1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,320 Speaker 1: Hey everyone, it's Eaves. Just wanted to let you know 2 00:00:02,360 --> 00:00:04,520 Speaker 1: that you'll be hearing an episode from me and an 3 00:00:04,559 --> 00:00:07,360 Speaker 1: episode from Tracy V. Wilson today. I hope you enjoyed 4 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:11,160 Speaker 1: the show. Welcome to this Day in History Class from 5 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 1: how Stuff Works dot Com and from the desk of 6 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:15,840 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class. It's the show where 7 00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:18,119 Speaker 1: we explore the past one day at a time with 8 00:00:18,200 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: a quick look at what happened today in history. Hello, 9 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,680 Speaker 1: and welcome to the podcast. I'm Tracy V. Wilson and 10 00:00:27,720 --> 00:00:32,120 Speaker 1: it's November seven. The Russian government was overthrown in the 11 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:35,720 Speaker 1: Bolshevik Revolution on this day in nineteen seventeen. The data 12 00:00:35,760 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 1: is also noted as October because Russia was using the 13 00:00:39,640 --> 00:00:44,239 Speaker 1: Julian calendar at that time. There were ongoing economic and 14 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:47,040 Speaker 1: social issues in Russia. By the turn of the twentieth century, 15 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:50,280 Speaker 1: it was one of the poorest countries in Europe. Most 16 00:00:50,320 --> 00:00:52,879 Speaker 1: of the people living in Russia were peasants, and up 17 00:00:52,920 --> 00:00:55,920 Speaker 1: until eighteen sixty one they had actually lived as surfs. 18 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:59,920 Speaker 1: Eighteen sixty one is when Russia abolished serfdom. There was 19 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,400 Speaker 1: is by the twentieth century a growing minority of industrial 20 00:01:03,440 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 1: workers in Russia, but they were also extremely poor. These 21 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,720 Speaker 1: conditions had led to an earlier revolution in nineteen o five, 22 00:01:09,959 --> 00:01:13,920 Speaker 1: when Russian workers went on strike and huge numbers. This 23 00:01:14,120 --> 00:01:17,639 Speaker 1: nineteen o five resolution really started when troops opened fire 24 00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,160 Speaker 1: on peaceful demonstrators who were petitioning Zar Nicholas the Second 25 00:01:21,200 --> 00:01:24,039 Speaker 1: for change. At least five hundred people were killed when 26 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:28,399 Speaker 1: that happened. Even though Russia was really economically struggling at 27 00:01:28,400 --> 00:01:31,160 Speaker 1: this point, it entered World War One in nineteen fourteen, 28 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:33,959 Speaker 1: and the war itself was not popular at all among 29 00:01:33,959 --> 00:01:38,920 Speaker 1: the Russian people. Russia's involvement was also economically catastrophic. There 30 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,759 Speaker 1: were food shortages and fuel shortages. All of these issues 31 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: that the Russian poor had already been facing were just 32 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:49,280 Speaker 1: compounded by the war. Russia was also home to numerous 33 00:01:49,320 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 1: ethnic minorities who were marginalized in the face of all 34 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:54,640 Speaker 1: of this, and the war just made it worse. The 35 00:01:54,680 --> 00:01:57,840 Speaker 1: February Revolution swept through Russia in March of nineteen seventeen. 36 00:01:57,920 --> 00:02:01,360 Speaker 1: It is called the February Revolution because in the Julian 37 00:02:01,440 --> 00:02:05,440 Speaker 1: calendar it was still February, like the nineteen o five revolution. 38 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:10,200 Speaker 1: A big factor was a protest against food shortages, zar 39 00:02:10,280 --> 00:02:14,639 Speaker 1: Nicholas abdicated the throne after this, ending the Romanov family's 40 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:17,520 Speaker 1: rule of Russia, and that a committee of the Russian 41 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:22,080 Speaker 1: Parliament created a provisional government, which continued Russia's involvement in 42 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 1: World War One. This provisional government faced some immediate challenges 43 00:02:26,480 --> 00:02:30,440 Speaker 1: to its power, though the Petrograd Soviet of workers and 44 00:02:30,520 --> 00:02:33,640 Speaker 1: soldiers deputies really was able to take control of the 45 00:02:33,639 --> 00:02:38,919 Speaker 1: military almost immediately. The provisional government was reorganized repeatedly over 46 00:02:38,960 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: the next several months, and then on November six, Vladimir 47 00:02:42,480 --> 00:02:45,080 Speaker 1: Lenin led the Bolshevik Party in a ku data of 48 00:02:45,120 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: this provisional government. It started with occupying government offices and 49 00:02:49,400 --> 00:02:53,160 Speaker 1: then entering the Winter Palace and arresting leaders on the seventh. 50 00:02:53,480 --> 00:02:56,880 Speaker 1: The provisional government had been created from Russia's elite. They 51 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,680 Speaker 1: were affluent, they were capitalist. The bullsh of a Party, 52 00:03:00,680 --> 00:03:02,680 Speaker 1: on the other hand, wanted Russia to be ruled by 53 00:03:02,720 --> 00:03:05,600 Speaker 1: the common people. They wanted the country's peasants and workers 54 00:03:05,600 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: and soldiers to be the ones making the decisions. Lenin 55 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:12,000 Speaker 1: was made head of State of this new communist government. 56 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,440 Speaker 1: After the revolution, this wasn't the end of the conflict. 57 00:03:15,520 --> 00:03:19,200 Speaker 1: In a very turbulent nineteen seventeen for Russia, though the 58 00:03:19,320 --> 00:03:22,959 Speaker 1: Russian Civil War started later in the year. The White Army, 59 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:25,960 Speaker 1: which was made up of anti Bolsheviks, fought against the 60 00:03:26,000 --> 00:03:29,800 Speaker 1: Bolshevik government's Red Army. The civil war went on until 61 00:03:29,880 --> 00:03:34,040 Speaker 1: nineteen three, with the Bolsheviks winning and establishing the Soviet Union. 62 00:03:35,080 --> 00:03:38,400 Speaker 1: So when people say the Russian Revolution of nineteen seventeen, 63 00:03:38,440 --> 00:03:42,120 Speaker 1: they're really talking about both the February Revolution, which toppled 64 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:46,560 Speaker 1: the Romanov family and the Imperial government, and the October Revolution, 65 00:03:46,600 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: which replaced the Provisional government with the Bolsheviks. Thanks very 66 00:03:50,360 --> 00:03:53,000 Speaker 1: much to Casey Pigram and Chandler Mays for their audio 67 00:03:53,000 --> 00:03:55,720 Speaker 1: work on this show. You can subscribe to The Day 68 00:03:55,760 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 1: in History Class on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever 69 00:03:58,920 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: else you get your podcast, and you can tune in 70 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:13,040 Speaker 1: tomorrow for a brand new phenomenon. Hey y'all, I'm Eves 71 00:04:13,160 --> 00:04:15,640 Speaker 1: and you're listening to This Day in History Class, a 72 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:19,239 Speaker 1: podcast for people interested in the big and small moments 73 00:04:19,279 --> 00:04:31,160 Speaker 1: in history. The day was November seventh, nineteen nineteen. US 74 00:04:31,240 --> 00:04:34,640 Speaker 1: federal agents and local police conducted rates across the United 75 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:40,839 Speaker 1: States that targeted radical leftists, communists, and anarchists. The Palmer Raids, 76 00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:43,680 Speaker 1: as they are known, took place during the Red Scare 77 00:04:43,720 --> 00:04:46,680 Speaker 1: that sprang up after the Russian Revolution in World War One. 78 00:04:47,839 --> 00:04:50,599 Speaker 1: The raids led to the arrest of thousands of people, 79 00:04:51,040 --> 00:04:54,760 Speaker 1: but many people, including the Assistant Secretary of Labor, objected 80 00:04:54,839 --> 00:04:59,000 Speaker 1: to the raids. During World War One, anti immigrant sentiment 81 00:04:59,080 --> 00:05:02,960 Speaker 1: was fueled by pay treatism by immigrants, actual political views, 82 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:07,800 Speaker 1: and by imagined fear surrounding their political loyalties. After the 83 00:05:07,880 --> 00:05:12,760 Speaker 1: Russian Revolution of nineteen seventeen, many Americans feared communist revolutionaries 84 00:05:12,760 --> 00:05:16,679 Speaker 1: which try to take over the United States. Many Southern 85 00:05:16,720 --> 00:05:20,080 Speaker 1: and Eastern Europeans were migrating to the United States, and 86 00:05:20,160 --> 00:05:23,480 Speaker 1: there was a lot of labor unrest, stoking US paranoia 87 00:05:23,520 --> 00:05:27,960 Speaker 1: of communist threats. The Espionage Act of nineteen seventeen and 88 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:30,839 Speaker 1: the Sedition Act of nineteen eighteen, which was actually just 89 00:05:30,960 --> 00:05:35,000 Speaker 1: amendments to the Espionage Act, criminalized different forms of speech, 90 00:05:35,160 --> 00:05:38,599 Speaker 1: including disloyal or abusive language about the form of government 91 00:05:38,640 --> 00:05:43,039 Speaker 1: of the United States. Many suspected radicals were prosecuted under 92 00:05:43,080 --> 00:05:47,560 Speaker 1: these acts. In April and June of nineteen nineteen, anarchists 93 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:50,400 Speaker 1: attempted to carry out a male bomb plot that targeted 94 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:54,400 Speaker 1: prominent politicians and businessmen, setting off a wave of arrest 95 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:58,320 Speaker 1: and sensational stories in the press. One of the people 96 00:05:58,360 --> 00:06:02,360 Speaker 1: targeted by the bombings was Atorney General Alexander Palmer, who 97 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:04,680 Speaker 1: had a bomb explode in front of his house, which 98 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:08,839 Speaker 1: was largely destroyed in the blast. After the bombings, Palmer 99 00:06:08,880 --> 00:06:12,000 Speaker 1: announced in a statement that the attacks would quote only 100 00:06:12,080 --> 00:06:15,760 Speaker 1: increase and extend the activities of our crime detecting forces. 101 00:06:16,800 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: Palmer created the General Intelligence Unit in the Department of Justice, 102 00:06:20,480 --> 00:06:24,000 Speaker 1: and he recruited Jaegger Hoover, who worked at the Justice Department, 103 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:26,640 Speaker 1: to be his special assistant in chief of the unit. 104 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:30,320 Speaker 1: Hoover reported that radicals were an issue that needed to 105 00:06:30,320 --> 00:06:34,880 Speaker 1: be handled with urgency, and Palmer noted the threats of anarchists, Bolsheviks, 106 00:06:34,920 --> 00:06:38,679 Speaker 1: and black people who were deemed radicals. Palmer and Hoover 107 00:06:38,839 --> 00:06:42,760 Speaker 1: orchestrated raids and mass arrests under this Edition and Espionage Acts. 108 00:06:43,400 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: The US government's Commissioner of Immigration signed the warrants for 109 00:06:46,520 --> 00:06:50,520 Speaker 1: the raids. The raids began on November seven, the second 110 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:54,239 Speaker 1: anniversary of the October Revolution and Bolshevik victory in Russia. 111 00:06:55,240 --> 00:06:58,599 Speaker 1: People who were suspected of being radicals were arrested even 112 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,680 Speaker 1: if they had not committed in irrelevant political acts. Authorities 113 00:07:02,760 --> 00:07:06,559 Speaker 1: arrested many people without the proper warrants. Raids took place 114 00:07:06,560 --> 00:07:09,280 Speaker 1: in cities across the US, including at the Union of 115 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:13,720 Speaker 1: Russian Workers headquarters in New York. Notable anarchists like Emma 116 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:19,200 Speaker 1: Goldman and Alexander Berkman were arrested. The raids continued into December, 117 00:07:19,520 --> 00:07:22,760 Speaker 1: and another round of raids began in January of nineteen twenty. 118 00:07:23,800 --> 00:07:26,800 Speaker 1: Most of the people arrested were released, but many had 119 00:07:26,880 --> 00:07:29,960 Speaker 1: also been detained without trial for an extended time and 120 00:07:30,000 --> 00:07:34,320 Speaker 1: weren't told their charges. In December of nineteen nineteen, two 121 00:07:34,400 --> 00:07:37,240 Speaker 1: hundred and forty nine accused radicals were deported on a 122 00:07:37,280 --> 00:07:40,600 Speaker 1: ship called the Buford. In the end, around three thousand 123 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,880 Speaker 1: people were detained and even more arrested, and hundreds of 124 00:07:43,880 --> 00:07:48,080 Speaker 1: foreign citizens were deported. While many people supported the raids 125 00:07:48,120 --> 00:07:51,400 Speaker 1: at first, public opinions shifted in response to the violations 126 00:07:51,400 --> 00:07:54,600 Speaker 1: of civil liberties, and the Labor Department canceled many of 127 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:58,280 Speaker 1: the warrants used in the raids as people questioned the 128 00:07:58,320 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: constitutionality of the operation, sh and the National Civil Liberties 129 00:08:01,880 --> 00:08:05,760 Speaker 1: Bureau challenged this edition act in Palmer's actions, support for 130 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:09,720 Speaker 1: the raids crumpled. Palmer attempted to trump up fear in 131 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:12,480 Speaker 1: the US by saying there would be a communist uprising 132 00:08:12,480 --> 00:08:16,200 Speaker 1: on Mayday, nineteen, but when the attack did not happen, 133 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:21,520 Speaker 1: Palmer's credibility declined even more. Later that month, the American 134 00:08:21,560 --> 00:08:25,200 Speaker 1: Civil Liberties Union issued a report documenting the government's illegal 135 00:08:25,240 --> 00:08:29,800 Speaker 1: activities during the raids. Palmer ran for president in nineteen twenty, 136 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:34,400 Speaker 1: but lost the Democratic nomination. Fear of a communist threat 137 00:08:34,640 --> 00:08:37,960 Speaker 1: and anti immigrant sentiments would remain part of the national 138 00:08:38,000 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 1: consciousness for years after the Palmer Raids. I'm Eve jeffco 139 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:45,559 Speaker 1: and hopefully you know a little more about history today 140 00:08:45,679 --> 00:08:49,360 Speaker 1: than you did yesterday. Spend some of your daily social 141 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:54,240 Speaker 1: media time with us at t D I h B podcast. 142 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:58,040 Speaker 1: You can also shoot us an email at this day 143 00:08:58,080 --> 00:09:02,320 Speaker 1: at i heart media dot com. I truly hope you 144 00:09:02,400 --> 00:09:08,679 Speaker 1: enjoyed today's show. We'll be back tomorrow with another episode. 145 00:09:10,520 --> 00:09:12,839 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from I Heart Radio, visit the iHeart 146 00:09:12,880 --> 00:09:15,360 Speaker 1: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your 147 00:09:15,360 --> 00:09:16,040 Speaker 1: favorite shows.