In 1920, New York Expelled 5 Elected Socialists From the State Assembly.

[Smarmie Doofus]

Last edited Thu Aug 27, 2015, 09:16 AM - Edit history (1)

Doing some reading this am about T. Roosevelt Jr. Wikipedia had the following to say:

>>>in 1920 and 1921, Roosevelt was one of the few legislators who opposed the expulsion of five Socialist assemblymen in 1920. Anxiety about Socialists was high at the time.>>>>>

But cites no source.

Anyway, I want to know more. Can anyone here show me the way?

[deutsey]

1. It seems to have been part of the first Red Scare after WWI

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Red_Scare#Expulsion_of_Socialists_from_the_New_York_Assembly

The first Red Scare was a huge (and sometimes violent) reaction against socialist gains prior to the war, just as the second one after WWII was a reaction against New Deal gains in the '30s.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. Thanks. Good link. Among other things, one has to wonder how this action...

...managed to pass a legal challenge. ( Assuming they were not reinstated.)

Aren't US citizens entitled to be represented by the people they elect?

[enlightenment]

2. Getting ready to go -

here's a quick link to some information:

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/when-the-assembly-expelled-socialists-for-disloyalty/

and a link to a primary source in Google books (which may or may not open - if not, google "new york expels state socialists" in Google Books.

https://books.google.com/books?id=Ig4UAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA302&lpg=PA302&dq=new+york+expels+state+socialists&source=bl&ots=VST9ihf3BK&sig=lI3giQJp3aMWLcteaFwm2lFURGA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDcQ6AEwBGoVChMIoezCmbnJxwIVkDaICh3odAHN#v=onepage&q=new%20york%20expels%20state%20socialists&f=false

[Smarmie Doofus]

4. So they... the Assembly majority... were DRUNK? Oh, man. This is rich.

>>>>During debate two weeks later in the Senate, Senator George F. Thompson, Republican of Niagara, accused one Mark Daly, a lobbyist for upstate manufacturers, of procuring liquor for the debating Assembly members. He said some of them got so drunk during the debate that they had to be carried out.

“A great deal of liquor was on hand and was used for the purpose of getting votes over on the other side the night they threw the Socialists out,” Mr. Thompson charged. “Some even got so drunk that they had to be carried out of the Assembly chamber.”>>>>

Albany was a an moral and ethical mess in those days too, it would appear. Just that the nature and form of the vice seems to have evolved over time.

Good way to distract the NYS public from what was unquestionably the greater evil ( and THREAT) .

Right . Worry about the Socialists in your midst; not about the the political sleazebags ... who appear to have been much more numerous. And *powerful*.

Thanks for the links.

[TBF]

5. The Palmer Raids

When I start going off about Eric Holder declaring Freedom Road a terrorist organization (while the NRA continues on - business as usual) it is things like the Palmer Raids that are informing my view. These were under a democratic president (Wilson) in the early decades of the 1900s.

1918 - The Sedition Act, a further refinement of the Espionage Act, was passed. This wide-ranging law made it illegal to criticize the government or hamper the war effort in almost any manner. Thus many labor activists, dissidents and radicals became the targets of government prosecutors. To be a member of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) union put one at the risk of deportation. Anyone found violating these acts could be fined up to $10,000 and/or sentenced up to twenty years in jail. Rose Pastor Stokes, Eugene V. Debs, Victor Berger and Emma Goldman were notable individuals that were arrested and charged under these laws.

The Palmer Raids took place during November 1919 and January 1920. The U.S. Department of Justice, under the leadership of the Attorney General Alexander M. Palmer, sought to arrest and/or deport all radicals and anarchists living in the United States. Palmer used his connections with officials in the Labor Department and Bureau of Immigration to establish probable cause on those affiliated with any labor, socialist, anarchist, or Russian immigrant groups. The main purpose of the raids was to purge the United States of anarchists and radical socialists; however, while many of those deported (over 500 in total) were anarchists, many were simply members of immigrant organizations such as the Union of Russian Laborers.

http://dwardmac.pitzer.edu/anarchist_archives/worldwidemovements/uspalmerraids/bio.html