The Medias Role in the Escalation of Palmer Raids and the Red Scare in

Newspapers are supposed to give us an unbiased factual report of important events, but that isnt always the case. Newspapers can make certain events seem more important and more consequential than other events. This happened during the Palmer Raids of the early 1920s. Newspapers made the Palmer Raids more preponderant and Anti-Communist feelings stronger among the American public during the 1920s. To understand how the media escalated the Red Scare and Palmer Raids it helps to have a brief history of them. After World War I there was a Red Scare among many Americans. There are many explanations for this rampant inflation, a tough job market, strikes, race riots, and the publics need for a scapegoat (Duminel 218). When Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmers home was bombed he immediately believed it was the Communists and went after all of them. In November of 1919, and December of 1920 the U.S. Department of Justice under Palmers direction conducted raids in a number of prominent cit ies (Remelgas 3). Many persons were arrested without warrants, and without being given proper rights. Over five thousand people were arrested, and a amount of two hundred and forty nine people were deported (Remelgas 4). After these raids and unlawful arrests, Palmer was called before the House Rules Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee and convicted of using Government cash in an improper way causing the end of the first Red Scare. In journalism there are certain standards used to draw tending to certain articles. Alexandra Remelgas states The standards of responsible journalism are useful in examining the press coverage of the Palmer Raids. Standards of responsible journalism are limited by the selection of and emphas... ..., Edward A. enlightenment On Earth. Detroit Free Press Magazine 11 Jan. 1920 2 Hoyt, Edwin. The Palmer Raids, 1919-1920 An Attempt to Suppress Dissent. New York The Seabury Press. Murray, Robert. Red Scare A Study In interior(a) Hysteria, 1919-1920. Mi nnesota North Central Publishing, 1955. Reds Plotted Country Wide Strike Arrests Exceeded 5,000, 2,635 Held 3 Transports Ready For Them New York Times 4 Jan 1920 1 Remelgas, Alexandra. News insurance coverage And Editorial Interpretation Of The Palmer Raids 1919-1920 By Three Detroit Newspapers A Study Thesis For Degree Of M.A. MSU, 1970, Shulam, Alix. To the Barricades The anarchist Life Of Emma Goldman. New York. Thomas and Crowell Company, 1971. Who Built America, v. II. Between to Wars The Palmer Raids. CD Rom. 25 January 2000. http//chnm.gmu.edu/courses/hist409/red.html