Great Red Scare, Surveillance State & Spanish Flu (1919-1920)

Post–WWI Longing for “Normalcy”

  • End of the “Great Crusade” (World War I) prompted a national rush to resume a pre-war life
    • Average American in 1919: wanted the familiar, but lacked agreement on what it looked like
    • Cartoon referenced: “Evolution of the American Dream” (frames labelled 1800, 1920, 1990) illustrates changing expectations
  • Nostalgia idealized pre-war America more than reality
  • Warren G. Harding’s 1920 campaign slogan “Return to Normalcy” captured this yearning
  • Underlying desire: life without political or social responsibility
  • Danger: abandoning core U.S. principles of freedom & liberty while ignoring international & domestic duties

First Red Scare (1919 – 1920)

  • Widespread fear of Bolshevism, anarchism, and radical labor agitation
    • Bolsheviks 1 Russian revolutionary faction ⇒ renamed “communists” under Lenin
  • Rooted in hyper-nationalism & WWI propaganda machinery
  • Would later be compared to the Second Red Scare of the 1950s (McCarthy era)

Government Propaganda ➔ Birth of the Surveillance State

  • Committee on Public Information (CPI) led by George Creel
    • Initially produced posters, films, speeches to sell the war
    • “Flip side”: surveillance & censorship of “un-American” people/ideas
  • WWI intensified pre-existing fears; repression escalated
  • Truth became casualty; criticism equated with treason

Wartime Anti-German Hysteria (Illustrative precursor)

  • Postal workers opened mail addressed to German-sounding names
  • German language banned in public schools; German authors removed from libraries
  • Performances of Beethoven/Wagner prohibited
  • Renaming spree:
    • “Sauerkraut” ⇒ “Liberty Cabbage”
    • Dogs no longer called “Dachshunds” or “German Shepherds”
    • Surnames: \text{Schmidt} \rightarrow \text{Smith},\ \text{Mueller} \rightarrow \text{Miller}
    • “German measles” ⇒ simply “measles”

Key Federal Repression Statutes

  • 1917 Espionage Act
    • Banned spying, draft interference, “false statements” hindering military success
  • 1918 Alien Act
    • Authorized Commissioner of Immigration to deport immigrants for hostile beliefs/actions
  • 1918 Sedition Act
    • Criminalized spoken/printed statements casting contempt on U.S. government or hindering war effort
  • Collectively granted president broad power to suppress dissent

Landmark Case – Schenck v. United States (1919)

  • Charles T. Schenck (Socialist Party secretary) distributed \approx15{,}000 anti-draft leaflets
    • Claimed draft = “involuntary servitude” (invoked 13^{th} Amendment)
  • Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes’ analogy: “shouting fire in a crowded theater”
  • Supreme Court: upheld conviction under Espionage Act; birthed “clear and present danger” doctrine
    • Guided free-speech limits for ~50 years
  • Eventually overturned 1969 (Brandenburg v. Ohio) ⇒ new “imminent lawless action” doctrine (speech protected unless likely to provoke immediate violence)

Vigilantism & Justice Department Actions

  • Justice Dept. issued “10-star” badges to civilian groups (e.g., American Protective League)
    • Spied on neighbors; thousands arrested/jailed
  • Interpretation of free speech heavily restricted until 1969 reversal

Birth of the ACLU

  • Roger Baldwin (progressive, conscientious objector) formed emergency legal committee ⇒ evolved into American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)
    • Mission: defend free-speech rights of all Americans

Nationwide Labor Unrest (1919)

  • \approx4{,}000,000 workers struck (steel, coal, Boston police, etc.)
    • Boston Police: 19 ringleaders suspended ⇒ police strike ⇒ chaos ⇒ Gov. Calvin Coolidge deployed militia; this fame propelled him toward the presidency

Big Business & Media Hysteria

  • Figures like Rockefeller & J.P. Morgan branded organized labor “communistic”
    • Strategy: label reforms as radical to stifle liberalism ⇒ pattern repeated throughout U.S. history (developer links to 2020 election rhetoric)

Notable Trials & Individuals

  • Charlotte Whitney (California Communist Party leader)
    • Prosecuted under state “criminal syndicalism” laws: mere membership in group advocating violent overthrow deemed criminal
  • Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
    • Received mail-bomb; launched nationwide Palmer Raids
    • Nicknames: “Fighting Quaker” ⇒ “Quaking Fighter” (after bomb)
    • Aspired to 1920 Democratic nomination; turned demagogue (played on public fears)
  • Young bureaucrat J. Edgar Hoover led Radical Division of Bureau of Investigation (future FBI) ⇒ decades-long surveillance legacy

Palmer Raids & Deportations

  • “Red Ark” (USAT Buford): \gt250 Russians deported 1919
  • Jan 1920 raids: \gt6{,}000 arrests w/o warrants; many denied bond, counsel; Sedition Act basis
  • Due process largely ignored; foreshadowed Japanese-American internment 1942

Xenophobia & Immigration Restriction

  • Anti-foreign sentiment interwoven with Red Scare; will fuel restrictive quotas in 1920s

Gender Backlash after 19^{th} Amendment

  • Women gained vote 1920 ⇒ conservative push to return women to “proper sphere” (home & children)
    • Debate echoed in 2020 campaign references to “housewives”
  • Pattern repeated: WWII brings women to workforce ⇒ post-war “return to normalcy” again glorifies domesticity

Collapse of Progressive Movement

  • Post-war recession 1920 plus conservative/business attacks silenced reformers
  • Election of Harding (promising “normalcy”) marked definitive halt, though ideas resurrect in 1930s New Deal

Spanish Flu Pandemic (1918 – 1921)

  • Estimated deaths: 40–50 million worldwide (some scholars: 70–100 million)
    • U.S. fatalities ≈ 650{,}000
  • Disease course:
    • First wave peak 1918
    • Second wave 1919 (deadlier)
    • Third, milder wave 1920–1921
  • Etiology debates:
    • Trench conditions WWI; possible China 1917 outbreak; Camp Funston (KS) deaths 48 in Mar 1918 announce U.S. presence
  • Named “Spanish” only because neutral Spain’s press reported it openly
  • Public-health measures known: masks, avoiding gatherings (poster: “Wear a mask and save your life”)
    • San Francisco compliance prevented severe 1918 impacts; incident: police officer shot man refusing mask
  • Connection to COVID-19 (coronavirus, not H1N1) resurrects discussion of mitigation & naming controversies

Ethical, Philosophical & Practical Implications

  • Tension between national security & civil liberties
    • Clear-and-present-danger vs. imminent-lawless-action tests
  • Role of propaganda in manufacturing consent & suppressing dissent
  • Recurring pattern: crises exploited to marginalize minorities/immigrants & stifle reform (Red Scares, internment, modern politics)
  • Demagoguery as “disease of democracy”: leaders manipulate fear for power

Key Terms & Definitions

  • Bolshevism/Communism: revolutionary ideology seeking proletarian control
  • Anarchism: abolition of government hierarchy
  • Clear and Present Danger Doctrine: speech can be limited when poses immediate threat (Schenck)
  • Imminent Lawless Action Doctrine: speech protected unless likely to provoke immediate unlawful acts (Brandenburg)
  • Demagogue: one who gains power by appealing to emotions/prejudices
  • Criminal Syndicalism: laws punishing advocacy of violent governmental overthrow
  • Xenophobia: intense fear/hatred of foreigners

Timeline Snapshot

  • 1917: Espionage Act
  • 1918: Alien & Sedition Acts; Spanish Flu begins
  • 1919: Schenck decision; peak labor strikes; first Red Scare heats up
  • Jan\ 1920: Massive Palmer Raids
  • 1920: 19^{th} Amendment; Harding elected; Flu third wave
  • 1969: Brandenburg overturns Schenck doctrine

Numerical & Statistical References

  • 15{,}000 anti-draft leaflets (Schenck)
  • 4{,}000,000 workers on strike 1919
  • 19 Boston policemen suspended
  • 250+ Russians deported on “Red Ark”
  • 6{,}000+ arrested in Palmer Raids
  • Global flu deaths \ge 30 million; U.S. deaths 650,000

Connections to Previous & Future Lectures

  • Builds on earlier CPI/propaganda discussion
  • Sets stage for Second Red Scare (McCarthyism) & WWII Japanese-American internment
  • Will link to later lecture on Brandenburg v. Ohio and on distinctions among communism, socialism, capitalism

Study Tips

  • Compare civil-liberty restrictions in WWI vs. WWII vs. Cold War
  • Memorize key acts (Espionage, Alien, Sedition) & court cases (Schenck, Brandenburg)
  • Note recurring pattern: crises ⇒ fear ⇒ curtailed rights ⇒ later legal correction
  • Trace role of media/business in shaping public opinion across eras