Introduction
The Bolsheviks Revolution in Russia in 1917 introduced the concept of communism to the world. Ever since that incident, the American government and the public at large have been hounded by the fear that this movement might take over the country one day. The nation as a whole must have been relieved after the breakdown of the Soviet Union and the unification of East and West Germany. During the period between the Russian Revolution and the fall of communism, two incidents stand out as instances of gross civil rights violations (by the government and public) in their fight against socialism and communism. They are the Red Scare and the era of McCarthyism. This paper is an attempt at comparing the two eras of anti-communist activity in the country.
Red Scare
This incident happened in 1919 soon after the Bolshevik Revolution occurred. This was prompted by a series of incidents that took place in the country during that time. One was the dockyard strike of 35,000 workers in the Seattle port in 1919. A nationwide strike of steelworkers also happened that year. Soon strikes were considered to be a crime against the people of the country. In the same year, the Boston Police Force also went on strike.
Several plots to bomb or kill places and persons were also uncovered. All these incidents were attributed to the work of communists and other socialistic forces. Hysteria gripped the country. “The Justice Department, under Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, started the General Intelligence (or antiradical) Division of Bureau of Investigation on August 1, 1919, with J. Edgar Hoover as its head.” (Burnett). Many innocent victims were considered to be communists and their careers were ruined.
McCarthyism
This happened much later (1940) on the initiative of Senator McCarthy (from Wisconsin) stated that he had a list of confirmed past and present communists. “While the House Un-American Activities Committee had been formed in 1938 as an anti-Communist organ, McCarthy’s accusations heightened the political tensions of the times.” (Joseph and Miller). Like the Red Scare period, many innocent victims were imprisoned and many lost their careers because of this.
Comparison
The reason for both the incidents was the paranoia that communism will take root in the United States and eventually take over the country. This was justified to a certain extent because of stories of injustice shown in the name of communism in communist countries like the USSR and China. Another similarity was that many innocent people were victimized by accusations of unpatriotic activities. They were labeled as communists or as sympathizers. Many civil rights violations happened during both incidents. (Jarmul). The victims included many prominent personalities (film and television, authors, artists) and also ordinary citizens.
But there are many differences as well. The Red Scare happened just two years after the Bolshevik Revolution when many parts of the world were unable to accept such a rule. The fear and shock were great at that time. McCarthyism happened during the 1940s. Red Scare panic only lasted for a little more than a year and had subsided by the late 1920s. McCarthyism and its effect lasted for nearly fourteen years till the year 1954. Red Scare came about because of certain incidents mentioned above. The two prominent government persons were Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer and Edgar Hoover, both in charge of The General Intelligence (or antiradical) Division of Bureau of Investigation. Both were only employees of the government.
In McCarthyism, the whole movement was started on the whims of a single person namely McCarthy (for whatever reason). He took advantage of the House of Un-American activities formed in 1938 to pursue his cause. Civil rights violations existed even during this time. McCarthy only made matters much worse. McCarthy was later criticized for his actions and removed from his post while such actions did not take place for Palmer and Hoover.
Whatever may be the similarities and differences both these instances are black periods of gross human rights violations in the history of the United States.
Works Cited
Burnett, Paul. The Red Scare: Red Scare Image Database. 2008. Web.
Joseph, McCarthy., and Miller, Arthur. McCarthyism. American Masters. 2008. Web.
Jarmul, David. America’s Fear of Communism in 1920 Becomes a Threat to Rights. VOA News. 2006. Web.