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

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Red Scare

Himself an immigrant from England, Chaplin was eventually chased out of the U.S. during the Red Scare, but “The Immigrant” poetically distills the country that was, for a while, his home.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026

She had been outraged by the Palmer Raids and the Red Scare following World War I that resulted in mass deportations of radical immigrants.

From Slate ● Apr. 3, 2025

The year is 1954, and McCarthy’s Red Scare has stirred paranoia throughout the land.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2024

This Red Scare was better known as the McCarthy Era or simply McCarthyism.

From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2024

When I pulled up to the gates, security was especially heavy because of the Red Scare.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson