Beginning Of The FBI’s Trampling Civil Liberties: The First Red Scare 1918-1921
The 20th century came in with promise. In 1900 the Eastman Kodak company introduced the “Brownie” camera – it sold for $1, film cost 15 cents and for 40 cents and a dime per print (including postage) you could have the film developed.1
1903 saw the first world series (Boston Americans v. Pittsburg Pirates), the silent film “The Great Train Robbery,” and the Wright Brothers did their thing at Kitty Hawk and flew a heavier than air machine.2
In 1906 Kellogg’s Corn Flakes hit the market, the Ford Model-T in 1908, and Oreo cookies in 1912. Alas, things would start going south in 1914 with the start of WW I in Europe, a war the U.S. would join in 1917.
The end of WW I brought a mix of fortune. America was at peace again but entered a period of significant civil unrest marked by race riots, crippling and often violent labor strikes, protests, bombings, and not one, but two communist parties that the enlightened elite of the time estimated had a total membership of 100,000 to 600,000. As it turned out, even the lowest estimate was a tad high, well a tad over 80,000 high.3
There were of course, justifiable concerns about violence, especially the bombings.4 However, instead of treating the violence for what it was – a law enforcement problem, the powers-that-were fanned the fear of a “Red Menace.” The media along with federal, state, and local officials continuously shouted about the dangers posed by communists and other radicals.5 Even volunteer groups, such as the National Security League with over 250,000 members warned that unions, leading universities, some churches, and even the League of Women Voters were under communist control, or were communist sympathizers.6 As a result, by the summer of 1919 Americans were convinced there was indeed a “Red Menace” posed to take over the country.
In order to combat the greatly exaggerated, many would say non-existent, “Red Menace,” Attorney General Palmer created the “Radicals Division” within the Bureau of Investigation (BOI).7 And who better to lead this division with the sole task of rounding up communists, anarchists, socialists, and other radicals? Why young J. Edgar Hoover of course.
Hoover and his new division, with the tacit approval of the media, immediately disregarded peoples’ civil liberties and began spying on Americans deemed to be radicals…and anyone else Hoover decided needed watching. They infiltrated both communist parties, the socialist party, International Worldwide Workers Union, and the Union of Russian Workers.8
Alas, being the overachiever he was, Hoover wasn’t content to spy only on these “radical” organizations and extended his intelligence operation to spy on, and develop dossiers on, any American he deemed a threat to the country or himself. By 1921 Hoover had dossiers on 450,000 people, many, if not most of whom were citizens and almost none of whom were suspected of engaging in any illegal or subversive activities, let alone committing a crime.9
A few of the ‘radicals’ Hoover kept dossiers on:
- Supreme Court Justice Brandeis;
- Felix Frankfurter, a Harvard professor, and future Supreme Court Justice.
- Isaac Schorr, a lawyer with the National Civil Liberties Bureau (NCLB).
- Maclay Hoyne, Cook County, Illinois State Attorney.
- Louis Post, Assistant Secretary of Labor under President Wilson (D, 1913-21).10
By early fall 1919, Hoover and his boss, AG Palmer, decided to start rounding up radicals. However, they had no evidence of people committing a criminal offense, so they turned to the Immigration Act of 1918.11 This wasn’t a criminal act, and no one could be sent to jail, but it allowed for deportation of non-citizens who were members of organizations that advocated for the violent overthrow of the U.S. government. Armed with this statute, Hoover designed, ordered and supervised what would become known as the “Palmer Raids.”
On November 7, 1919, Hoover ordered the first of the Palmer raids. Armed with 200 deportation warrants and supported by local club wielding police, BOI agents and local police conducted violent raids in 15 cities across the U.S.12 The purported reason was to arrest non-U.S. citizens who were members of “radical organizations” who Palmer and Hoover believed were hell-bent on the violent destruction of the U.S. At the end of this operation over 1,200 people were arrested. A rousing success, yes? Nope.
Wondering how Hoover and company could legally arrest 1,200 people with only 200 warrants? Well, they couldn’t, but what’s a little illegality and wholesale violation of civil rights when combating a “Red Menace?” Besides, much of their problem was solved when they had to release about 900 of the people they arrested because they were Americans not subject to the Immigration Act, or immigrants that were not members of any organization advocating for the overthrow of the government. Ooops. After releasing those, they were only holding a mere 100 people illegally. That problem was solved when Hoover had an additional 100 back-dated warrants issued. Well maybe not solved, but at least covered-up. Of course, it didn’t solve the problem of violating an impressive list of constitutional rights, including the 1st Am. (free speech and association), 4th Am. (unreasonable search and seizure), 5th Am. (unlawful arrest), and 8th Am. (cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail), but no one seemed worried about it, hell their were communists and radicals to roundup, so onward and upward.13
After the mass arrest of 1,200 people – 1,000 unlawfully, brutality, and violation of civil liberties, the government charged two people for actual crimes and deported 249 others.14
As bad as the first “Palmer Raid” was, the second dwarfed it in both size and brutality. Not only was there police brutality during the raids, but also credible allegations of torture of those arrested.15
On January 20, 1920, Palmer and Hoover ordered raids in 33 cities across the country. Though there are no reliable figures, it’s estimated that by January 22 the BOI, again backed up by local police, arrested between 2,500 and 5,000 people under the Immigration Act.16 Of these, all but 1,600 again had to be released because they were either American citizens not subject to the Immigration Act, or non-citizens who were not members of a “radical” party – meaning somewhere between 900 and 3,400 people were unlawfully arrested in violation of the 5th Amendment. Additionally, the Labor Department found about 70%, or 1,120 of the deportation warrants to be invalid. In short of the 2,500 to 5,000 arrests, only about 480 people were lawfully detained.
In addition to the unlawful arrests, Hoover and the BOI engaged in wholesale constitutional violations, including; denying people the right to free speech and association (1st Am); denying people legal representation (6th Am); imposing excessive bail (8th Am); coerced confessions (5th Am); beating, and in many cases allegedly torturing those they detained (8th Am.); and unlawful search and seizure (4th Am.). Quite a list of achievements for such a young organization, well for any organization.
The Feds were not the only ones rounding up those deemed to be communists and trampling on constitutional rights as a matter of course. Using state laws, New York’s Lusk Committee conducted extensive raids arresting people and shutting down publications they deemed “radical” for the non-existent offense of engaging in free speech. Chicago, Seattle, and other cities used their state laws to jump on that wagon.17
As 1920 progressed, the brutality of the Palmer Raids began to be leaked and public sentiment turned against the state and federal governments’ actions. As a result, the Federal and state governments were happy to stop their crusade against the ‘radicals’ and let history bury their actions.
Before the Palmer Raids, Hoover had identified six radical organizations that purportedly wanted to overthrow the government with a total membership of 354,037 “radicals.” These raids resulted in less than 1,000 “radicals” being deported, which highlights the non-existent nature of the “Red Menace.” According to Hoover’s own numbers, after the Palmer Raids there were still over 353,000 radicals in the U.S., yet the government was not overthrown, nor even challenged.18 To the contrary, it seems the only threat to our freedoms was from the BOI and other governmental institutions that were created to protect our freedoms. Ironic, yes?
Almost as disturbing as the violations of civil liberties was the failure to hold anyone accountable for this wholesale trampling of our freedoms. Not a single government official, or anyone for that matter, was held accountable. Palmer served out his term as Attorney General and then retired and faded into obscurity. As for young J. Edger Hoover, well he buried his involvement in the Palmer Raids deep enough that he got appointed to the Director of the Bureau of Investigation in 1924. Finally, the media went on their merry way honing their “journalistic skills.”
Don’t get us wrong, Toad and I are about the staunchest anti-communist and anti-Marxist you’ll find. We believe they are destructive ideologies that for those foolish enough to embrace them, have without exception lead to totalitarian governments of the worst kind. However, I believe Abraham Lincoln was absolutely correct when he wrote “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves, and, under a just God, cannot long retain it.”19 Therefore, as long as people engage in speech and not violent acts, then the response should be speech in opposition, not denial of their freedoms. To do otherwise makes us no different than the pigs in George Orwell’s Animal Farm.
Footnotes:
2 News@Northeastern, ThoughtCo, and National Park Service.
3 James Gregory, Civil Rights and Labor History Consortium, University of Washington, Communist Party Membership by Districts 1922-1950 : Communist party membership was below 20,000 people until 1933 and peaked at 67,000 to 85,000 in the mid-1940s.
4 Discovering 1919, Anarchist Bombings. The first bombings occurred in April and consisted of thirty-six mail bombs. Luckily only one detonated injuring a maid. The second wave consisted of ten bombs detonated in eight cities killing a security guard and one of the bombers. Though it was never determined which organization carried out these bombings, it’s believed it was an anarchist group lead by Luigi Galleani.
5 Ackerman, Kenneth D., YOUNG J. EDGAR: Hoover and the Red Scare, 1919-1920 (p. 32 – 34). Viral History Press LLC. Kindle Edition, p. 97-8. Also see: American Heritage, The Great Red Scare, p.3.
6 National Security League (NLS) was formed in December 1914 to emphasize the need for American “preparedness” in the face of challenges around the world. One of the threats it saw was primarily communists and anarchists. To combat this threat the NSL advocated restrictions on free speech and supported both the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918. See: American Philosophical Society, National Security League and Teaching History.
7 The Federal Bureau of Investigation is considered to have been established on July 26, 1908 when Attorney General Bonaparte created the Bureau of Investigation. In 1935 the Bureau of Investigation’s name was changed to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
8 Ackerman, Kenneth D., YOUNG J. EDGAR: Hoover and the Red Scare, 1919-1920 (pp. 32 – 34, 81-82, 100, 175-76).
9 Id., (pp. 32 – 34, 400).
10 Id, (p. 260).
11 Id., (p.34)
12 Id., (pp. 112 -119)
13 Cornell Law School, Legal Information Institute.
14 YOUNG J. EDGAR: Hoover and the Red Scare, 1919-1920, (pp. 150-151).
15 Britannica, The Palmer Raids.
16 There are no reliable numbers as to the total arrested in the Palmer Raids. Estimates range from 3,000 to 10,000. YOUNG J. EDGAR: Hoover and the Red Scare, 1919-1920, (pp. 174-175)
17 Id., (pp. 32-33, 55-57, 114-117).
18 Hoover identified 354,037 “radicals” in the U.S., a maximum of 1,000 were deported as a result of the Palmer Raids, leaving at least 353,037 still in the U.S.
19 From Abraham Lincoln’s letter to H.L. Pierce, April 6, 1859
I am going to work on seeing if I can work up a percentage of times government overreach has been held accountable. Including murder of citizens.