The Rise and Fall of American Communism During the twentieth century, the popularity of the American Communist party was fueled less by its beliefs, than by the Government’s ever-more-antagonistic attitude toward foreign influences in America. After the armistice of World War I, disillusioned by the political and social turmoil abroad, the United States sought to unify its people, and to eliminate foreign influences that might prevent the formation of a single American stream of thought. Since the nation was founded on democratic policies and based upon a democratic tradition, the American government sought t