Red Scare 2nd Red Scare-1919-1920 1st Red Scare 1947-1957 The first one happened in 1947-1957. When workers began to strike,many people blamed communism.People were arrested just for having communist beliefs.The second red scare lasted from 1919-1920. Americans were afraid that communism was going to come to America. Communism was spreading rapidly through Eastern Europe and China.Soviet Union was a superpower. Americans fear that the Soviets allies would secretly get information about the US.