Distinguished Dissenters and Opposition to the 1919-1920 Red Scare

Abstract

This study traces the activity of an important civil liberties coalition which developed in response to the 1919-1920 Red Scare, a time when national and state governments used the fear of Russian Communism to justify persecution of left-wing organizations, and mass deportation of suspect radical aliens. The threats to freedom of speech and due process of law were so severe that influential people organized a loose but highly effective civil liberties movement to block passage of draconian sedition laws and rescue thousands of innocent aliens from deportation. The book examines the political strategy and follows its networking from the American Civil Liberties Union and Harvard Law School to the United States Department of Labor and federal courts. The historical narrative provides a basis for the development of a theory of opposition to cycles of political repress, the libertarian check, and provides an opportunity to evaluate the strengths and limitations of civil liberties in the United States.