Communism, like it's right-wing counterpart fascism, is not just a force of political turmoil. It's a force of nature, rooted in the flaws of humanity. A movement built on the ideas of only two men, but passionate enough in it's message that it spread from two to millions. Whether those two men, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, were smart is entirely subjective. Like any cult of personality, they're intellegent in their own right. They've convinced nations to succumb to their philosophies. The most influencial, revered politicians like Abraham Lincoln or Teddy Roosevelt, despite their power, never truly went outside the boundaries of their country. Right now, in every country, state, and continent on Earth, someone's reading The Communist Manifesto …show more content…
Riots and strikes spread across America, starting with the Seattle General Strike of January 1919. 35,000 shipyard workers, in the midst of America's economic nightmare, wanted higher wages. They appealed to the Seattle Central Labor Council and found encouragement from other unions. In 2 weeks, they recruited around 100 unions to start striking on February 6th. Despite the press pleading them not to do this, they beat the odds and did it. Seattle Mayor Ole Hanson saw this and didn't like it, so he made 1,500 policemen and 1,500 federal troops watch them and prevent any distrubances from happening. He also threatened to replace striking workers, but never did that. Eventually, the strike collapsed because the leadership all agreed that it wasn't an effective tactic. Ole Hanson took credit for the strike's end, gaining love and appreciation by raving press. Although this strike ended semi-calmly, things wouldn't be calm for …show more content…
Truman wrote up Executive Order 9835. This order made it so all federal civil service employees were forced to be screened for political loyalty. If they were "totalitarian, fascists, communists, or subversive", they'd be kicked out and shamed by the American government. This would play an important part in an event that'd happen later, an event that'd change how the general public views and criticizes American politics forever: McCarthyism and the Red Scare of 1947-1957.
This 2nd Red Scare started because of one man: U.S. Senator Joseph R. McCarthy. The recent election was sweeped by the Republican party. They had control over both houses of Congress. They haven't had that since 1928, over 15 years ago. So, potential leftists were left with no power, the rightists had all the power they could want and more. The Soviet Union was growing in power, a nuclear holocaust was on everyone's minds, and China was turned into a communist nation. It was the best time to bust communists out of nothing but fear and get away with it. And that's what