Communism

The Red Scares of the 1920s and the 1950s were, in fact, two points on the continuum of anti-radical activity in the United States. From 1917-1920 there was raised suspicion of Communists and other radicals, and the fear of widespread penetration of Communists in U.S. government. Worried by the revolution that had taken place in Russia, Mitchell Palmer, attorney general during Wilson's presidency, became convinced that Communist agents were planning to overthrow the American government. Palmer recruited John Edgar Hoover as his special assistant and together they used the Espionage Act (1917) and the Sedition Act (1918) to launch a campaign against radicals and left-wing organizations. At the end of World War I and the start of the Great Depression many Americans looked communism as a possible answer to the troubles plaguing the country. However this far into the Red Scare Americans could not distinguish one of his enemies from the other, a flaw that allowed the Red Scare to reappear in the 1950s and Cold War known as McCarthyism.

Communism, by definition, is the total control of major resources and the production by government. In theory, under this system everything would be equal and everyone would share in both work, according to their ability, and profit, according to need. According to Karl Marx, author of The Communist Manifesto, the working class, would revolt against the wealthy, because of the contrast between the rich and poor. The new economy, run by the government, for the people, would produce not for profit, but for the needs of the people. Communism basically started in 1847, with the formation of the London Communist League. This was an international association of worker, whose sole purpose was to write a "theoretical and practical program which would serve as the basis for uniting the working classes of Europe" (marxists). The London Communist League asked Marx for help in drafting