November 7, 1919
On the second anniversary of the Bolshevik revolution, agents of the Bureau of Investigation (under the direction of their newly-appointed director, J. Edgar Hoover) executed a series of well-publicized and violent raids against the Union of Russian Workers in 12 cities, claiming they were immigrants with divided loyalties plotting to overthrow the government of the United States. Many later swore they were threatened and beaten during questioning. Government agents brought in some American citizens, passers-by who admitted being Russian, some not members of the Russian Workers. Others were teachers conducting night school classes in space shared with the targeted radical group. Called the “Palmer Raids” because they were directed by Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer, the raids continued through January. Of the 10,000 arrested, 3,500 were held by authorities in detention and 556 resident aliens were eventually deported under the Immigration Act of 1918.
