"""
"""
The Buford's most notorious incarnation followed a few months later when she was pressed into service as the "Soviet Ark" (or "Red Ark"). On December 21, 1919, she was used to deport 249 political radicals and other "undesirable" aliens, mostly members of the Union of Russian Workers, to the Russian SFSR. Also swept up were the fiery anarchists Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman. This occurred between the first and second Palmer Raids of the first "Red Scare" period in the U.S.
[...]
During the First Red Scare in 1919-20 following the Russian Revolution, anti-Bolshevik sentiment quickly replaced the anti-German sentiment of the World War I years. Many politicians and government officials, along with a large part of the press and the public, feared an imminent attempt to overthrow the government of the United States and the creation of a new regime modeled on that of the Soviets.
[...]
The Espionage Act of 1917 made it a crime to interfere with the operation or success of the armed forces of the United States. It effectively criminalized any act or speech that discouraged full compliance with the military draft. Convicted under this law, Eugene V. Debs, a five-time presidential candidate, served 3 years of a 10-year sentence before President Warren G. Harding commuted his sentence on Christmas Day, 1921. Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman were likewise convicted under the Espionage Act and eventually deported. The Immigration Act of 1918 denied entry into the U.S. and permitted the deportation of non-citizens "who disbelieve in or are opposed to all organized government."

The Buford steamed out of New York harbor at 6 A. M. on Sunday, December 21, 1919, with 249 "undesirables" on board. Of those, 199 had been seized in the November 7 Palmer Raids. Some were leftists or anarchists, though perhaps as many as 180 were deported because of their membership in the Union of Russian Workers, an anarchist organization which served social and educational functions for many Russian immigrants, had been the principal target of the raids. Other deportees, including the well-known radical leaders Emma Goldman and Alexander Berkman, had been detained earlier. All, by act or speech or membership in an organization, fell within the legal definition of anarchist under the Immigration Act of 1918, [...] The notoriety of Goldman and Berkman as convicted agitators allowed the press and public to imagine that all the deportees had similar backgrounds. The New York Times called them all "Russian Reds."

Not all the deportees were unhappy to be leaving the United States. Most were single, few were being separated from their families, and some anticipated a brighter future in the new Soviet Russia.
"""
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAT_Buford#Deportations
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USAT_Buford#Deportations

Labels: Oleg Zabluda

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