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
In addition to limiting freedom of speech through the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Smith Act, Congress continued on a witch-hunt to remove all dissenters in any way they could, often charging and prosecuting individuals based on circumstantial evidence. This period, often referred to as the Second Red Scare, followed World War II and came as the United States entered the Cold War, was a time of much paranoia. One of the many cases during this period that showed how little evidence was used against individuals to incriminate them was the case of Annie Lee Moss. According to a F.B.I informant, Ms. Moss was a “card carrying, dues paying” member of the Communist party and was brought to testify before McCarthy’s committee, for she was “alleged to have examined and correct secret, encoded oversee messages.” (The McCarthy Years)
Chester Alan Arthur was born on the 5th of October, 1829, in Fair field, Vermont. His father, a Baptist minister, William Arthur, who was from Ireland, and his mother, Malvina Stone Arthur, who was from Vermont. During Arthur’s childhood, his family moved around Vermont and upstate to New York for his father’s work. Chester, or “Chet,” as many people called him, attended Union College in Schenectady, New York. After graduating in 1848, he became a schoolteacher and studied law at the State and National Law School in Ballston Spa, New York. In early 1850s, he served as a principal of schools in North Pownal, Vermont and Cohoes, New York. In 1854, he was admitted to the New York bar and began practicing law in New York City.
The United States wrongly deported and imprisoned many who did not agree with the values they believed. Foreigners were mostly affected through this, a specifc time, 1919-1920 the Palmer raids began to surface. In the document "The Case Against the "Reds", it elaborated on the views of A. Mitchell Palmer. Palmer believed that thousands of "aliens" supported communism and he would deport and imprison those who supported radical ideas. No actual evidence to support this belief just a broad statement. In the document "Emma Goldman Deportation Statement" Emma believes that the deportations were unjustified and used communism as an excuse to deport people who did not support the country.
The LDA Consulting Incorporation has an initiative to bring to the community, evidenced based or model programs designed to educate the participants about the risk factors associated with tobacco usage among youths. LDA Consulting’s program is designed for youths ages 9 through 18.
The Red Scare reflected the fear of Americans which they had of communists infiltrating the US government. Sacco and Vanzetti’s arrest and execution made foreigners fear America even more, especially the anarchists. This caused worldwide dispute over whether they were given
During the time of the Red Scare lives were destroyed from all of accusations made. The people that were wrongfully accused had families and then got destroyed reputations. From the Cold War Museum it stated that “the nation grew to realize that McCarthy was evil and unmatched in malice.” once they found that McCarthy was not to be trusted, everyone knew that the people McCarthy told were communist were not
During the 1950s there was a rise in the fear of communism called “The Red Scare”. Senator Joseph McCarthy was one of the many people who contributed to people’s fear by making a list of people who he said were communists even though there was no proof in most cases. In an article by Alan Brinkley called “The 1950s Part One: McCarthy and The Red Scare”, it informs, “McCarthy was only one of many who helped create the great fear. The Red Scare was visible in almost every area of American life” (Brinkley). This quote tell us that in the 1950s even though Senator Joseph McCarthy was a huge contributor to The Red Scare. His list of suspected communists made rumors spread and the people on the list get questioned and even go to jail when in some cases they were innocent. It also says in the article by USHistory.org called “McCarthyism: Witch Hunting and Blacklisting in America”, that, “In the 1950s anyone who was considered a communist could be questioned and thrown in jail” (USHistory.org). Which means that his allegations could have easily put people in prison.
The alleged innocence of Sacco and Vanzetti was heavily scrutinized by American conservatives since the 1920s, though earlier critiques on the character of these suspects was primarily due to xenophobic sentiments towards Italians following the mob and prohibition in the 1920s. The Cold War rekindled feelings of uncertainty towards the Sacco and Vanzetti trial. With the American values of capitalism and democracy under siege, fewer Americans sympathized with anarchists in the United States. Although many did not dispute that the court case of Sacco and Vanzetti was mishandled, many still vocalized that the court was just in its sentencing, since Americans likened the threat of communism to other perceived domestic threats, namely anarchism in the United States. The 1950s and 1960s were a period of mass hysteria surrounding alternate governing methods that did not involve a capitalist based
The Second Red Scare was a period of heightened fears of the Soviet Union and the political ideology of Communism. The paranoia and hysteria inherent to this period led to discrimination of Communists. Joseph McCarthy was a main player in this Red Scare, which was sometimes called the “Witch-Hunts in Washington.” He was a Wisconsin senator who made claims against those whom he suspected of being Communists or Communist sympathizers.
This seemingly harmless action, and the bombings around the country in connection with the Red Scare, led to the start of blaming the American Communist Party for domestic disturbances to the status quo. The fact that Communist Party members were heads and members of labor unions, allowed Big Business owners and special interest groups to direct blame for radical actions such as work strikes or demands for wage compensation on to the Communists, allowing them to ignore, or dismiss any grievance brought against them; while at the same time tarnishing the image and reputation of the Communist Party (Schrecker, 14). In addition, the exaggeration of radicalism at the time allowed organizations like the FBI and law enforcement to expand and improve their image among the general public, which eventually led to J. Edgar Hoover being one of the figureheads of anticommunism (Schrecker, 15).
"Fully 90 percent of the Communist and Anarchist agitation is traceable to aliens." Through the use of the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 Palmer began his campaign against this threat against our government. Palmer used this legislation as justification of his actions. The best example of Palmers manipulation of the law to take normally illegal action against suspects was on January 2nd 1920. Palmer had federal agents round up thousands of suspected subversives without respecting those individuals' constitutional rights as American citizens. This was not the first time in our history that the government has backed the unnecessary persecution of a group of people based on fear that they would eventually take over the United States and change the American way of life. One event in history that has similar attributes to this period is the passing of the Chinese exclusion act. These two occurrences, although for different reasons, were very similar in the tactics that were employed to enforce and justify superfluous panic.
During the 1940’s in America, times were hard. It was a time of war. In this period of history, people found themselves looking for peace and innocence. John Knowles’s A Separate Peace illustrates a boarding school, one of the only places left to find peace, where the main characters, Gene and Phineas, face their own internal wars with each other. Starting out their friendship seems strong and everlasting but as the novel progresses, like all friendships, the fire between them seems to dwindle. Although they share the goal of excelling, Phineas and Gene clearly differ in athletics, academics, and personality.
127) Fear is the most primal instinct. It causes people to do and act in certain ways in which they are not accustomed. It can turn brother against brother, neighbor against neighbor, politician against politician, and country against country. Fear instigates panic. It was that panic that prompted the Palmer Raids. The Palmer Raids were started by A. Mitchel Palmer. He felt that in order to keep the American values in tact communism had to be out of the picture. Palmer believed that communism was "eating its way into the American workman". He thought it was the root of all evils in his society. Palmer felt that communism was "seeking to replace marriage vows with libertine laws, burning up the foundations of society". In December of 1919, in their most famous act, Palmer's agents seized 249 resident aliens. Those seized were placed on board a ship, the Buford, bound for the Soviet Union. Deportees included Emma Goldman the feminist, anarchist and writer who later recalled the deportation in her autobiography. Another reason for the Red Scare was the strike held by mine workers. They were thought to be making threatening moves against the Capitalist system through subversive Socialist organizations. These strikes were part of a series of events taking place in 1919. This strike,
At the beginning of the century, Americans were disappointed with the outcome of the European war. This resulted them to go against all things foreign, which included racial political ideas and immigrants. The country had to face many decisions made by communists, which created the Red Scare. The Red Scare was a spread of the fear of communism. One of the most important cases involving the Red Scare was the Sacco and Vanzetti case. Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, who were Italian, atheists, conscientious objectors, and radicals, were both accused of the murder of a paymaster and his guard at South Braintree, Massachusetts. They were both holding revolvers and told lies to the judge and court, but the flaws in evidence proved they were not guilty. “Many critics believed that the accused had been found guilty of radicalism rather than murder- that they were martyrs in the ‘class struggle’” (Race and Ethnicity Packet). Their conviction illustrated the unfairness of the trial based on the beliefs and race. The American jury and judge for the trial was
A. Mitchell Palmer was a U.S attorney General and a leading architect of the Red Scare. He aligned himself with the progressive wing of the Democratic Party and organized a series of raids. These were directed against suspected communists, anarchists, and foreign radicals as a response to the strikes and riots that occurred throughout 1919. Palmer defended his actions and described his views on radicalism and its threat to American society.