Alexander Mitchell Palmer was an American attorney and politician who served as the 50th United States attorney general from 1919 to 1921. He is best known for overseeing the Palmer Raids during the Red Scare of 1919–20.
A. Mitchell Palmer
President Woodrow Wilson with Attorney General, Mitchell Palmer
"KEEPING WARM" Los Angeles Times November 22, 1919
Palmer on a flag-draped podium during his bid for the Democratic nomination
The Palmer Raids were a series of raids conducted in November 1919 and January 1920 by the United States Department of Justice under the administration of President Woodrow Wilson to capture and arrest suspected socialists, especially anarchists and communists, and deport them from the United States. The raids particularly targeted Italian immigrants and Eastern European Jewish immigrants with alleged leftist ties, with particular focus on Italian anarchists and immigrant leftist labor activists. The raids and arrests occurred under the leadership of Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, with 6,000 people arrested across 36 cities. Though 556 foreign citizens were deported, including a number of prominent leftist leaders, Palmer's efforts were largely frustrated by officials at the U.S. Department of Labor, which had authority for deportations and objected to Palmer's methods.
A. Mitchell Palmer
Men arrested in raids awaiting deportation hearings on Ellis Island, January 13, 1920
Cartoon by Archibald B. Chapin on the South Bend News-Times – November 8, 1919