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American Experience
An Attorney General Targeted
In 1919, after a series of bomb attacks, Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer set up “Radical Division,” within the Justice Department. Its goal was to identify people who posed a threat to the U.S. social stability, particularly anarchists. After initial celebration, it seemed to many that this was too extreme a violation of civil liberties. Filmmaker Susan Bellows introduces A. Mitchell Palmer.
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Part of the award-winning The Presidents collection.