identification service which severely limited how America could respond to anarchist threats and that even if they wanted to cooperate with Europe over the international policing of anarchism, they would not have effectively been able to do so. 52 The Lutz’s note that the United States also had a weak government structure, which allowed deprivation to be a common issue throughout the nation, which encouraged the anarchist sympathy even further due to the resentment towards capitalism. 53 This illustrates that the United States government did not take the measures necessary in order to aid its own citizens, instead taking a very laissez faire approach. Despite the New York Times declaring on the 4 th of March 1908 that ‘the United States has declared open war on Anarchists’, this was not reflected by the actions of the government at the time. 54 Despite passing legislation which restricted immigrants with anarchist beliefs from entering America, anarchist leaders could still tour the nation and promote their propaganda. The Lutz’s also explain that many anarchists never faced consequences for their actions, showcasing that the New York Times statement is not an accurate representation of how America addressed the issue of terrorism. 55 Finan notes how the US attempted to continue wartime censorship in 1919 to manage the Red Scare but this was not popular amongst the American people. 56 It can also be viewed as an action that they should have adopted earlier during the anarchist resurgence in 1908. Pinkerton argued in 1901 that the US was carried away with the ‘fetish of free speech’ and this was limiting the American response to the terrorist threat. 57 Ultimately it was America’s failure to commit to dealing with the issue of terrorism until the very end of the period that meant terrorism remained a prevalent force. If they had responded sooner to the issues at hand and did not place such an emphasis on free-speech and take an insouciant approach towards the actual threat of the anarchists, they would not have violated the American Constitution out of fear. It was also America’s initial isolationism and lack of central police organisations that inhibited them from catching the majority of those who committed terrorist attacks, resulting in very few consequences which allowed terrorism to continue without much deterrent. In conclusion, terrorism was a prevalent force within America between 1906 and 1920 due to the effectiveness of the anarchist movement, the resentment that had built towards capitalism within the working class as well as issues surrounding immigration. However, the most important reason was due to the
52 Jensen (2001), p. 16-39. 53 Lutz and Lutz, p. 10-11. 54 Jensen (2001), p. 33. 55 Lutz and Lutz, p. 73. 56 Finan, p. 28. 57 Pinkerton, p. 615.
35
Made with FlippingBook HTML5