Triggered by the rise in immigration and labor strikes at the turn of the century, along with the Bolshevik Revolution, the Red Scare occurred from 1919 to 1921. On June 2, 1919, the United States Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer, along with several other high ranking government officials were targeted by a terrorist organization. Bombs exploded upon the doorsteps of these civil servants in more than eight cities during the night. Moreover the New York Times reported the next day that the attack was Communist or of World War I in origin. Having discovered socialist pamphlets upon the sacrificed terrorist, Palmer initiated the backlash against radicals. After asking for additional funds for the Department of Justice from Congress and having been refused, Palmer addressed the Senate. Convincing the Senate that the bombings were a part of a massive Communist conspiracy to overthrow the government, Palmer received half million dollars for his new Anti-Radical Division. Led by John Edgar Hoover, the special task force had over 150,000 names upon the list with about 30,000 names from the various communist parties. Striking without warning or warrants, the division destroyed union offices and Communist and Socialist headquarters. One of the famous raids was in December 1919 with 249 aliens, among them, Emma Goldman, seized to be deported to the Soviet Union. Furthermore, on January 2, 1920 more than 10,000 people were arrested throughout the country. These illegal arrests aroused the suspicions of lawmakers and Palmer was forced to explain his actions to the House Rules Committee, although no more action against Palmer was taken. Eventually in 1921, Palmer was called before the Senate Judiciary Committee and was compelled to stop the raids of the Anti-Radical Division.
-Chris Chan
Copyright 1999 by Chris Chan, Greg Ryslik, and Haig Altunian
