Abstract
The Great Red Scare of 1919-1920 evolved out of the same national spirit that enabled the Wilson administration to lead America into World War I. Evidence of this becomes abundant when the Scare mentality is traced to its origins. The fact of the dual nature of the allied intervention in Russia was the clearest evidence for the common national spirit that dominated the United States between 1914 and 1921. The original anti-German intentions of maintaining a second front soon evolved into a half-hearted, anti-bolshevik march on Moscow. Instead of opposition to the use of American troops to assist the Whites in Russia, the reaction of the American public was: "The war is over, bring the boys home." Though this may not sound very warlike, it indicates that few in the United States objected in principle to military attacks on Bolshevik Russia. Arguments against intervention stemmed rather from war weariness, economics and convenience.