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The American Legion, the American Federation of Labor, and Square Deal Americanism in the 1920S

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The American Legion, the American Federation of Labor, and Square Deal Americanism in the 1920S Rowan University Rowan Digital Works Theses and Dissertations 5-7-2020 Against the classes and the masses: The American Legion, the American Federation of Labor, and Square Deal Americanism in the 1920s Gregory Steven Hopely Rowan University Follow this and additional works at: https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd Part of the United States History Commons Recommended Citation Hopely, Gregory Steven, "Against the classes and the masses: The American Legion, the American Federation of Labor, and Square Deal Americanism in the 1920s" (2020). Theses and Dissertations. 2791. https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/2791 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Rowan Digital Works. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Rowan Digital Works. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AGAINST THE CLASSES AND THE MASSES: THE AMERICAN LEGION, THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR, AND SQUARE DEAL AMERICANISM IN THE 1920S by Gregory S. Hopely A Thesis Submitted to the Department of History College of Humanities and Social Sciences In partial fulfillment of the requirement For the degree of Master of Arts in History at Rowan University April 29, 2020 Thesis Chair: Melissa Klapper, Ph.D. © 2020 Gregory S. Hopely Acknowledgments This is a project many years in the making. I want to extend words of thanks to the esteemed faculty of the Rowan University History Department. Many of the ideas presented in this thesis were developed throughout my coursework and your guidance has been invaluable. I specifically want to thank Dr. Scott Morschauser, for talking me into joining the master’s program, as well as Dr. James Heinzen and Dr. Melissa Klapper (who also took on the task of advising this thesis), throughout whose courses this project began to take shape. I also would like to thank the other members of my thesis committee, Dr. Chanelle Rose and Dr. Emily Blanck, for taking the time to read my thesis and offer valuable insight. I would also like to extend gratitude to a few of my fellow graduate students: Matthew, William, and Kevin, who have always been readily available to offer advice as well as to provide needed comic relief. None of this would have been possible without the professional and personal support of my family and friends. I cannot think of words strong enough to express my gratitude to my wife, Rachel, who took on the many responsibilities I neglected due to the demands of my coursework and whose encouragement has carried me through to the end of this journey. Finally, I’d like to dedicate this work to my two children, Alexia and Colton. I hope that this thesis is something you can be proud of. I hope it is a source of inspiration for you in the future when you grow up and begin to make choices about your own lives and paths. iii Abstract Gregory S. Hopely AGAINST THE CLASSES AND THE MASSES: THE AMERICAN LEGION, THE AMERICAN FEDERATION OF LABOR, AND SQUARE DEAL AMERICANISM IN THE 1920S 2019-2020 Melissa Klapper, Ph.D. Master of Arts in History This work explores the ideological contributions of the American Legion and the American Federation of Labor to American conservatism in the 1920s. It argues that the two organizations shared a vision of what the author calls Square Deal Americanism, a loose conception of ideal citizenship that added a nationalist rejection of class to more traditional nativist Americanism. The conservatism of both groups took inspiration from the legacies of the Progressive Era and World War I. They sought an active role for the federal government and engaged citizenry in eliminating any strain of radicalism, fostering patriotism, and securing a square deal between capital and labor. Primarily through published sources, but also buttressed by archival work, this thesis demonstrates how the two organizations worked together toward a loosely shared vision of Americanism to a degree underestimated by historians. The Legion and AFL collaborated on anticommunist activities during the Red Scare of 1919-1920, were part of an information sharing network that included civic societies and the federal government, partnered to promote patriotic legislation and restrict immigration, and publicized their vision of the loyal American who placed nation above class. Finally, this work demonstrates how their conception of Square Deal Americanism led individuals in both organizations to make early, if cautious and ultimately abandoned, praise of Fascism. iv Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................iv List of Figures ..................................................................................................................vii Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................1 Methodology ..............................................................................................................6 Chapter 2: The American Legion, The AFL, and Red Scare America ............................12 American Federation of Labor ...................................................................................14 The American Legion ................................................................................................20 A Changing World .....................................................................................................23 Red Scare America ....................................................................................................26 The American Legion, the Red Scare, and Beyond ...................................................29 The AFL, the Red Scare, and Beyond .......................................................................40 Chapter 3: The American Legion, The AFL, and Active Americanism ..........................49 Scholarship .................................................................................................................50 The Legion and the AFL: Structure and Membership ...............................................55 Coming Together .......................................................................................................63 Active Americanism ..................................................................................................69 The Legion and the AFL: Immigration ......................................................................78 Chapter 4: The American Legion, The AFL, and Square Deal Americanism .................87 Square Deal Americanism and the Progressive Era ..................................................98 Square Deal Americanism and Capitalism, Race, and Gender ..................................110 Square Deal Americanism and Class .........................................................................118 Chapter 5: The American Legion, The AFL, and Fascism ..............................................131 v Table of Contents (Continued) Social Composition ....................................................................................................134 The AFL and Fascism ................................................................................................141 The American Legion and Fascism ...........................................................................146 Conclusion .................................................................................................................155 References ........................................................................................................................161 vi List of Figures Figure Page Figure 1. Centralia Parade. ...............................................................................................31 Figure 2. Grand and Glorious Feelin’ ..............................................................................35 Figure 3. Enemy at the Gates ...........................................................................................36 Figure 4. The Good American. ........................................................................................110 Figure 5. Gallows Humor. ...............................................................................................122 vii Chapter 1 Introduction In an oft-cited statement, Alvin Owsley, who served as National Commander of the American Legion from 1922 to 1923, declared: “if ever needed, the American Legion stands ready to protect the country’s institutions and ideals as the Fascisti dealt with the obstructionists who imperiled Italy.”1 When asked if he were willing to take over the government in order to do so, he replied, “exactly that…The American Legion is fighting every element that threatens our democratic government – soviets, anarchists, I.W.W., revolutionary socialists and every other ‘red’…Do not forget that the Fascisti are to Italy what the American Legion is to the United States.”2 In a somewhat more cautious statement, John McQuigg, Commander from 1925-1926, proclaimed: “the Fascisti are the Legionnaires of Italy. Their aims and ideals, though not their methods, are identical with those of the American Legionnaires.”3 Around the same time, the longtime president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL), Samuel Gompers, himself an avid anticommunist, made a more restrained, though still quasi-sympathetic statement on Italian Fascism. Conceding that when the “effectiveness of parliamentary action had been largely destroyed…partly due to Communist intrigue” and “however repugnant may be the idea
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