Palmer Raids Timeline

Palmer Raids Timeline April 1917- The U.S. entered World War I, which resulted in a spike in patriotism, nationalism, and nativism. June 1917 - Congress passed the Espionage Act, which made it illegal to convey information that hurt the war effort or aided the enemy. November 1917- Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin launch a revolution in Russia that would lead to the establishment of the Soviet Union. May 1918 – The Sedition Act made it illegal to say negative things about the U.S. government or the war effort. October 1918- The Immigration Act of 1918 authorized the exclusion of and deportation of “aliens who are members of the anarchistic and similar classes.” November 1918 – Armistice signed to end fighting in WWI. January 1919 – War Industries Board, which regulated industry and managed labor disputes during WWI, is decommissioned. 1919 – Violent labor strikes took place in cities across the country, including Seattle, Chicago, and Boston. March 1919 – A. Mitchell Palmer appointed U.S. Attorney General. April, June 1919 – Homes of prominent Americans are bombed by supporters of Italian anarchist Luigi Galleani. 1919 – Deadly race riots occur in cities across the country; the largest, in Chicago, lasted 13 days and left at least 38 dead. November 1919 – The U.S. Department of Justice launches the first of the Palmer Raids. Document A: Case Against the "Reds" (Modified) Excerpt from an article written by U.S. attorney general A. Mitchell Palmer for The Forum, a popular American magazine. It was published in February 1920, after the Palmer Raids. … revolution was sweeping over every American institution a year ago… My information showed that thousands of aliens supported communism in this country. The whole purpose of communism appears to be a mass organization of the criminals of the world to overthrow the decencies of private life, to usurp property that they have not earned, to disrupt the present order of life… The Department of Justice will pursue the attack of these "Reds" upon the Government of the United States with vigilance, and no alien, advocating the overthrow of existing law and order in this country, shall escape arrest and prompt deportation. Vocabulary aliens: term used at the time for immigrants or foreigners usurp: take over Document B: Evening Missourian This article was written by United Press, a national news agency. It appeared on January 3, 1920, in The Evening Missourian, a newspaper in Columbia, Missouri. REVOLUTION IS PREVENTED Radical Elements Were on the Verge of Fusion, Intending to Elect Bolshevist Candidate Next President and Set Up Soviet Government Forty-five hundred radicals, both men and women, most of them members of the communist and communist labor parties were arrested last night and early today in a nation-wide roundup by federal authorities. The raids, according to the Department of Justice agents, averted a move to establish a soviet government in the United States. Vocabulary fusion: a partnership or coalition of political groups bolshevist: Russian communist averted: prevented soviet government: communist government like the Soviet Union Document C: New York Tribune These images appeared on the front page of the New York Tribune, a popular New York City newspaper, on June 4, 1919. The photos show three homes bombed by members of an anarchist organization. The home in the middle belonged to Attorney General Palmer. Overall, 36 bombs were mailed to prominent Americans in the spring of 1919. Two people were killed and two severely injured by the bombs.