Two weeks after the United States declared war on Germany in 1917,
the town of Lewistown, Montana, held a patriotic parade. Less than
a year later, a mob of 500 Lewistown residents burned German
textbooks in Main Street while singing "The Star Spangled Banner."
In Lewistowns nationalistic fervor, a man was accused of being
pro-German because he didnt buy Liberty Bonds; he was subsequently
found guilty of sedition. Montanas former congressman Tom Stout was
quoted in the towns newspaper, "The Democrat-News, "With our sacred
honor and our liberties at stake, there can be but two classes of
American citizens, patriots and traitors!
"Darkest Before Dawn" takes to task Montanas 1918 sedition law
that shut down freedom of speech. The sedition law carried fines of
up to $20,000 and imprisonment for as many as twenty years. It
became a model for the federal sedition act passed in 1918. Clemens
Work explores the assault on civil rights during times of war when
dissent is perceived as unpatriotic. The themes of this cautionary
tale clearly resonate in the events of the early twenty-first
century.
This is history at its exciting, human best. Clemens Work tells
the little-known story of how Americans were punished for what they
said during World War I: imprisoned, brutalized, lynched. It is a
crucial part of the American struggle for freedom of speech.Anthony
Lewis, columnist for the "New York Times" and author of "Gideons
Trumpet" and "Make No Law"
Clem Work has written a colorful and engaging account of a
rough-and-tumble era when exercising your right of free speech
could get you tossed into jail, or worse. Works description of the
frenzied and often irrational reaction to dissent duringwartime is
truly timeless, disturbingly reminiscent of our own world,
post-9/11/01. This book reminds us just how fragile Americans
allegiance to the First Amendment can be.Jane E. Kirtley, Silha
Professor of Media Ethics and Law, University of Minnesota
Work offers a new way of thinking about a broader
topicseditionand one in which new insights are provided. That, in
my mind, is the essence of scholarship.--Charles N. Davis,
executive director of The National Freedom of Information Center at
the University of Missouri, Columbia, and associate professor of
journalism
""Darkest Before Dawn" makes an important contribution to the
literature of the history of free speech in America. No future
study of sedition laws could hope to be complete without drawing on
this well researched and well written work. Clem Work has made his
mark--and what a marvelous mark it is!"--Ronald K. L. Collins,
scholar, The First Amendment Center
Book Details Montana's Attack on Dissent in World War I Era
(article by Charles S. Johnson, chief of the Lee Newspapers State
Bureau in Helena, Montana):
"As U.S. troops fight in Iraq, Montanans heatedly debate whether
we should be engaged in that war. This robust discussion is exactly
as it should be in a country that has enshrined the right to free
speech in its Constitution's Bill of Rights.
"But the ability to comment candidly, in speech and writing, on
this country's policies should never be taken for granted. Clemens
P. Work's excellent new book, "Darkest before Dawn: Sedition and
Free Speech in the American West," describes in absorbing detail
one of the darkest eras in Montana history in which dissenting
voices were stifled.
"During World War I, some Montanans opposing U.S. involvement in
the war and those immigrants expressing pro-German, anti-American
sentiments in beer halls found themselves arrested. Seventy-four
Montanans all but one of them men-were convicted of sedition. Forty
of these men and the one lone woman served sentences of up to 20
years at Montana State Prison in Deer Lodge and faced fines of up
to $20,000.
"Montana's frightening Sedition Act, enacted by a special
legislative session and becoming law Feb. 22, 1918, became a model
for the Federal Sedition Act, which was enacted May 16, 1918. The
language defining sedition in the federal law is identical to the
Montana law except for three words.
"It is a shameful, frightening yet fascinating story. Yet it's
one many Montanans know nothing about. It should be taught in our
schools at all levels so we dont repeat the mistakes of our
past.
"The book, published this fall, is a well-written, fully
documented history of the period. It sets the stage for what
happened here, describes the terrifying events and puts the Montana
era in a national context. Work, director of graduate studies at
the University of Montana School of Journalism, weaves a compelling
story about what led to the dissenting voices.
"Western Montana's two major industries then were mining and
timber, which faced an insurgent labor movement upset over unsafe
working conditions and low wages. The radical labor group, the
Industrial Workers of the World, or Wobblies, helped stir the pot.
Miners walked off the job at the Anaconda Copper Mining Co.'s
Speculator Mine in 1917 after a fire killed 168 workers and exposed
dangerous, illegal working conditions.
"The powerful Anaconda Copper MiningCo. dominated Montana
economically and politically as few corporations ever have
nationally. Its copper was a critical product in the war effort.
The Company had the ears, if not the souls, of most of the state's
leading politicians. It also either owned, or had in its pocket,
most of Montana's major daily newspapers.
"The United States entered the war in 1917. By no means did all
Montanans embrace the idea. Many German immigrants saw no reason
for the United States to fight against their homeland, nor did all
Irish immigrants support this country bailing out Great
Britain.
"Dissent was not tolerated in Montana as a wave of
super-patriotism spread. Besides passing the Sedition Act, a
special legislative session emboldened the Montana Council of
Defense, previously a minor group urging people to grow gardens and
buy bonds. The Legislature granted the council the extraordinary
power to pass virtual statewide laws.
"The council soon banned German books and forbade the use of the
German language here, even in the pulpit, driving Mennonites into
Canada. The council encouraged neighbor spying on neighbor, with
the full encouragement of spineless politicians, with a few
exceptions such as U.S. Attorney and later Sen. Burton K. Wheeler
and U.S. District Judge George M. Bourquin.
"The Montana press followed the council in lockstep, with a few
courageous exceptions such as William F. Dunn, fiery editor of the
"Butte Bulletin," a labor paper.
Work said most sedition convictions in Montana were based on
"offhand outburst, often in saloons," usually by blue-collar
workers, many of them immigrants, often using foul language.
"As part of his research, Work created the Montana
SeditionProject (Web site: http: //www.seditionproject.net/), and,
with students' help, has tracked down relatives of some of those
convicted and seeks to learn more about others. As Work wrote on
the Web site, 'Those caught in Montana's sedition net were hardly
heroes, but they should not have been scapegoats either.'
"Among those reading Work's book with keen interest is Gov.
Brian Schweitzer, whose grandparents were German-Russian farmers
who immigrated to Montana nearly a century ago.
"'What made this country great is the melting pot because we
accept a lot of different nationalities, ' Schweitzer said. 'They
came here because they wanted to be here. Most were like my
grandparents. They came here because they had nowhere else to
go.'"Asked if he might issue posthumous pardons to some Montanans
convicted of sedition nearly 90 years ago, Schweitzer said he
hadn't thought of it. Then he said, 'Why not? I will look into
pardons. This was a time of some pretty mass hysteria. Why not
clear the names of some of the people?'"
For more information go to www.seditionproject.net/
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
