Palmer, A. Mitchell

Palmer, A. Mitchell

▪ American politician
in full  Alexander Mitchell Palmer  
born May 4, 1872, Moosehead, Pa., U.S.
died May 11, 1936, Washington, D.C.
 American lawyer, legislator, and U.S. attorney general (1919–21) whose highly publicized campaigns against suspected radicals touched off the so-called Red Scare of 1919–20.

      A devout Quaker from his youth, Palmer—later nicknamed the “Fighting Quaker”—was educated at Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pa. He was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1893, practiced law at Stroudsburg, Pa., and became active in state Democratic Party affairs. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1909–15) and played a prominent role in securing the Democratic presidential nomination for Woodrow Wilson in 1912. He ran for the Senate in 1914 but was defeated. Upon U.S. entry into World War I, Palmer was appointed alien property custodian. In 1919 he was named U.S. attorney general by President Wilson. During his two years at that post, he used the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 as a basis for launching an unprecedented campaign against political radicals, suspected dissidents, left-wing organizations, and aliens. He deported the self-avowed anarchist Emma Goldman (Goldman, Emma) and others suspected of subversive activities. On Jan. 2, 1920, government agents in 33 cities rounded up thousands of persons, many of whom were detained without charge for long periods. The disregard of basic civil liberties during the “Palmer raids,” as they came to be known, drew widespread protest and ultimately discredited Palmer, who nevertheless justified his program as the only practical means of combating what he believed was a Bolshevik conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. government. Although he lost the Democratic presidential nomination in 1920, Palmer remained active in the Democratic Party until his death, campaigning for, among others, presidential candidates Al Smith and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Palmer (surname) — Palmer is a surname.Family name name = Palmer imagesize= caption= pronunciation = meaning = a pilgrim to the Holy Land, named from the palm worn to signify the journey region = England origin = Anglo Saxon related names = footnotes = [… …   Wikipedia

  • Mitchell Point — may refer to: Mitchell Point (Antarctica), a point at the south side of the entrance to Hill Bay on the east coast of Brabant Island, in the Palmer Archipelago Mitchell Point (Oregon), a point on the Columbia River Gorge in the U.S. state of… …   Wikipedia

  • palmer — palmer1 /pah meuhr, pahl /, n. 1. a pilgrim, esp. of the Middle Ages, who had returned from the Holy Land bearing a palm branch as a token. 2. any religious pilgrim. 3. palmerworm. v.i. 4. Scot. and North Eng. to wander; go idly from place to… …   Universalium

  • Palmer — /pah meuhr/ or, for 5, /pahl /, n. 1. Alice Elvira, 1855 1902, U.S. educator. 2. Arnold, born 1929, U.S. golfer. 3. Daniel David, 1845 1913, Canadian originator of chiropractic medicine. 4. George Herbert, 1842 1933, U.S. educator, philosopher,… …   Universalium

  • Mitchell — /mich euhl/, n. 1. Arthur, born 1934, U.S. ballet dancer, choreographer, and ballet company director. 2. John, 1870 1919, U.S. labor leader. 3. Margaret, 1900 49, U.S. novelist. 4. Maria, 1818 89, U.S. astronomer. 5 …   Universalium

  • Palmer River (Queensland) — Palmer River Goldbagger am Palmer RiverVorlage:Infobox Fluss/KARTE fehlt …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mitchell River (Queensland) — Mitchell River Blick flussaufwärts an den kleinen Wasserfällen zwischen Oriners und KulataVorlage:Infobox Fluss/KARTE fehlt …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mitchell Point (Antarctica) — Mitchell Point (64°13′S 62°3′W / 64.217°S 62.05°W / 64.217; 62.05) is a point at the south side of the entrance to Hill Bay on the east coast of Brabant Island, in the Palmer Archipel …   Wikipedia

  • Palmer (Familienname) — Palmer ist ein Familienname. Bekannte Namensträger Inhaltsverzeichnis A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Mitchell River (Queensland) — Mitchell River View inland, up Mitchell River, at small waterfalls in between Oriners and Kulata Stations, North Queensland Origin Great Dividing Range Mouth …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”