A Second Revolution?

Throughout the early thirties and especially the winter of 1932-1933, the sound of famished men on the march was heard from coast to coast. In New Yor thirty fi!e thousand men and women pac ed "nion #$uare to hear %ommunist party orators %rowds in & lahoma %ity, 'inneapolis, and (aul )ro e into groceries and meat mar ets to rifle shel!es. *eelings of desperation were still internali+ed in most men ,the suicide rate tripled that winter- )ut more and more mo)s were )eginning to coalesce. In .incoln, Ne)ras a, four thousand men occupied the statehouse, another fi!e thousand too o!er #eattle/s ten-story %ounty-%ity 0uilding, and fi!e thousand %hicago teachers, tormented )eyond endurance, stormed the city/s )an s. The strains of 1./Internationale// were )ecoming increasingly familiar to the 2o)less3 a forty-two-year-old radical named .ouis 0uden+ led the &hio "nemployed .eague mass march on the %olum)us statehouse. 4is slogan was5 16e must ta e control of the go!ernment and esta)lish a wor ers/ and farmers/ repu)lic.// The sense of institutions, authority, and pri!ate property - the intuiti!e discipline which 7aniel (atric 'oynihan would later call //the glue that holds societies together1 was showing signs of disintegration. The ta8 stri es and the )ootleg mining of company coal seams were ominous3 so was the fre$uency with which empty lots were )eing occupied without their owners/ consent, and the scattered, aimless rioting in 7etroit, where relief had simply stopped. #ome communities $uit. 9ey 6est, *lorida, was going into )an ruptcy3 there was no money to pay the sanitation department, and whole streets were filling up with ru))ish and gar)age. 4ere and there the star!ing were muttering !iolence. The mayor of a 'assachusetts town, watching two thousand idle men milling around his city hall, wrote that 1a spar might change them into a mo).1 :o!ernor ;. 'a8 :ardner of North %arolina warned of the danger of //!iolent social and political re!olution.1 'ayor <nton %erma of %hicago, faced with the state/s reluctance to appropriate funds for the city/s si8 hundred thousand out-of-wor men, told the legislature, //%all out the troops )efore you close the relief stations.// The well-fed were edgy. %ompany men in employment offices )ecame curt, )an tellers ner!ous, elected officials $uic er to call the police, policemen faster with the nightstic . .4enry *ord had always )een a pacifist. Now he carried a gun. In =ichmond, >irginia, a delegation from the local "nemployed %ouncil called on 'ayor ?. *ulmer 0right a days after Than sgi!ing3 the mayor told his police chief, 1Ta e these men )y the scruff of the nec and the seat of the pants and throw them out.1 ?ittery company guards illed four miners in (ennsyl!ania/s *ayette %ounty. New Yor ordered the apple sellers off its sidewal s, and ?ohn (. &/0rien, the new occupant of %racie 'ansion, promised his city, 1You/re going to ha!e a mayor with a chin and fight in him. I/ll preser!e the metropolis from the =ed <rmy.1 (lainlclothesmen swinging truncheons waded into a "nion #$uare rally3 the New York Times reported screams of women and cries of men with )lood@/ heads and faces.// & lahoma %ity police used tear gas to )rea up meetings. #eattle police e!icted the s$uatters from its %ounty-%ity 0uilding with fire hoses. %hicago law enforcement officers clu))ed the unpaid teachers with )illies, two of them holding one middle-aged women while a third smashed her face. Testifying )efore a #enate committee a)out the sporadic uprisings in a num)er of our industrial cities,// an <*. spo esman said that 1the great )ul of those people now nothing a)out %ommunism. They wanted )read.// To the propertied classes, the distinction was irrele!ant. <s =o)ert #herwood wrote, the way ahead seemed to )e clouded )y 1)lac dou)t, punctured )y )rief flashes of ominous light, whose re!elations are not comforting.// The go!ernment could not eep order, each man must loo to his own. 0usinessmen in a num)er of cities formed committees to cope with nameless terrors should railroad and telephone lines )e cut and surrounding highways )loc ed. %andles and canned goods were stoc piled3 a 4ollywood director carried with him a wardro)e of old clothes so that he could 1disappear into the crowd// on a moment/s notice. In New Yor , hotels disco!ered that wealthy guests who usually leased suites for the winter were holing up in their country homes. #ome had

mounted machine guns on their roofs. They weren/t paranoid. The e!idence strongly suggests that had *ran lin 7 =oose!elt in fact )een another 4oo!er, the "nited #tates would ha!e followed se!en .atin <merican countries whose go!ernments had )een o!erthrown )y 7epression !ictims. %harles ' #chwa) was one of many tycoons who )elie!ed re!olution was 2ust around the corner. The dean of the 4ar!ard 0usiness #chool said, //%apitalism is on trial and on the issue of this trial may depend on whole future of 6estern ci!ili+ation// <rticles de)ating the imminence of re!olt appeared in the Yale Review, Scnbner's, Harper's, the American Mercury, and the Atlantic. Norman Thomas later said of late 1932 that //ne!er )efore or since ha!e I heard so much open and )itter cynicism a)out democracy and the <merican system.1 . . . <l #mith thought the %onstitution ought to )e wrapped up and laid //on the shelf// until the crisis was o!er. Vanity air whose associate editors included %lare 0oothe 0ro aw ,later .uce-, demanded, 1<ppoint a dictatorA// 6alter .ippmann wanted to gi!e the (resident full power at the e8pense of %ongress3 //the danger,1 he said, 1is not that we shall lose our li)erties, )ut that we shall not )e a)le to act with the necessary speed and comprehensi!eness,1 and =epu)lican #enator 7a!id < =eed said outright, 1If this country e!er needed a 'ussolini, it needs one now.1 In a New Yorker cartoon a girl at a :reenwich >illage party told a limp young man, //&h, it/s all !ery simple. &ur little group simply sei+es the powerhouses and the radio station.1 That was where the danger lay, most people thought5 in the cities. B#ecretary of 6ar (atric ?.C 4urley was )elie!ed to )e concentrating the few troops he had near metropolitan areas, )ut re)ellious populations ha!e a way of outfo8ing authority, and the opening re!olt came where it was least e8pected. *armers had aD ways )een considered the most conser!ati!e of <mericans, yet it was in =epu)lican Iowa - 4oo!er/s home state - that sun)urned men of nati!e stoc first reached for their pitchfor s and shotguns. They were finally ta ing up arms against a system which paid them two cents a $uart for mil that distri)utors sold for eight cents in #iou8 %ity. "nder the leadership of 'ilo =eno, a si8ty-four-year-old former president of the Iowa *armers "nion, they )loc ed all ten highways leading into the city. #pi ed telegraph poles and logs were laid across the roads. &nly mil for hospitals was allowed to pass. &ther truc s were stopped and the mil cans emptied into ditches or ta en into town and distri)uted free. #ympathetic telephone operators warned the insurgent farmers of approaching con!oys an hour in ad!ance3 sheriffs were disarmed and their pistols and )adges thrown into cornfields. =oute 2; )ecame nown as 0un er 4ill 2;. (eering at 'ary 4eaton >orse of Harper's from under the )rim of a ten-cent straw hat, an old man said, 1They say )loc ading the highway/s illegal. I says /#eems to me there was a tea party in 0oston that was illegal too. The mo!ement spread until 7es 'oines, %ouncil 0luffs, and &maha were isolated. In 6isconsin, em)attled farmers in!aded a dairy three times in one day, dumped 3E,;;; pounds of mil on the ground, and poured gasoline in the !ats. < congressional su)committee heard &scar <meringer of & lahoma %ity descri)e a con!ersation with a rancher whom he had nown to )e conser!ati!e. The man had said, 16e/!e got to ha!e a re!olution here li e they did in =ussia.1 <meringer had as ed him how he proposed to do it, and the man had replied, 16e will ha!e E;; machine guns . . . )atteries of artillery, tractors and munitions and rifles and e!erything else to supply a pretty good army. If there are enough fellows with guts in this country to do li e us, we will march eastward and we will cut the Fast off. 6e will cut the Fast off from the 6est. 6e ha!e got the granaries3 we ha!e the hogs, the cattle, the corn, and the Fast has nothing )ut mortgages on our places. 6e wia1, show them what we can do.1 <meringer told the 4ouse .a)or %ommittee, 1I ha!e heard much of this tal from seriousminded prosperous men of other days.1 6ill =ogers said, 1(aul =e!ere 2ust wo e up %oncord. These )irds wo e up <merica.1 <nd on =oute 2; the Iowans sang5 .et/s call a farmers/ holiday

< holiday let/s )old5 6e/ll eat our wheat and ham and eggs <nd let them eat their gold. The #iou8 %ity siege was lifted shortly after a mysterious shotgun attac on the camp of some 'ilo =eno followers near the town of %hero ee, forty-eight miles east of the city. 4e $uit, and farmers surrounding the other in!ested cities $uit with him. 0ut =eno said, 1You can no more stop this mo!ement than you could stop the re!olution. I mean the re!olution of 1GGH.1 0oth in their !iolence and their uprising they were )eing faithful to <merican tradition - and they went unpunished. <t %ouncil 0luffs si8ty had )een arrested, )ut when a thousand of their fellow insurgents marched on the 2ail, they were hastily released. %on!inced that direct action paid, the farmers now decided to do something a)out mortgage foreclosures. &n the outs irts of a 9ansas !illage police found the murdered )ody of a lawyer who had 2ust foreclosed on a fi!e-hundred-acre farm. In %heyenne %ounty, Ne)ras a, the leaders of two hundred thousand de)t-ridden farmers announced that if they didn/t get help from the legislature they would con!erge on the statehouse and ra+e it, )ric )y )ric . Throughout 4oo!er/s last winter as (resident there were foreclosure riots in Iowa at #torm .a e, at (rimghar, in >an 0uren %ounty, then at .e 'ars. The .e 'ars incident was particularly ugly. 0lac shirted !igilantes in!aded the courtroom of ?udge %harles %. 0radley, dragged him from the )ench, )lindfolded him, and dro!e him to a lonely crossroads. Their leader demanded, 16ill you swear you won/t sign no more mortgage foreclosuresI1 The 2udge said no. <gain and again the demand was repeated, and the answer was the same. 4e was slapped, ic ed, and noc ed to the ground. < rope was tied around his nec 3 the other end was thrown o!er a roadside sign. < greasy hu)cap was clapped down on his head- 1That/s his crown,1 one of the men shouted. The 2udge ne!er did gi!e his word, )ut though he was stripped and )eaten, lie declined to press prosecution afterward. 6hen papers had )een signed, hundreds of farmers would appear at the auction shouting JNo saleA1 (rospecti!e )idders would )e sho!ed aside3 their neigh)ors would )uy the land for a few dollars and return it to its original owner. <t one sheriff/s sale a horse )rought fi!e cents, a 4olstein )ull fi!e cents, three hogs another nic el, two cal!es four cents, and so on, until the entire property had changed hands for K1.1L. It was deeded )ac to the householder for ninety-nine years. .awyers representing insurance companies in the Fast were id-napped and threatened with the noose until the home office relented and agreed to a mortgage moratorium. 0y the end of ?anuary 1933, ?ohn <. #impson, president of the National *armers "nion, told the #enate %ommittee on <griculture, 1The )iggest and finest crop of re!olutions you e!er saw is sprouting all o!er this country right now.1 <rt Thuile, president of the <merican *arm 0ureau *ederation, added, //"nless something is done for the <merican farmer we/ll ha!e re!olution in the countryside in less than twel!e months.1

A Second Revolution
"sing the reading pro!ided, respond to the following $uestions a)out life in <merica during the193;Ms. 1. 6as the %ommunist party popular in the 193;MsI 4ow can you tellI

Yes, the people wanted a go!ernment that would supply their needs, and redistri)ute the wealth of <merica e!enly to its entire people. They as ed for a president that was li e a 'ussolini, a !ery well nown communist dictator. 2. 6hy do you suppose this ,$uestion N1- wasI <s stated a)o!e, the people wanted someone who would redistri)ute the wealth of the people e!enly, so that e!eryone was cared for, and e!eryone had their needs met. &)!iously it was only the poor who wanted this, the rich were against it )ecause they were well off, and they wanted to eep their money. 3. 6hat is the Jglue that holds society togetherOI The sense of institutions, authority, and pri!ate property, was the glue that held society together, according to 7aniel (atric 'oynihan. E. 4ow were the well off feelingI :i!e an e8ample. Is this rational or irrationalI They were in a !ery ner!ous state of mind, they were always scared of the poor rioting on them, and they were always worried that they might lose their source of income. <n e8ample would )e the 4enry *ord who always used to )e peace lo!ing, now carried a gun. It was rational to )e worried a)out people rioting, )ut to fret a)out losing money is !ery irrational considering that the ma2ority of people had no money at all. @. 6hat is ?ohn (. &M0rien promisingI JYou/re going to ha!e a mayor with a chin and fight in him. I/ll preser!e the metropolis from the =ed <rmy.1 4e was promising to eep the peace in the city )y using force. H. 6hy does communism do well in the 193;MsI is the decision to fa!or communism a well thought out, educated decision or notI 4ow can you tellI %ommunism does well in the 193;Ms )ecause almost e!eryone is for it. #ince the go!ernment used to not ha!e any dealings with the people, ha!ing it change to a go!ernment that does almost e!erything for the people is a welcomed change. The decision to fa!or communism was not !ery well thought out, )ecause the people were desperate for anything that would help them get their needs met. 0ut if they really did get a completely communist go!ernment, it would ha!e )een completely against the entire foundation on which <merica was )uilt, and if it would ha!e gone completely communist, the leader would pro)a)ly not ha!e gi!en up power, and it would ha!e turned into a communist go!ernment fore!er. G. 0ased on the reading, what can you conclude a)out the differences )etween the approaches of 4oo!er and =oose!elt towards the depressionI 4oo!er had the approach to 2ust ha!e the citi+ens themsel!es figure out how to reco!er from depression, and that the go!ernment should stay out of the entire issue. *7= had the outloo that it was the go!ernmentMs responsi)ility to help those in need, and to ta e action to reco!er from depression.

L.

<ccording to the reading, how serious was the depressionI 4ow can you tellI The depression was !ery serious3 thousands of people were near star!ing, or actually star!ing. The riots against the go!ernment and the rich were )ecoming increasingly !iolent, and the people almost o!erthrew the go!ernment. 9. 6ho was 'ussolini and why might we need him nowI 'ussolini was a communist dictator o!er in Furope. The people wanted a dictator li e him to help )ring a)out communism, and create e$uality for all people of the country, so that e!eryoneMs needs were met. 1;. 6hat is the J0un er 4ill 2;O a reference toI 6hat does this tell you a)out the intentions of the people who called it thatI 6hat other e!idence in the reading would support your answer a)out their intentsI It is a reference to the )loc ade that the "nion wor ers made )loc ing all highways leading into a city in Iowa, on route 2;. Those who call it )y that name are in support of the e!ent, saying that it was a step towards a new, and )etter go!ernment. 11. 7escri)e the mood in middle <merica. The people in middle <merica were most against the go!ernment at the time, and wanted it to change. They were )ecoming !ery re)ellious, and started rioting against those in power, the wealthy and the go!ernment. 12. 7o you )elie!e the farmers that they really are in control of the country )ecause they owned the land to farm onI 6hy or why notI

They ha!e partial control of the country )ecause they are a part of the country, )ut I donMt thin that had the right to ta e matters into their own hands )y )arricading a city, and using !iolent force to start a change in go!ernment. 13. 6hy were the men referred to going unpunishedI 7o you agree with the reasoning that they were following the spirit of <mericaI 6hy or why notI They went unpunished )ecause e!eryone was supporting them, and they couldnMt really do anything to punish them, so they came up with saying they were 2ust following the spirit of <merica to ind of o!erloo the matter. The spirit of <merica should ne!er )e to ill anyone to get what you want, so I do not fully agree. 1E. 4ow did the farmers try to circum!ent and try to stop foreclosuresI They all gather around, and stop anyone from )idding, so they end up )uying all of the property for a !ery cheap price, and deed all of it )ac to the original owners. 1@. 6hat does this ,N1E- tell you a)out our traditionalPmodern society de)ate in <mericaI This shows us that they are loo ing at a traditional way to de)ate against what they thought was wrong, )y all coming together to stic up for what they thin is right. 1H. 7o you agree, was the )iggest and finest crop of re!olutions sprouting up all o!er the countryI They re!olutions were mainly sprouting up in the west, and in the most rural places where hard times were hardest to get through on a farm. <nd where one re!olution started, others would follow, so they were not really all o!er the country.

1G. It is said that <mericans !ote their poc et)oo s Q that is, their political choices depend on how well off they are economically. 6hat in this article would ma e you agree or disagree with that statementI In this article, only those who were poor, and not doing well were supporting a communistic go!ernment, and re)elling against the go!ernment. 0ut those who had money, and were well off wanted to stic with the go!ernment they had, with 2ust a few minor changes. #o yes, I agree with the statement that <mericans !ote their poc et)oo s.