Jacob Spolansky

This chapter examines the rise of Jacob Spolansky as part of a class of professional spies fostered by the growth of anticommunism during the First World War and the Red Scare. Spolansky was a migrant from Ukraine who arrived in the United States around 1910 and was recruited into the US Army's Military Intelligence Division as well as the Bureau of Investigation. During a thirty-year career, Spolansky rotated in and out of government and corporate service and spied on and infiltrated radical and labor organizations. He used legislative committees, business associations, and media outlets to engender support for harsh measures to deal with political and industrial radicals. His career highlights included coordinating the Palmer Raids in Chicago, arresting several Communist Party leaders in Michigan in 1922, and formulating Michigan's 1931 “Spolansky Act.” This chapter first considers Spolansky's early life and how he became a spy active both in law enforcement and political and industrial counterespionage before discussing his career highlights, his later years, and his legacy as a professional spy and anticommunist.