Alexander (Mitchell) Palmer - Attorney General, Multimedia, Sources

Lawyer, US representative, and cabinet member, born in Moosehead, Pennsylvania, USA. A Quaker lawyer, he was a reformer in the House of Representatives (Democrat, Pennsylvania, 1909–15). As Alien Property Custodian (1917–19), he confiscated property worth millions of dollars from non-citizens, and as US attorney general (1919–21), he launched the notorious Palmer's raids to deport aliens and radicals. He then retired to his law practice.

Alexander Mitchell Palmer (May 4, 1872 - May 11, 1936) was the Attorney General of the United States from 1919 to 1921. Palmer became director of various banks and public-service corporations and a member of the Democratic State executive committee of Pennsylvania.

Attorney General

President Woodrow Wilson offered Palmer the post of Secretary of War, but Palmer declined because of his belief in pacifism. Instead, he was appointed Alien Property Custodian on October 22, 1917, by Wilson, and served until March 4 of 1919, when he resigned to become Attorney General of the United States, in which capacity he served from March 5, 1919, until March 4, 1921.

Palmer Raids

His tenure as Attorney General was concurrent with the First Red Scare, and Palmer became a zealous opponent of anarchist communists, insurrectionary anarchists, and other radicals who advocated the violent overthrow of the U.S. government.

Palmer also famously predicted that Communists would attempt to overthrow the United States government on May Day 1920. He had some reason for making this statement, as the original anarchist mail bombing had been timed to ensure delivery of the bombs by the Post Office on May Day 1919.

Multimedia

Listen to Palmer speak

Sources

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Alexander Mitchell Palmer Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The Political Graveyard Who Built America V.II

Preceded by: J. Davis Brodhead	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 26th congressional district 1909-1915	Succeeded by: Henry J. Steele
Preceded by: Thomas Watt Gregory	United States Attorney General 1919–1921	Succeeded by: Harry M. Daugherty

United States Attorneys General

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