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  Palmer, A. Mitchell
CANDIDATE DETAILS
AffiliationDemocratic  
  1919-01-01  
 
NameA. Mitchell Palmer
Address
Stroudsberg, Pennsylvania , United States
EmailNone
WebsiteNone
Born May 04, 1872
DiedMay 11, 1936 (64 years)
ContributorThomas Walker
Last ModifedRBH
Jan 31, 2023 11:57pm
Tags Married - Widowed - Society of Friends -
InfoAlexander Mitchell Palmer

Mitchell was born on 4th May, 1872. Educated at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, he was admitted to the bar in 1893.

A supporter of the Democratic Party, Palmer served in the House of Representatives (1909-15) and worked closely with Woodrow Wilson in his successful presidential campaign in 1912.

In 1919 Wilson appointed Palmer as his attorney general. Palmer had previously been associated with the progressive wing of the party and had supported women's suffrage and trade union rights. However, once in power, Palmer's views on civil rights changed dramatically.

Worried by the revolution that had taken place in Russia, Palmer became convinced that Communist agents were planning to overthrow the American government. His view was reinforced by the discovery of thirty-eight bombs sent to leading politicians and the Italian anarchist who blew himself up outside Palmer's Washington home. Palmer recruited John Edgar Hoover as his special assistant and together they used the Espionage Act (1917) and the Sedition Act (1918) to launch a campaign against radicals and left-wing organizations.

Palmer claimed that Communist agents from Russia were planning to overthrow the American government. On 7th November, 1919, the second anniversary of the Russian Revolution, over 10,000 suspected communists and anarchists were arrested. Palmer and Hoover found no evidence of a proposed revolution but large number of these suspects were held without trial for a long time. The vast majority were eventually released but Emma Goldman and 247 other people, were deported to Russia.

In January, 1920, another 6,000 were arrested and held without trial. These raids took place in several cities and became known as the Palmer Raids. A. Mitchell Palmer and John Edgar Hoover found no evidence of a proposed revolution but large number of these suspects, many of them members of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), continued to be held without trial. When Palmer announced that the communist revolution was likely to take place on 1st May, mass panic took place. In New York, five elected Socialists were expelled from the legislature.

When the May revolution failed to materialize, attitudes towards Palmer began to change and he was criticised for disregarding people's basic civil liberties. Some of his opponents claimed that Palmer had devised this Red Scare to help him become the Democratic presidential candidate in 1920.

Palmer failed to win the nomination and although he helped Al Smith (1928) and Franklin D. Roosevelt (1932) in their campaigns, he was no longer an important force in the Democratic Party. Alexander Mitchell Palmer died on 11th May, 1936.




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  07/06/1920 US President - D Convention Lost 13.62% (-21.95%)
  07/01/1920 US President - D Primaries Lost 16.51% (-13.33%)
  03/05/1919 US Attorney General Won 100.00% (+100.00%)
  11/03/1914 PA US Senate Lost 23.96% (-22.79%)
  11/05/1912 PA - District 26 Won 53.41% (+11.00%)
  11/08/1910 PA - District 26 Won 61.30% (+27.92%)
  11/03/1908 PA - District 26 Won 52.76% (+10.46%)
  04/11/1908 PA - District 26 - D Primary Won 94.21% (+88.41%)
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