inst anti-war groups. In October 1918, Congress passed the Alien Act, which gave the Secretary of Labor the power to deport " any alien who, at any time after entering the United States, is found to have been at the time of entry, or to have become thereafter a member of any anarchist organization." The extremely broad language used in this bill and the way it was interpreted gave Palmer the authority to conduct his raids, during which thousands of people were arrested and detained without actually having been charged. Because they anticipated what was to come, the suspect organizations worked for the repealing of the legislation aimed against them. Many Socialists became prominent figures due to their attempts to gain release for their imprisoned comrades. Another reason for the Red Scare was the strike held by mine workers. They were thought to be making threatening moves against the Capitalist system through subversive Socialist organizations. These strikes were part of a series of events which took place in 1919. This strike, which occurred in February, was of 60,000 coal mine workers. In that September, steel workers struck. All of the available blame was put upon the American Communists, although many communists tried to oppose this strike. Nationalist Americans called for a halt to this "Bolshevik Revolution" which was taking place on American soil. As a result of this panic traveling through American society, a series of bombings occurred. The Socialists were immediately assumed to be responsible. Newspapers had a field day publicizing these bombings. Attorney General Palmer took advantage of the widespread panic of the public and media and asked Congress for fund appropriations to help avoid further danger. Congress obliged, not only supplying funds, but going one step further. The message was then made clear: foreign radicals were to all be deported. The government had formulated and put into effect their plan to rid the count...
