The Palmer Raids
A CLE Presentation for
The Bench/Bar Conference of Virginia’s 30th Judicial Circuit
March 21, 2014
Stewart Harris
Professor of Law1
Appalachian School of Law
Host of the Public Radio Show Your Weekly Constitutional2
I.
Introduction
One of the darkest chapters in our constitutional history is largely forgotten today: the
Palmer Raids.
The Palmer Raids were a series of aggressive, nationwide, dragnet-style searches,
seizures and arrests aimed at suspected political radicals in November, 1919 and January, 1920,
during what historians call the first “Red Scare.” Under the auspices of United States Attorney
General A. Mitchell Palmer and his newly-appointed, 24-year-old Director of the Bureau of
Investigation, J. Edgar Hoover, the Department of Justice engaged in a premeditated, systematic
denial of basic civil liberties to thousands of people, aliens and citizens alike.
Today’s course will revisit this shameful episode in our constitutional history and
examine some parallels with the issues we face today, as we continue to balance our need for
national security with protection of our civil liberties.
1
A.B. Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs; J.D. University of
Pennsylvania Law School. Professor Harris has also taught Constitutional Law during the summer at the University
of Tennessee since 2009, and currently serves as the Bays Blackwell Lecturer in Residence at Emory & Henry
College. Next fall, he will teach National Security Law at King University’s Institute for Security and Intelligence
Studies.
Produced in Partnership with James Madison’s Montpelier and broadcast locally at 3:00 PM Sundays and 8:00 PM
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90.7 FM, Emory, Virginia, and throughout Virginia on WVTF’s Radio IQ Network. Podcasts are available on
iTunes and on the website of James Madison’s Montpelier: www.montpelier.org/center/radio.
2
In the following sections, you will find a list of Materials, copies of which are provided,
as well as References to other materials which you may wish to review after class, including
relevant podcasts of the public radio show Your Weekly Constitutional (YWC), which are
available via iTunes or on the YWC website at James Madison’s Montpelier:
www.montpelier.org/center/radio.
II.
The First Red Scare
References:
Ackerman, Young J. Edgar: Hoover and the Red Scare, 1919-1920
Historical fiction: Reds, the 1981 Academy-Award winning film
III.
Civil Liberties in the Early Twentieth Century
A.
Free Speech
Materials:
Schenck v. United States, 249 U.S. 47 (1919)
Abrams v. United States, 250 U.S. 616 (1919)
B.
Searches and Seizures
Materials:
IV.
Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928)
The Progressive President Wilson
A.
Free Speech in Peacetime v. Free Speech in Wartime
Materials:
B.
Debs v. United States, 249 U.S. 211 (1919)
Asleep at the Wheel
Reference: A. Scott Berg, Wilson.
V.
The Raids
A.
June, 1919: The Bombings
B.
July, 1919: The Buffalo Raid
C.
The First “Palmer Raids:” November, 1919
D.
The Second “Palmer Raids:” January to February, 1920
E.
Mayday!
F.
The End of A. Mitchell Palmer -- but not J. Edgar Hoover.
Reference: Finan, From the Palmer Raids to the Patriot Act
VI.
The Constitutional Casualty List
A.
The First Amendment
B.
The Second Amendment
C.
The Fourth Amendment
D.
The Fifth Amendment
E.
The Sixth Amendment
F.
The Eighth Amendment
Materials:
VII.
Brown, Chafee, Frankfurter, et. al., “To the American People: Report
upon the Illegal Practices of the United States Department of Justice.”
Lessons for Today
References:
YWC Podcast, “Ed Snowden’s Big Adventure,”
http://ywc.podomatic.com/entry/2013-08-30T09_36_23-07_00
YWC Podcast, “The Constitution and the Kill List,”
http://ywc.podomatic.com/entry/2013-05-17T04_57_23-07_00
YWC Podcast, “He Really Might be Watching You,”
http://ywc.podomatic.com/entry/2012-11-15T14_07_12-08_00
VIII. Q&A
END
Thanks for your attention. We hope that you enjoyed this presentation.
If you’d like to contact Professor Harris, here’s how:
Office Phone: 276-935-4349, extension 1219
Office Email: sharris@asl.edu
Radio Show Email: ywc@montpelier.org
Radio Show Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/Your.Weekly.Constitutional