Presidential Elections and Liberals: A Love Story? (Part 3)

Part 2 of this series1 ended with formation of the Communist Party U.S.A. No sooner did the Party form than Congress began investigating it. Supposedly, in response to our World War I enmity against the German Empire and others, Congress had passed the Espionage Act of 1917 and the Sedition Act of 1918 (actually amendments to the Espionage Act). The Sedition Act of 1918 was the first sedition law passed in the U.S. since the administration of our second President, John Adams--and that law was repealed during the administration of the very next President, Thomas Jefferson. These facts scream speak to the intent of the Framers. (Too Eighteenth Century?)

The Overman Committee, headed by Democratic Senator Lee Slater Overman, of North Carolina was a forerunner of the House Un-American Activities Committee, formed twenty years later. Overman was an ad hoc subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary (of all things).2 It operated from September 1918 to June 1919. Its charge was to investigate--wait for it--"pro-German sentiments" in the American liquor industry (the Octoberfest Revolution?).

An apparently shady witness fabricated (probably) a German-"Bolshevik" link, whereupon the Committee pivoted from fearing the German enemy within to fearing the newbie Communist enemy within, while, of course, still fearing the socialist enemy within, which we had enfeebled whilst on our way to World War I. So many enemies within; so little time: We can never, ever, ever overestimate just how much government loves a terrified populace we need government to protect us from, well, us, apparently.

Three (of five) members of the Overman Committee in a room that Louis Quatorze could love. Any wonder our selected "representatives" cling so tenaciously to the status quo?

While the Committee had investigated actual activities of Deutschalkoholische Americans, the Committee's report on "Bolsheviks" described what supposedly "would" happen if the fellow (and lady) travelers had their way with Mr. and Mrs. America. Put another way, the Overman Committee's report on Bolsheviks was a plutocratic platterful of U.S. inspected, Grade A poo poo. However, the Overman Committee did the job I assume it intended to do: It terrified Americans. (Remind me why terrorists are called "terrorists?")

The report (of the Overman Committee) described the Communist system in Russia as "a reign of terror unparalleled in the history of modern civilization".[56] It concluded that instituting Marxism-Leninism in the United States would result in "the destruction of life and property", the deprivation "of the right to participate in affairs of government", and the "further suppress[ion]" of a "substantial rural portion of the population." Furthermore, there would be an "opening of the doors of all prisons and penitentiaries".[52] It would result in the "seizure and confiscation of the 22,896 newspapers and periodicals in the United States" and "complete control of all banking institutions and their assets". "One of the most appalling and far reaching consequences ... would be found in the confiscation and liquidation of ... life insurance companies. (Life insurance companies? Seriously?)" The report also criticized "the atheism that permeates the whole Russian dictatorship"; "they have denounced our religion and our God as 'lies'."[52]

Despite the report's rhetoric and the headlines it produced, the report contained little evidence of communist propaganda in the United States or its effect on American labor.[34] The report's main recommendations included deporting alien radicals and enacting peacetime sedition laws.[57] Other recommendations included strict regulation of the manufacture, distribution, and possession of high explosives; control and regulation of foreign language publications,[58] and the creation of patriotic propaganda.[57]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overman_Committee (I strongly recommend reading this wiki, which is a revelation about Congressional information-gathering.)

I believe there were also concerns about the Ruskies interfering with U.S. elections. If anything is worse than Putin's (allegedly) interfering with American primaries to try to defeat our Hills, it's Luddite Communists (allegedly) interfering with American elections in the early 1900s! Color me red surprised about the paucity of evidence! But...those were draconian recommendations, given the lack of evidence, no?

The Overman Committee seems to have been oblivious to the Free Exercise Clause and the Establishment Clause and under the impression that the Free Speech and Press bits applied only to English language speech. Oh, well, the First Amendment was meant to be ignored whenever Congress felt uneasy for any reason, amirite? Also, the Committee seem to have conflated an economic system, namely, Communism, with a form of government, namely, dictatorship: At least in theory, Communism is possible in a Republic.

As always, establishment media did its part:

The press reveled in the investigation and the final report, referring to the Russians as "assassins and madmen," "human scum," "crime mad," and "beasts."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overman_Committee Oh, and did I mention that at least one witness testified that females became the property of the state at age 18 and were thereafter subjected to unspeakable degradations--and newspaper headlines blared this lie?

The Committee's hearing into Bolshevik propaganda, conducted February 11 to March 10 of 1919, had a decisive role in constructing an image of a radical threat to the United States during the First Red Scare

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee

Quelle surprise! (Coda: A month after the Committee's hearings ended, a letter bomb was mailed to Overman's home, one of a number sent during the 1919 United States anarchist bombings. It was intercepted before reaching Overman.)

In 1930, Congressman Hamilton Fish III (R-NY) headed a committee investigating people and organizations suspected of being involved with, or supporting, communist activities in the U.S.

Among the committee's targets were the American Civil Liberties Union and communist presidential candidate William Z. Foster.[7] The committee recommended granting the United States Department of Justice more authority to investigate communists, and strengthening of immigration and deportation laws to keep communists out of the United States.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/House_Un-American_Activities_Committee

"I lift my lamp beside the Golden Door!" Emma Lazarus 18833

(Remind me a second time why terrorists are called "terrorists?") Imagine: investigating a peaceful, law-abiding candidate for the Presidency because some Congressional committee doesn't like his or her politics!

My apologies. I had not intended to dwell on anarchists, socialists and Communists, but my subconscious apparently took me over. Inasmuch as counsel has advised me that this excuse never holds up in court, I will get back to Presidents and liberals (and liberal Presidents) beginning with Part 4, I guarantee.
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1 Links to Parts 1 and 2 of this series, respectively: http://caucus99percent.com/content/presidential-elections-and-liberals-l... http://caucus99percent.com/content/presidential-elections-and-liberals-l...

2 While the connection between Congressional red-baiting and the judiciary escapes me, in addition to the Overman Committee's being under the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, HUAC's activities were transferred to the House Judiciary Committee when the House abolished the HUAC in 1975.

3 American poet Emma Lazarus wrote "The New Colossus" in 1883 to help raise money for construction of the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty. The poem was engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the pedestal in 1903, fifteen years before the Overman Committee began investigating German Americans in the liquor industry and then American Communists because the latter were allegedly linked to German Americans in the liquor industry.

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Constitution out the window. The Constitution: To be gazed upon but not for use!

Woodrow Wilson also stirred up anti-German sentiment to the point of encouraging mob violence. At public gatherings, like a baseball game, young men were abducted by a mob and put into a makeshift holding pen to see if any were "slackers." Then there were police slacker raids.

People renamed streets and consumer items that sounded German. In Baltimore, where the largest ethnic group were German Americans, German Street was renamed Redwood Street. Cincinnati, which had an even larger % of German Americans, experienced mob violence against German Americans. Many males named Heinie changed their names to Henry or Hank.

And, it's well known that Eugene Debs was jailed for publicly opposing WW1. That's all: He was anti-war.

Thanks for a welcome diary; it's a good one.

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"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"

As usual, I am in awe of the breadth of your knowledge and the quality of your comments.

Yes, Debs was a member of the Socialist Party of America, which had formed around the turn of the Twentieth Century (mentioned in Part 1 of this series). Many of its members and other socialists opposed World War I and were jailed because of that. Hence my reference in this part to having enfeebled the socialists on the way to World War I.

After resigning from the Liberty Union Party and before he became Mayor of Burlington in 1981, Bernie Sanders was the director and a writer for the American People's Historical Society (a not for profit organization). In that capacity, he made a documentary about Debs in 1979. BTW, the more I see and hear of Mark Ruffalo, an early endorser of Sanders, the more I admire him. Below is a video of Ruffalo reading the speech that landed Debs in prison.

As far as the Constitution, let's ask the NSA about the Fourth Amendment and the droned dead about things like right to counsel, right to confront witnesses, and due process, etc. Then, let's ask Chelsea Manning about cruel and unusual punishment and so on.

But, just knowing the Constitution exists and totally protects us (as long as we don't tick anyone off), gives us a warm, fuzzy feeling, doesn't it? Much like going on about "democracy" when we're actually a republic. (I am suspicious of things that give us a warm, fuzzy feeling but are not true.)

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM16MG5wpAA]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zuGp-0G1p4M]

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oY2mQxm4SNQ]

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in certain instances and survived. The National Lawyers Guild did not cooperate with the FBI, I don't think, and Ike's AG - Brownell - said that he would destroy the Guild. (It survives but in a weakened state.)

Any people or organizations that want to limit or curtail the grip capital has on the country is in danger of becoming a target of state and federal red hunters. This stance is not in the Constitution but then W Bush said that document was just a piece of paper and our constitutional scholar of a president seems to have spent his time looking for loopholes.

Are we better or worse off after Bill Clinton, W Bush, and Barack Obama? I would say in almost every area, we are worse off.

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"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"

I thought I had replied to this, but I am not seeing my reply. Fred Fisher's "sin" was belonging to the Guild. He was the then young associate of Jim St. Clair of Hale and Dorr who finally let Joe McCarthy "have it."

http://www.nytimes.com/1989/05/27/obituaries/frederick-g-fisher-68-was-a...

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been educational. I feel that I have some excuse for my lingering here on the web because I am learning so much.

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glitterscale

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