Palmer Raids

(noun)

The Palmer Raids were attempts by the U.S. Department of Justice to arrest and deport radical leftists, especially anarchists. The raids and arrests occurred in November 1919 and January 1920 under Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer. The raids occurred in the larger context of the Red Scare, which described the fearful reaction against radicals immediately following World War I.

Related Terms

Examples of Palmer Raids in the following topics:

  • Red Scare

    • Justice Department to launch what became known as the Palmer Raids in November 1919 and January 1920.
    • The raids were intended to round up and rid the nation of radical leftists, especially anarchists.
    • Yet fewer than 600 of Palmer's raids were substantiated with evidence and thousands of resident aliens were illegally arrested and deported.
    • Initially the press praised the raids, but they were criticized as unconstitutional by 12 prominent lawyers.
    • Describe how the Red Scare contributed to anti-labor sentiment, the Palmer Raids, and the Sedition Act of 1918.

  • Deism

    • Another major contributor to Deism was Elihu Palmer (1764–1806), who wrote the "Bible" of American deism in his (1801) and attempted to organize Deism by forming the "Deistical Society of New York.
    • Another major contributor to Deism was Elihu Palmer (1764–1806), who wrote the "Bible" of American deism in his Principles of Nature (1801) and attempted to organize Deism by forming the "Deistical Society of New York. "

  • The Raid on Harper's Ferry

    • Brown's raid was quickly defeated by a detachment of U.S.
    • Douglass had prudently turned down Brown's invitation to take part in the raid.
    • Six other raiders who joined the raid were also executed.
    • Many Northern reactions to John Brown's raid are best characterized as baffled reproach.
    • Compare how Southern and Northern states responded to John Brown’s raid.

  • Mass Marketing, Advertising, and Consumer Culture

    • Palmer established the roots of the modern day advertising agency in Philadelphia.
    • In 1842, Palmer bought large amounts of space in various newspapers at a discounted rate then resold the space at higher rates to advertisers.
    • The actual ad was still prepared by the company wishing to advertise, making Palmer a space broker.

  • Progressivism and Religion

    • Two major leaders of the holiness revival were Phoebe Palmer and her husband, Dr.
    • Walter Palmer.

  • Empires in Conflict

    • By raiding settlements in the south of present-day Maine, New France and the Wabanaki Confederacy were able to thwart New England expansion into Acadia, whose border New France defined as the Kennebec River in southern Maine.
    • Toward this end, they executed raids against targets in Massachusetts (including present-day Maine), starting with the Northeast Coast Campaign.
    • Augustine, the capital of Spanish Florida, in 1702, and led one of several raiding expeditions that wiped out much of Florida's Native American population in 1704-6.
    • Major Benjamin Church retaliated by raiding Acadia and capturing prisoners for ransom.
    • The French led Indian allies in numerous raids, such as the one on Nov. 28, 1745 that destroyed the village of Saratoga, New York, causing the death or capture of more than one hundred of its inhabitants.

  • The War in the West

    • In order to provide a strategic diversion for operations in the Northeast, the British in Detroit began recruiting and arming American Indian war parties to raid American settlements.
    • Over the next several years of the war, both sides launched raids against each other, usually targeting settlements.
    • Patriot efforts to move against Fort Detroit were undermined due to the lack of ready troops and because escalating raids had created more determined enemies of the American Indians.
    • The year 1782 was famously dubbed "The Year of Blood" due to the level of cruelty displayed in the raids conducted by both settlers and American Indian nations.
    • Although American Indians had been pushed back from the Ohio River and were now settled primarily in the Lake Erie basin, settlers could not occupy the abandoned lands for fear of further raids.

  • Anti-Slavery Resistance Movements

    • White abolitionist John Brown had already fought against pro-slavery forces in Kansas for several years when he decided to lead a raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (West Virginia was not yet a state).
    • This raid was a joint attack by former slaves, freed blacks, and white men who had corresponded with slaves on plantations in order to form a general uprising among slaves.

  • The Forage War

    • Small British foraging and raiding parties were met by larger formations of American militia companies, sometimes with Continental Army support, that at times led to significant casualties.
    • Northern and coastal New Jersey continued to be the site of skirmishing and raiding by the British forces that occupied New York City for the rest of the war.

  • The Rise of the African Slave Trade

    • As historian John Thornton remarked, "the actual motivation for European expansion and for navigational breakthroughs was little more than to exploit the opportunity for immediate profits made by raiding and the seizure or purchase of trade commodities."
    • Using the Canary Islands as a naval base, they performed raids to capture slaves and sell them in the Mediterranean.
    • Although initially successful in this venture, Portuguese raiding ships soon met with resistance from African naval forces.
    • The Atlantic slave trade peaked in the late 18th century, when the largest number of slaves was captured on raiding expeditions into the interior of West Africa.