consensus amongst the American people was that there was a ‘major, organized conspiracy’, despite this not being the case. 42 This fear and mistrust culminated in the Palmer Raids which took place from late 1919 to early 1920. 43 By January 1920, over 4,000 suspected radicals had been rounded up for deportation in thirty- three major cities. 44 The Lutz’s express that in 1919 approximately 90 percent of the 60,000 members of the Communist Party within America were foreign, illustrating why there was a huge resentment towards immigrants as they reflected the period of hysteria the Red Scare generated. 45 Chris Finan notes that during the Palmer Raids, up to fifty percent of those picked up in a raid in Hartford, Connecticut were Russian immigrants, whose ‘only crime was that they could not speak English’ and many did not have access to lawyers or even knew what they being charged with. 46 Whilst over 4,000 were arrested, only 800 were successfully deported, however this meant the Palmer Raids had violated the First Amendment of the American Constitution, as they deported people due to their beliefs. 47 Robin Wood highlights that this period was when the Red Scare was at its ‘worst’, clearly illustrating how terrorism and fear over foreign influence escalated throughout this period. 48 America began the period of 1906 to 1920, not taking the issue of anarchism too seriously, yet as time progressed and radicalism grew in popularity, paranoia grew. Due to the national resentment towards Europe that was established during the war, it is unsurprising that the Red Scare caused America to react in flawed manner as it was not adequality prepared to deal with the threat that had been largely overlooked. The response of the United States towards the threat of radicals was incredibly flawed and is the most important reason as to why terrorism remained a prevalent force throughout the period of 1906 to 1920. America failed to deal with the threat of terrorism during this time due to its isolationism. Richard Jensen acknowledges that it was America’s isolationism and ‘abhorrence of European entanglement’ that kept them from tackling the anarchist issue. 49 Robert A. Pinkerton wrote in 1901, that the nations of Europe had combined forces to tackle the anarchist threat within the continent, however America had declined the invitation to do the same, instead offering anarchists asylum. 50 Pinkerton believes America was too concerned over free speech to supress the radical propaganda. 51 However, as Jensen notes, the United States had no central police organisation or 42 Lutz, p. 80. 43 Finan, p. 3. 44 Robin Wood, ‘A Radical in the United States’, The Powys Journal , 29 (2019), 99-121 (p. 108). 45 Lutz and Lutz, p. 82.
46 Finan, p. 2. 47 Finan, p. 3. 48 Wood, p. 108.
49 Jensen (2001), p. 15. 50 Pinkerton, p. 614-615. 51 Pinkerton, p. 614-615.
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