Red Scare

A Red Scare is a form of right-wing propaganda in which there is a widespread promotion of fear and panic towards the potential rise of communism, anarchism or other leftist ideologies within a society or state. Historically, "red scares" have led to mass political persecution, scapegoating, and the ousting of those in government positions who have had connections with left-wing to far-left ideology. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States which are referred to by this name. The First Red Scare, which occurred immediately after World War I, revolved around a perceived threat from the American labor movement, anarchist revolution, and political radicalism that followed revolutionary socialist movements in Germany and Russia during the 19th–early 20th century. The Second Red Scare, which occurred immediately after World War II, was preoccupied with the perception that national or foreign communists were infiltrating or subverting American society and the federal government. Following the end of the Cold War, unearthed documents revealed substantial Soviet spy activity in the United States. The name refers to the red flag as a common symbol of communism. First Red Scare The first Red Scare in the United States accompanied the Russian Revolution of 1917 (specifically, the October Revolution) and subsequent communist revolutions in Europe and beyond. Citizens of the United States in the years of World War I (1914–1918) were intensely patriotic; anarchist and left-wing social agitation aggravated national, social, and political tensions. Political scientist and former member of the Communist Party USA Murray B. Levin wrote that the Red Scare was "a nationwide anti-radical hysteria provoked by a mounting fear and anxiety that a Bolshevik revolution in America was imminent—a revolution that would change Church, home, marriage, civility, and the American way of Life".