Palmer, A. Mitchell (1872-1936), served as United States attorney general from 1919 to 1921 under President Woodrow Wilson. Palmer is best known for the Palmer Raids of January 1920, in which thousands of suspected anarchists and Communists were jailed with little regard for their constitutional rights. Many historians believe Palmer hoped to win the 1920 Democratic presidential nomination by capitalizing on the antiradical feelings that many Americans held at that time.
Loading the player...Palmer Raids of 1920
Alexander Mitchell Palmer was born in Moosehead, Pennsylvania, on May 4, 1872. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1909 to 1915. As a member of the Democratic national committee in 1912, he helped Wilson win the presidential nomination. Palmer died on May 11, 1936.
