Bolshevism and the United States

Bolshevism

1. How did the national policy of anti-communism affect different progressive reform movements during the period from 1919-1920 and later?

When the Soviet leaders created the Comintern (a worldwide association of communist leaders whose purpose it was to export revolutionary tactics to capitalist countries), American leaders became hardliners against terrorism (not unlike what we are experiencing today).  The response was not without  merit:  terrorists had mailed thirty-eight bombs to prominent politicians (recipients included were the U.S Attorney General, Seattle Mayor Ole Hansen, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., J.P. Morgan and John D. Rockefeller) and on September 16, 1920, anarchists exploded a bomb in New York’s financial district that killed 30 people and injured hundreds more.  Progressive reform stalled as dissenters and strikers were perceived as “Reds.”  Post-war Americans were nervous: they were experiencing postwar recession, labor unrest and the difficult task of re-establishing millions of G.I.s back into a peacetime economy.  Labor strikes were viewed as Bolshevik agitation.  Washington State’s own “Wobblies” made matters worse by opening fire on a crowd surrounding their union  hall and killing three people.  In addition, a Justice Department investigation concluded that black activism was being instigated by the “Reds.”  While this was not the case, many blacks whose experiences in the war effort gave them a taste of the American dream, were not willing to go back to the poor economic station they experienced in the south.

2. What were some of President Wilson’s motivations for sending troops to Russia in 1918, and how does this relate to his international diplomacy effort following WWI?

When Czar Nicholas was overthrown by a democratic revolution, Wilson praised the effort.  A democratic Russia was a strong ally against the Germans.  However, a second revolution occurred in which Lenin and the Bolsheviks emerged as leaders.  Despising capitalism, they believed that this was a “bourgeois” war and decided to pull out.  In March of 1918, Lenin signed the treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany and withdrew Russian soldiers from the eastern front.  The allies felt that communist Russia was now their enemy.  Wilson has supported a democratic revolution in Russia, but a Russia run by Bolsheviks threatened Western democracy and capitalism.  When the Allies approached Wilson with a proposal to invade Russia with the purpose of restoring the democratic government, he was hesitant at first, but then accepted the plan as part of his policy of “making the world safe for democracy.”

3. Was it a wise decision on Wilson's end to agree to Great Britain and France's plea to enter Russia in the interest of helping the Russian democrats regain power?

Underestimating the strength and organization of the Bolsheviks was a huge mistake on the part of the Allies.  In the midst of a war with Germany, desperate for Russia’s support on the eastern front, Lenin’s treaty with Germany, shortly after the Americans were entering the war was a blow (one that Lenin calculated to do the most damage to the Allies).  While Lenin was shoring up his political power and destroying enemies of the state within, Wilson reluctantly agreed with Great Britain and France to send an expeditionary force to Vladivostok to support the fragile opposition democratic government and to secure the large amounts of military materiel sent to Russia to assist her in fighting the Germans.  However, the brutal conditions in Siberia and the lack of unity of purpose for this maneuver led to its failure.  The plan was hastily conceived and poorly executed.  The only thing it accomplished was to further isolate Russia from Europe and gave the Communists further fodder for their hatred of the West.  Was it wise to support Russia’s democratic government in exile?  Not really.  Was it the right thing to do?  Yes.

4. How was Wilson's plan of making the world "safe for democracy" seem less appealing to some people Lenin's plan to overthrow capitalism and imperialism everywhere?

The communist philosophy of a world run by the “proletariat”, a workers’ world, was appealing to labor unions who struggled for improved conditions and wages.  Progressives frustrated with the lack of progress for their objectives looked to the community party as a means of furthering their goals.  There were intellectuals in the United States who idealized the movement and believed that the redistribution of wealth would be to the benefit of all.  To these groups, capitalism meant exploitation and democracy was an extension of capitalist interests.  The communist party in the United States was established in 1919, financed and fueled by Lenin’s government.