World wars' after-effects and social paranoia in usa: fear of communism or japanese invasion

Red Scare and Japanese Internment

Throughout history, traditional American rights associated with American democracy have been suspended. The anxiety of the idea of communism control during the Red Scare, and the dread of invasion during the period of Japanese Internment are prime examples of the mistrust and paranoia in which American citizens felt emotionally. Although they were angled towards different ethnic groups, both situations occurred because of an issue that still is presented today- fear.

After World War I, countless citizens of the United States were faced with severe paranoia. They were concerned that the communist party in Russia, the Bolsheviks, would attempt to influence the U. S., as they did in Russia. This influence caused an overthrow of the government within Russia, better known as the Bolshevik Revolution, and the end of the reign of Czar Nicholas. As WWI ended, labor prices fell and labor strikes arose once again in the United States. Many Americans feared this was Bolshevik influence, and that the communists would strive to alter what the American people saw as just: democracy. As the citizens became more paranoid, they began infringe on others’ personal freedoms. First, the IWW, or Industrial Workers of the World, were attacked in a political sense, and destroyed for their unacceptable socialist ideals. People actually began to believe that communists were hiding in America, awaiting their chance to attack. Next, people went to an unimaginable extent. They began spying on neighbors, friends, and even family. As a result, 6, 000 American citizens were forced to leave the United States, in accordance with the Alien Act, which enabled the government to deport any immigrant found to be a member of a revolutionary organization. There are even accounts of people explaining how worthless the citizens “ betraying” their country were. What people did not realize, however, was that at its peak there were only about 100, 000 communist followers within the United States.

Japanese internment was another situation in which citizen’s rights as Americans were disregarded. The United States government began the relocation of the Japanese people by moving them inland, especially from the West Coast. Like the Red Scare, numerous American citizens feared that the Japanese, whether native born or not, were planning an invasion, and that here were spies watching the American people. In one situation, the Attorney General of California testified in court for the internment of Japanese people, because of suspected loyalty to the enemy government. There were Japanese that opposed this strongly and even testified against it in a court of law, but nevertheless, the Japanese American citizens knew they had no choice but to be interned, or they would be deported and sent to Japan. Most of the Japanese lost nearly all of their possessions, including homes and businesses. In this way, the United States was taking away their property and freedom- an infringement on their basic rights, as guaranteed in the Constitution. For example, one family, the Mochida’s were forced to give up the 5 acres of land, and their family nursery. The radicals that spoke up for these poor people were either deported themselves, or on trial and thrown into jail. However many people fought to make internment illegal, in the case between Korematsu and the United States, the outcome was inevitable- internment was legal and no Japanese could be trusted. On the grounds of national security, relocation was constitutional.

The Red Scare and the internment of the Japanese exhibited the utter terror Americans embraced when each situation occurred. As people became desperate, they needed someone to blame, and whether it was the Bolsheviks of Russia or the Japanese during WWI, their target for blame of fault was the supposed enemy. The drive the American population had to rid their country of the bad was a huge movement in both situations, as well as the lack of basic rights to citizens of America. Fear caused the United States to make unexpected decisions within their democracy, and it affected the lives of radicals, Japanese, or anyone who was considered unique