In 1917. the Bolsheviks seized power from the Tsar of Russia. In 1919, in the United States, citizens and newspapers were blaming radicals from the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) for labor strikes and bombings. Ole Hanson, Mayor of Seattle, believed that a massive general strike in Seattle was planned by the IWW and was a conspiracy to start a revolution in America. While Hanson later resigned as mayor and hit the lecture circuit speaking on Bolshevisim versus Americanism, he had received national acclaim and was seen as courageous for standing up to the strikers. Bombs sent to the homes of leading politicians and industrialists convinced the public that the radicals were stirring up a revolution. As public fear of radicalism grew, there were several politicians who sought to boost their political prospects by becoming heroes of the Great Red Scare of 1919.

   One of the first anti-radicals to receive attention was Senator Miles Poindexter of Washington. Poindexter had supported the open shop and had been quite critical of Wilson’s internationalism and the League of Nations. Believing that the Justice Department was weak in using existing laws to deport alien radicals, Poindexter became very critical of the Attorney General, A. Mitchell Palmer. Poindexter was successful in getting the Senate to pass a resolution asking the Attorney General to explain why foreign radicals were not being deported. Three weeks later, the first of the Palmer raids resulted in the arrest of  several hundred members of the Union of Russian Workers. In further Palmer Raids, 249 aliens were deported by his direction, and over 4,000 suspected radicals were arrested in 33 cities.

   In October, 1919 Poindexter announced that he was a candidate for President in 1920. In his first official campaign speech, he again stressed that strikes were part of a Bolshevik plot to incite revolution. Poindexter entered presidential primaries in South Dakota and Michigan. He lost to Leonard Wood in South Dakota and Hiram Johnson in Michigan. The only endorsement he received was from the Washington state Republican convention. Poindexter still believed he could secure the nomination in a deadlock, but he was from a small western state that offered the Republicans little hope of winning the White House.

   Another Republican, however, did ride the Red Scare to national promience. While Governor of Massachusetts, Calvin Coolidge’s strong stand in the Boston Police Strike made him a national hero. Coolidge was not seen as particularly anti-Red, but as a courageous leader who became a symbol of law and order. “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time,” Coolidge had declared. Coolidge’s friend, Frank Stearns, had published Have Faith in Massachusetts, a book of speeches Coolidge made while he was Governor of Masachusetts.  Before the 1920 Republican National Convention, thousands of copies of this book were distributed, illustrating the strightforward Americanism of the Coolidge style.

   After Harding had secured the Republican Presidential nomination, the name of Irvine Lenroot from Wisconsin was placed in nomination for Vice President. Surprisingly, when Coolidge’s name was placed in nomination, the convention erupted with demonstrations and applause. Coolidge’s stand during the Boston Police Strike gave him the Vice Presidency and eventually the Presidency, when Warren Harding died in office.

   Leonard Wood, another participant in the Great Red Scare, was a front-running hopeful for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1920. General Wood had led Army troops into areas in the Midwest with problems with law and order. In Omaha, Nebraska, a howling mob had attacked the mayor and lynched a black man. Wood and his troops restored order in the city after the riot. When 35,000 steelworkers went on strike in Gary, Indiana, Wood and his troops also restored order in that city. Wood blamed both disorders on the conspiracy of foreign radicals. He stressed the 100 per cent Americanism that had become popular during WWI. Wood sought to acquire delegates through the primaries rather than solicting support from the Old Guard of the Republican Party organization.
 

   There were three tough opponents determined to deny him the nomination: Warren G. Harding, Frank Lowden, and Hiram Johnson. When the New York World revealed that contributors to Wood’s campaign included several millionaires, William Borah had all the ammo he needed to call for a resolution investigating campaign spending. Wood had spent over $1 million more than Frank Lowden. Wood still took the most delegates into the convention, but it wasn’t enough to give him the victory. The Great Red Scare had run out of steam for Leonard Wood.

   The final 1920 candidate who hoped to ride the Great Red Scare into the White House was a Democrat, former Attorney General of the U.S., A. Mitchell Palmer. Palmer entered presidential primaries in Michigan and Georgia. Palmer was strongly opposed by labor, a difficult obstacle to overcome in Michigan. He placed fifth. Palmer, of course, blamed Detroit’s alien reds, radicals, and revolutionaries for his defeat. In Georgia, he finished a close second to Georgia firebrand, Tom Watson. At the Democratic Convention in San Francisco, Palmer led on the first ballot, followed by William Gibbs McAdoo and James Middleton Cox. Palmer’s support continued to erode and the convention nominated Cox. The most successful red-hunter of them all had failed to get the nomination.

   Only Calvin Coolidge had succeeded in riding the Law and Order crusade to the White House, and though many thought radicals were also behind the police strike, Coolidge was never really perceived as a red-hunter. His stand for law and order in general had made him a national hero. The Red Scare was unable to carry other hopefuls to fulfill their dreams. The Red Scare of 1919 was soon forgotten, but would return stronger than ever in the 1950s as the Cold War heated up. New red-hunting heroes would arise during the third Great Red Scare and a young man named Richard Nixon would use red-baiting to win a Congressional seat. He would expose the world communist conspiracy with microfilm found in a pumpkin. He would become President of the United States and open the door to Red China. The twists and turns of history are truly remarkable.

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