1918 singled out anarchists by name and was wielded to deport prominent radicals, including Emma Goldman, Alexander Berkman, and Luigi Galleani. These statutes set the stage for the Palmer Raids, conducted under Democrat President Woodrow Wilson, which targeted radical organizations with exaggerated rhetoric, illegal searches and seizures, unwarranted arrests, and the deportation of several hundred suspected radicals and anarchists. The growing nativist sentiment among Americans, who viewed rising immigration from Southern and Eastern Europe as a threat to political and social stability, provided additional fuel for these crackdowns.

The May Day Panic and the Scare's Collapse

The First Red Scare reached its zenith in the spring of 1920, when J. Edgar Hoover warned the American public to brace for a bloody communist uprising on May Day. Police forces and militias across the country mobilized, preparing for the worst. But May Day arrived and passed without a single incident. The empty threat shattered the momentum that had sustained the panic. Public opinion, which had been ratcheted up by years of inflammatory rhetoric and extralegal enforcement, began to turn decisively against Attorney General Palmer and his raids. The courts, too, moved against the government's actions, effectively putting an end to the Palmer Raids and, with them, the first Red Scare. The episode left a lasting imprint on American political culture, demonstrating how fear of radicalism could be weaponized to suppress freedom of expression—such as the display of certain flags and banners—and to justify mass detentions and deportations under the guise of national security.