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Red Scare and Labor Strikes OUT IN March 1917 – Czar Nicholas II forced to step down • Lost popularity with a series of poor decisions, including entering WWI • War brought devastating casualties & severe food shortages • Riots in streets, army too weak to protect him Vladimir I. Lenin saw opportunity to gain power • “End the war!” “All land to the peasants!” November 1917 – Lenin & followers, the Bolsheviks, took power • Put all privately owned farms, industries, land, & transportation under government ownership Early 1918 – civil war breaks out between the “reds” & “whites” • “reds” = Lenin’s forces • “whites” = mostly former landowners, government officials, & army leaders France, Britain, Japan, & USA backed the “whites” After 2 years, millions of deaths, “reds” win Known as the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) or Soviet Union Communism was the official ideology of the USSR 1. The government owned all land and property 2. A single political party controlled the government 3. Individuals had no rights that the government was bound to respect 4. Government vowed to stir up revolutions in other countries and spread communism throughout the world The communist system was openly hostile to American beliefs & values: • Capitalism, private property, private business, First Amendment freedoms Red Scare – intense fear of communism & other extreme ideas Schenck vs USA (1919) • Charles Schenck mailed letters to men who were drafted urging them not to report for duty • Convicted of the Espionage Act, he appealed, goes to Supreme Court • Government was justified in silencing free speech when there is a “clear and present danger” to the nation • Compared to yelling “fire” in a crowded theater, which would cause a dangerous panic Sacco & Vanzetti • April 15, 1920 – gunmen rob & kill guard & paymaster of a shoe factory • Few weeks later police arrest Sacco & Vanzetti, Italian immigrants • Both had guns; Sacco’s model matched the murder weapon • Case drew international attention & controversy • 1927 – both were electrocuted 1919 – Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer set up special force to conduct raids & arrest suspected communists, socialists, anarchists 1,000’s jailed; most born overseas Many were innocent, over 500 were deported, although convicted of no crime Strong support at first Wave of labor unrest was a cause of the red scare Convinced that communists were behind the strikes Boston Police Strike • No pay increase since pre-war • 19 fired for union activity whole force voted for strike • With no police riots break out; governor called in state guard Governor was Calvin Coolidge, later be president • This gave him national attention Steel Strikes, 1919 • Strikes in Gary, IN & over cities believed to be the work of communists • Corporation's private police force killed 18 strikers & beat hundreds United Mine Workers of America (UMW) strike in 1919 • Agreed not to strike during war • But now… strike for better pay, shorter week • Attorney General Palmer got court order for workers to go back to work • They do, but get pay raise Strikes & union membership will drop in 1920s because of economy boomed & wages rose