Immigration and the Red Scare in early 20th Century America

Melting Pot: A concept describing a society where people from many different countries "blend" together into a single national identity.
Open Door Policy: A government policy aimed at making immigration as easy as possible and accepting immigrants from various countries to grow the economy.
Push Factors: Specific reasons that compel people to leave their own countries (e.g., poverty, persecution).
Pull Factors: Specific factors that attract people to the USA (e.g., land, opportunity, freedom).
Ellis Island: The primary immigration station near New York where approximately $70\%$ of immigrants arrived.
WASP: An acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, the demographic that made up the majority of earlier immigrant waves and held most social power.
Red Scare: A period of intense concern and fear regarding the potential spread of communist and socialist ideas within the United States.
Xenophobia: A dislike of, or prejudice against, people from other countries.
Communism: A social and economic system where property is owned by the community rather than individuals.
Palmer Raids: A series of arrests involving thousands of suspected communists, organized as a response to perceived radical threats.

$1900$ – $1914$ : Approximately $13 \text{ million}$ people arrived in the United States, mainly originating from Southern and Eastern Europe.
$1917$ : Implementation of the Literacy Test for immigrants.
October $1917$ : The Bolshevik Revolution occurs in Russia, triggering global fears of communism.
June $1919$ : A bomb explodes outside the house of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, significantly fueling the Red Scare.
May $1920$ : The arrest of Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti.
September $1920$ : A bomb on Wall Street kills $38$ people, further heightening fears of radicalism.
May $1921$ : The Emergency Quota Act is passed; Sacco and Vanzetti trial takes place.
$1924$ : The National Origins Act is passed to further restrict immigration.
August $1927$ : Sacco and Vanzetti are executed after losing their legal appeals.
$1929$ : The Immigration Act makes restrictive quotas permanent.

Origins of Fear: Many Americans were frightened by the Russian Revolution of October $1917$ . There was a pervasive fear that communist and anarchist ideologies would spread to the US, leading to increased suspicion of immigrants and heightened xenophobia.
Industrial Unrest: In $1919$ , there were over $3,000$ cases of industrial strikes, including a strike by the Boston Police force. Many Americans believed these events were linked to communist agitation.
Violent Catalysts: In September $1920$ , a bomb explosion on Wall Street killed $38$ people. This followed an earlier bombing in June $1919$ that destroyed the front of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer’s house. These events convinced many that communism threatened the American way of life.
The Palmer Raids: Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer organized attacks against left-wing organizations. He spread rumors that there were approximately $150,000$ communists living in the country (which actually represented only $0.1\%$ of the population).
Consequences of Raids: As many as $6,000$ individuals were arrested and held in prison without a hearing; hundreds were eventually deported. The raids were largely a response to imaginary threats, and the Red Scare eventually receded once the prisoners were released.

Shift in Demographics: Earlier immigrants were typically WASPs from Northern and Western Europe. However, between $1900$ and $1914$ , $13 \text{ million}$ newcomers arrived mostly from Southern and Eastern Europe (Italy, Austria-Hungary, Russia, Western Poland, and Greece). These "new" immigrants were often poor, illiterate, and Roman Catholic or Jewish, leading to cultural and religious friction.
Literacy Test ( $1917$ ): This law required a series of reading and writing tests. Because many poor immigrants had received no formal education, they failed these tests and were refused entry.
Emergency Quota Act ( $1921$ ): This legislation restricted the total number of immigrants to $357,000$ per year. It established a quota where only $3\%$ of the total population of any overseas group already in the USA as of the $1910$ census could enter annually.
National Origins Act ( $1924$ ): This law further reduced the quota to $2\%$ of the population of an immigrant group present in the USA in $1890$ . By using the $1890$ census, the law specifically targeted and limited Southern and Eastern Europeans.
Immigration Act ( $1929$ ): This act made the restrictive quotas of the $1924$ law permanent and lowered the total number of immigrants allowed into the country to $150,000$ per year.

The Crime: In May $1920$ , Italian immigrants Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti were arrested for the armed robbery of a shoe factory, an incident in which two people were killed.
Evidence and Arrest: When arrested, the men had radical anti-government pamphlets in their car and both owned firearms. They were unable to provide an indisputable alibi for the day of the murders.
Public and Judicial Prejudice: Public opinion was biased against them from the start due to their status as immigrants and their radical political beliefs. During the May $1921$ court case, Judge Webster Thayer demonstrated open prejudice against the defendants.
Conflicting Testimonies: The prosecution presented $61$ witnesses who claimed to have seen the men, but the defense provided $107$ witnesses who alleged they had seen Sacco and Vanzetti elsewhere at the time of the crime.
Outcome: Despite a later admission by a man named Celestino Madeiros that he had committed the crime, Sacco and Vanzetti lost their appeal and were found guilty. They were executed by electrocution in Charlestown prison in August $1927$ . The case serves as a primary example of the intense discrimination and anti-immigrant sentiment of the era.

Economic Context: The notions of the "melting pot" and the "open door" were useful while the American economy was growing into the strongest in the world. Once this was achieved, the combination of the Red Scare and the influx of poorer immigrants led to the "closing" of the door.
Push and Pull Dynamics: * Push Factors: Escaping poverty, political persecution, and economic hardship in their home countries. * Pull Factors: The promise of religious tolerance, the ability to practice faith safely, a plentiful supply of land, the hope of property ownership, a spirit of adventure, and the pursuit of equal opportunity.
The Experience at Ellis Island: More than $70\%$ of all immigrants arrived at Ellis Island. During peak periods, up to $5,000$ people arrived per day. The immigrant population was generally young; in $1900$ , the average age was $24$ . The Statue of Liberty was the symbolic first site these immigrants saw upon arrival.