Red Scare

Cultural  

1. The rounding up and deportation of several hundred immigrants of radical political views by the federal government in 1919 and 1920. This “scare” was caused by fears of subversion by communists in the United States after the Russian Revolution.

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Example Sentences

The Red Scare followed—the government arrested and deported radicals, breaking unions like the IWW and hobbling labor for a decade.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

Murrow was one of the most respected broadcasters of his time, known for his live World War II reporting and later for confronting Senator Joseph McCarthy at the height of the Red Scare.

From Salon • Jun. 7, 2025

But the nation also came to its senses, and by the mid-1950s the Red Scare had effectively ended.

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2025

Frank Oppenheimer discovered novel properties of cosmic rays before the Red Scare cut his career short.

From Scientific American • Oct. 10, 2023

But his sense of caution did not prevent him from making immediate and dramatic changes to combat the Red Scare.

From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler