Palmer raids
The Palmer Raids were a series of government actions in the United States during the early 1920s, primarily aimed at apprehending and deporting individuals believed to be anarchists or communists amid the Red Scare. Prompted by fears of a violent uprising akin to the Russian Bolshevik Revolution, these raids were characterized by widespread suspicion of foreign-born residents, especially following events such as the Seattle General Strike and anarchist bombings in multiple cities. Beginning on November 7, 1919, federal agents arrested hundreds of people in various cities, many of whom had no ties to the groups being targeted. The raids escalated on January 2, 1920, resulting in the arrest of over four thousand individuals across dozens of cities, often without warrants and under questionable legal circumstances.
The fallout from these operations raised significant concerns regarding civil liberties, as many detainees were held in overcrowded conditions and subject to due process violations. Although a substantial number of deportation warrants were initially issued, the acting Secretary of Labor later canceled many of them, citing legal concerns. Ultimately, the predictions of widespread insurrection proved unfounded, leading to a decline in the credibility of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, who had spearheaded the raids. The Palmer Raids serve as a historical example of the tensions between national security and individual rights during periods of societal unrest.
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Subject Terms
Palmer raids
The Event: The arrest of thousands of American resident aliens, including anarchists and prominent leftist leaders, in raids authorized by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer
Date: November 7, 1919, and January 2, 1920
Place: Thirty-three cities and towns in twenty-three states
The Palmer raids marked the first massive roundup, incarceration, and, in some cases, deportation of individuals in response to the Red Scare. Fearing that the United States might face a violent overthrow of the government similar to Russia’s Bolshevik Revolution in 1917, authorities began to target foreign residents believed to hold dangerous views.
The large influx of immigrants into the United States in the early twentieth century, the aftermath of World War I, and the events of the Russian Revolution created an atmosphere of suspicion and distrust of foreign-born residents, especially advocates of anarchism and communism. A general strike in Seattle in February 1919 further roused fears of a labor-backed uprising. Then, in June, an anarchist group set off bombs in eight American cities, one of which detonated in the home of Attorney General Palmer.
Under the Immigration Act of 1918, only the secretary of labor could issue arrest warrants and sign deportation orders for violations of the Immigration Act. Palmer hired attorney J. Edgar Hoover to investigate and identify known radical groups and their members and used the information Hoover provided to convince the Department of Labor that the Union of Russian Workers posed a threat to the state. The first Palmer raids took place on November 7, 1919, when federal agents arrested hundreds of people in twelve different cities, many of whom had no association with the Russian Workers. On December 21, 249 foreign-born residents were deported to the Soviet Union, 199 of whom were union members arrested during the raids.
After informally persuading some junior Department of Labor officials to expand the list of targets, Hoover organized a new round of raids larger in scope. On January 2, 1920, over four thousand people were arrested at Communist Party and Communist Labor Party meetings. Most were seized without warrants and illegally detained in overcrowded holding facilities. The raids encompassed thirty-three cities in twenty-three states.
Impact
Once the detainees were under the authority of the Department of Labor, the new acting secretary of labor canceled over two thousand deportation warrants on the grounds that they violated due process. Palmer’s prediction of a mass antigovernment uprising on May 1, 1920, proved to be false, and the fallout damaged his credibility. A report released by the American Civil Liberties Union, detailing illegal acts committed by the Department of Justice during the raids, was endorsed by prominent lawyers and law professors. Many cases were subsequently dismissed, and of the thousands arrested, only 556 individuals were ever deported. Palmer lost the Democratic nomination for president later that year.
Bibliography
Hagedorn, Ann. Savage Peace: Hope and Fear in America, 1919. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2008.
Murray, Robert K. Red Scare: A Study in National Hysteria, 1919–1920. Reprint. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1980.
Pietrusza, David. 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents. New York: Basic Books, 2008.