Causes Of The Red Scare

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1. The Red Scare, the fear of the spread of communism and possible communist control of the U.S. government, had lasting effects on immigration views and foreign policy at the time. It’s presence became prominent in 1917 during World War I and lasted for several decades. This fear of communism resulted in more negative opinions concerning immigration, and nativists of the time stated several causes as their justifications. Some arguments stated that immigrants lowered minimum wage due to the excess of foreign workers seeking jobs, and even that “America 's racial stock was being overrun by undesirable ethnicities” (“Intolerance”). Several changes were made to slow down immigration due to this fear of communism spreading inside America. These included literacy tests and a maximum cap on the number of people allowed to enter the country. However, even these changes were seen to be insufficient. The National Origins Act of 1924 was passed, in which the nationalities of immigrants largely determined their likelihood of entering. Western Europeans were shown a greater preference than their counterpart Easterners because of the presence of communism in the east. Immigrants already in the country experienced segregation as well. In the west and southwest, Asian and Mexican schoolchildren were taught and felt that their ethnicity was inferior to the Americans. An overthrowing of the government was also a legitimate concern in the eyes of these citizens. To further combat communism,

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