Describe the Red scare that occurred in the United States shortly after the end of World War I

The term Red Scare has been used to refer to the historical periods of strong anti-communist movements in the United States . This covers the first red scare which occurred from 1917 to 1920 and the second red scare which occurred from the late 1940s well into the late 1950s (Klehr 2000 . The main characteristic of these periods was the widespread fear and suspicion of many Americans on the infiltration of Communists within the United States Government

The first red scare began during World War I . This was brought about by the violent

campaign of the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia as well as the Russian Civil War which followed . The impact in the United States was the growing paranoia that the same could happen and would forever change the American way of life (Brinkley 2002 . This was magnified by the fact that several plots to destabilize the American government were discovered such as the plan to mail thirty-six bombs and the actual attacks on June 2 , 1919 (Brinkley 2002 . This led to heightened xenophobia and also hundreds of strikes by several working class and also raids that were received with mix feelings by members of the press and American Society

The second red scare , on the other hand , took place immediately after the Second World War and coincided with the fear of Communist espionage and tension from Soviet acts in Eastern Europe (Haynes 2000 . The HUAC activities as well as the attacks on the CPUSA were some of the main events...