Editing First Red Scare (section)

===Anarchist bombings===
{{Main|Galleanisti|1919 United States anarchist bombings}}
There were several anarchist bombings in 1919.

====April 1919 mail bombs====
[[File:Palmer Bombing.jpg|thumb|upright|Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer's house with bomb damage]]

In late April 1919, approximately 36 [[letter bomb|booby trap bombs were mailed]] to prominent politicians, including the Attorney General of the United States, judges, businessmen (including [[John D. Rockefeller]]),<ref>[http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/6883/1919_anarchist_bombings_chicago/ "Send Death Bombs to 36 U.S. Leaders"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200427182043/http://www.footnote.com/spotlight/6883/1919_anarchist_bombings_chicago/ |date=2020-04-27 }} ''Chicago Tribune'', May 1, 1919</ref> and a Bureau of Investigation field agent, R. W. Finch, who happened to be investigating the ''Galleanist'' organization.<ref>The Galleanists were radical anarchists and devotees of Luigi Galleani who advocated [[direct action]], i.e. bombing and assassination, against capitalists and representatives of the government.</ref><ref>Avrich, Paul, ''Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background'', Princeton University Press (1991), pp. 147: The inclusion of R. W. Finch, a low-ranking BOI agent who had been assigned to question and investigate the ''Galleanist'' movement and had questioned other Galleanists about movements of its members, dispelled any doubt on the identity of the bombers.</ref>

The bombs were mailed in identical packages and were timed to arrive on May Day, the day of celebration of organized labor and the working class.<ref>Avrich, Paul, ''Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background'', Princeton University Press (1991), p. 142</ref> A few of the packages went undelivered because they lacked sufficient postage.<ref>Avrich, Paul, ''Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background'', p. 141</ref> One bomb intended for Seattle Mayor [[Ole Hanson]], who had opposed the Seattle General Strike, arrived early and failed to explode as intended. Seattle police in turn notified the [[United States Postal Service|Post Office]] and other police agencies. On April 29, a package sent to U.S. Senator [[Thomas W. Hardwick]] of Georgia, a sponsor of the [[Anarchist Exclusion Act]], exploded injuring his wife and housekeeper. On April 30, a post office employee in [[New York City]] recognized sixteen packages by their wrapping and interrupted their delivery. Another twelve bombs were recovered before reaching their targets.

====June 1919 bombs====
In June 1919, eight bombs, far larger than those mailed in April, exploded almost simultaneously in several U.S. cities. These new bombs were believed to contain up to twenty-five pounds of dynamite,<ref name="PLO">"Plotter Here Hid Trail Skillfully; His Victim Was A Night Watchman", ''The New York Times'', June 4, 1919</ref><ref name="WRE">"Wreck Judge Nott's Home", ''The New York Times'', June 3, 1919</ref> and all were wrapped or packaged with heavy metal slugs designed to act as shrapnel.<ref>"20 Pounds of Dynamite In Bomb Used in New York", ''The Washington Post'', June 4, 1919</ref> All of the intended targets had participated in some way with the investigation of or the opposition to anarchist radicals. Along with Attorney General Palmer, who was targeted a second time, the intended victims included a Massachusetts state representative and a New Jersey silk manufacturer. Fatalities included a New York City night watchman, William Boehner,<ref name="PLO"/><ref name="WRE"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1919-06-04/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=1919&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Boehner+William+WILLIAM&proxdistance=5&date2=1919&ortext=William+Boehner&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|title=Boehner Was Martyr to Duty, Family of Watchman Believes|date=June 4, 1919|work=New York Tribune|access-date=June 21, 2019|page=4|archive-date=August 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180826161629/https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1919-06-04/ed-1/seq-4/#date1=1919&index=0&rows=20&searchType=advanced&language=&sequence=0&words=Boehner+William+WILLIAM&proxdistance=5&date2=1919&ortext=William+Boehner&proxtext=&phrasetext=&andtext=&dateFilterType=yearRange&page=1|url-status=live}}</ref><!--Find a Grave is [[WP:RS/P|not a reliable source]]--> and one of the bombers, [[Carlo Valdinoci]], a [[Luigi Galleani|Galleanist]] radical who died in spectacular fashion when the bomb he placed at the home of Attorney General Palmer exploded in his face.<ref>Avrich, Paul, ''Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America'' (AK Press, 2005) {{ISBN|1-904859-27-5}}, {{ISBN|978-1-904859-27-7}}, p. 496</ref> Though not seriously injured, Attorney General Palmer and his family were thoroughly shaken by the blast, and their home was largely demolished.<ref>Avrich, p. 153</ref>

All of the bombs were delivered with pink flyers bearing the title "Plain Words" that accused the intended victims of waging class war and promised: "We will destroy to rid the world of your tyrannical institutions."<ref>Avrich, 149</ref> Police and the Bureau of Investigation tracked the flyer to a print shop owned by an anarchist, [[Andrea Salsedo|Andrea Salcedo]], but never obtained sufficient evidence for a prosecution. Evidence from Valdonoci's death, bomb components, and accounts from participants later tied both bomb attacks to the Galleanists.<ref>Avrich, Paul, ''Sacco and Vanzetti: The Anarchist Background'', Princeton University Press (1991), pp. 168–183</ref> Though some of the Galleanists were deported or left the country voluntarily, attacks by remaining members continued until 1932.<ref>Avrich, Paul, ''Anarchist Voices: An Oral History of Anarchism in America'' (AK Press, 2005) {{ISBN|1-904859-27-5}}, {{ISBN|978-1-904859-27-7}}, pp. 132, 501</ref>