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Alexander Mitchell Palmer Raid During Times Of War

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Alexander Mitchell Palmer was born on May 4, 1872 to Samuel Bernard and Caroline Albert Palmer in Moosehead, Pennsylvania. He grew up as a devoted Quaker and attended local public schools. As a young man, Palmer attended Swarthmore College and graduated in 1891. He then went on to study law at Lafayette College. However, he did not complete his law degree. After all, he passed the Pennsylvania bar exam in 1893 and joined a small law firm in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. Palmer became deeply involved in Democratic Party Politics. Later on, in 1901 he started a private solo practice and established himself as a prominent attorney. Palmer’s main claim to fame was the Palmer Raids.
During Wilson’s 1912 campaign Palmer helped him win the Democratic …show more content…

With the power of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 Palmer began to arrest and deport aliens based on their political beliefs because no one was allowed to speak against the government especially during times of war. Over 6,000 suspected communist were arrested due to suspected rebellious movements. This was known as the “Palmer Raids”. Mitchell Palmer accused and identified immigrants who were communist because he wanted to keep democracy safe; raids were meant to determine suspected communists to deport them. Immediately after World War 1, the first Red Scare erupted. The American public was scared that communism would enter the United States. Left-wing supporters were suspected. During the Red Scare, two Italian men Sacco and Vanzetti were arrested for murder and were suspected to be anarchists, even though there was no evidence to support this. Many struggles came along with the Palmer Raids and the Red Scare such as trying to contain communism and dealing with …show more content…

His fame lasted throughout history because many presidents were trying to contain communism. Palmer contributed in keeping democracy safe for the United States by trying to containing communism with the help of the Palmer Raids. Palmer believed it helped contain communism because they were deporting all immigrants they believed was a communist. Therefore, keeping communism where it is. The Palmer Raids was well known due to the fact that everyone who was an immigrant feared being accused of being communist and later deported without any proof. Everyone was accused not just immigrants, but mainly immigrants were accused because they came from another country and possibly bringing communism with them. In 1920, Palmer ran for Democratic Party nomination. However, some of his opponents claimed that Palmer had used the Red Scare tactics to improve his chances of winning the election, but he did not accomplish to win the elections. However, Palmer managed to keep his fame alive through all the running and brave decisions he made. Although, the aftermath of the raids was more profound and long lasting than anyone ever imagined his anti-Communist crusade became concerned about the need to protect civil rights and civil liberties. In response to the Palmer Raids, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) was formed to defend and preserve the rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in the

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