The Silver Legion of America, commonly known as the Silver Shirts, was an American fascist and pro-Nazi organization which was founded by William Dudley Pelley and headquartered in Asheville, North Carolina."The Silver Shirts: Their History, Founder, and Activities" . August 24, 1933

History Pelley was a former journalist, novelist and screenwriter turned spiritualist who began to promote antisemitic views by 1931, including the belief that Jews were possessed by demons. He formed the Silver Legion with the goal of bringing about a "spiritual and political renewal", inspired by the success of Adolf Hitler's Nazi movement in Germany.

A nationalist, fascist group, the paramilitary Silver Legion wore a uniform modeled after the Nazis' brown shirts (SA), consisting of a silver shirt with a blue tie, along with a campaign hat and blue corduroy trousers with leggings. The uniform shirts bore a scarlet letter L over the heart, which according to Pelley was "standing for Love, Loyalty, and Liberation." The organizational flag was a plain silver field with a red L in the canton on the upper left hand corner. By 1934, the Legion claimed that it had 15,000 members.

Congressional investigations

The McCormack–Dickstein Committee, the House Special Committee on Un-American Activities created in March 1934, held hearings in Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Newark, and Asheville between April and December 1934. Marine Corps infiltrators Virgil Hayes and Edward Grey testified in August 1934 that Silver Shirts in San Diego had planned to seize City Hall around May Day 1934 and sought stolen military arms. When asked the group's purpose, Hayes stated: "To change the government, William Dudley Pelley, the national organizer told me.""Arms Plot Is Laid to San Diego Nazis," New York Times, August 8, 1934. The committee submitted its final report on February 15, 1935.

The Dies Committee called Pelley to testify in February 1940. He surrendered himself to the committee in Washington, where one observer remarked he "jumped on the committee's lap… like an unwelcome dog."John B. Oakes, "Arrest May Write Finis to Exploits," Washington Post, February 11, 1940. During testimony, Pelley stated he would imprison Senators Robert M. La Follette Jr. and Samuel Dickstein and labour leader John L. Lewis for life."Pelley Would Jail La Follette, Dickstein and Lewis for Life," Associated Press, Washington Evening Star, February 10, 1940. The committee found that Pelley had disseminated German Ministry of Propaganda material while concealing its origins from his own members, and that the Silver Legion operated chapters in Detroit, New York, Boston, Windsor, Ontario, and Villa Acuña, Mexico. A government infiltrator testified that Pelley sought to become "dictator of the United States."Dies Committee findings, 1940; reported in Washington Post and Washington Evening Star, February 1940.

Ties to Nazi Germany

The Silver Legion maintained direct connections with Nazi Germany and its American affiliates. German-made sidearms were ordered for Silver Shirt members, and the organisation cooperated with the Friends of New Germany. One Silver Shirt communiqué instructed recipients to "Destroy if in danger of being taken — Never Surrender them.""Silver Shirts and Friends of New Germany Plot For, Dream of Fascist Conquest of U.S.," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 1934.

Pelley reprinted articles from the Nazi Deutsche Zeitung published in New York, which in turn reprinted his anti-Jewish attacks. He claimed "divine" foreknowledge that "a young house painter in Germany would rise and clear his country of the Jews."Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 1934.

Regional activity

Minnesota

The Minnesota Silver Shirts claimed approximately 6,000 members statewide, with roughly 800 in Minneapolis.Star Tribune archives; Minnesota Historical Society records. Roy Zachary, the national field organiser, held rallies at the Royal Arcanum hall in Minneapolis on July 29 and August 2, 1938, where he called for a vigilante attack on Teamsters Local 544. The union responded by forming a "union defense guard.""Union Defense Guard," Northwest Organizer, September 29, 1938. Rabbi Albert Gordon of Adath Jeshurun publicly identified local business figures, including George K. Belden of the Minneapolis industrial association, who had attended the rallies.Rabbi Albert Gordon, public statements, Minneapolis, 1938.

Washington state

A Silver Shirt office opened in downtown Spokane in 1936, eventually attracting about 200 members."Silvershirts Organize Here," Spokane Spokesman-Review, August 12, 1936. On July 18, 1938, approximately 700 protesters carrying signs reading "This is Spokane, Not Berlin" confronted a Roy Zachary speech. Eleven were arrested. Zachary declared that eliminating "communism and Jews… will not be with the ballot, but with guns, wading in blood.""Silver Shirt Melee Puts 11 in Jail," Spokane Spokesman-Review, July 19, 1938. Charges against the protesters were later dropped."May Dismiss 11 in Picket Case," Spokane Spokesman-Review, July 28, 1938.

A "Silver Lodge" was established at Redmond, Washington around 1936.

California

The San Diego chapter drew particular scrutiny during the 1934 McCormack–Dickstein hearings. Willard Kemp commanded the Southern California Legion and became Pelley's running mate in the 1936 presidential election. The organisation operated an "Aryan Book Store" in Los Angeles.United States Holocaust Memorial Museum film collection; McCormack–Dickstein Committee testimony, 1934.

Illinois

Silver Shirt meetings in Chicago ended in riots in 1938; Zachary was fined $15 for disorderly conduct. In 1939, members smashed windows of the Goldblatt Brothers department store.Chicago press reports, 1938–1939.

Legal troubles

North Carolina securities fraud (1934–1935)

In August 1934, North Carolina authorities charged Pelley with violating state blue sky laws for misrepresenting the value of Galahad Press stock."Charge Breaking of Blue Sky Law," News & Observer, August 22, 1934. He was convicted in January 1935 and received a fine and suspended sentence."W. D. Pelley is Declared Guilty," News & Observer, January 23, 1935; "Pelley, Summerville Convicted by Court," Greensboro News & Record, January 23, 1935.

Federal receivership (1934)

In July 1934, a federal court placed the Silver Legion under receivership. Special master George W. Craig signed the order taking control of Pelley's operations "lock, stock and barrel.""Mystic Pelley Begs for New Shirt As U.S. Takes over Silver Legion," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, July 22, 1934.

Sedition conviction (1942)

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Pelley's magazine The Galilean published an editorial titled "We Fight for This Republic Only" (February 16, 1942) and statements claiming that Pearl Harbor damage was worse than the government admitted. In April 1942, a federal grand jury in Indianapolis indicted him on eleven counts. U.S. Attorney B. Howard Caughran stated Pelley was "the fifth person to be accused of sedition since the United States' entry into the war.""Anti-semite Pelley to Be Tried for Sedition in Indianapolis Federal Court," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, April 6, 1942.

The trial ran from July to August 1942. Charles Lindbergh appeared as a defence witness."Lindbergh Testifies at Pelley Trial," Daily Illini (UP wire), August 5, 1942. On August 13, 1942, Judge Robert C. Baltzell sentenced Pelley to 15 years for sedition and conspiracy to commit sedition, including making seditious statements, obstructing military recruiting, and fomenting insurrection within the military. The conviction was affirmed on appeal (United States v. Pelley, 132 F.2d 170, 7th Cir. 1942) and certiorari was denied by the Supreme Court (318 U.S. 764, 1943).United States v. Pelley, 132 F.2d 170 (7th Cir. 1942); cert. denied, 318 U.S. 764 (1943).

Great Sedition Trial (1944)

Pelley was among approximately 30 defendants in United States v. McWilliams (1944), alongside George Sylvester Viereck, Elizabeth Dilling, Gerald Winrod, and German American Bund leaders. Prosecutor O. John Rogge sought to prove the defendants had echoed Nazi propaganda. The trial ended in a mistrial on November 29, 1944, following the death of Judge Edward C. Eicher.United States v. McWilliams, 1944.

Publications

The Silver Legion published several periodicals: Liberation (the national weekly, edited by Pelley), Pelley's Weekly, the Silvershirt Weekly, The New Liberator, The Galilean, and later Roll Call. The organisation also published recruitment literature including One Million Silver Shirts by 1939, which outlined plans to restrict Jewish property rights and dismantle the New Deal.George Clarke, "Hill-Billy Hitlerites: Pelley's Silver Shirts," The Militant, Vol. 7, Nos. 2 & 3, January 20 & 27, 1934.

Liberation suspended publication in 1934 when Galahad Press entered bankruptcy."Pelley's 'Liberation' Suspends Publication; Press is Bankrupt," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, 1934.

Dissolution and aftermath

Pelley formally disbanded the Silver Legion shortly after the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. In December 1940, two moving vans had transported files and printing equipment from the Asheville headquarters to Noblesville, Indiana."Noblesville Stirred as Silver Shirt Founder Seeks to Locate Plant in City," Anderson Daily Bulletin, January 4, 1941. In a Christmas Day 1940 interview, Pelley claimed he had already dissolved the Silver Shirts.Indianapolis News, December 25, 1940.

On January 20, 1942, Pelley was sentenced to serve two to three years in prison by Superior Court Judge F. Don Phillips, in Asheville, North Carolina, for violating terms of probation of a 1935 conviction for violating North Carolina security laws. The same sentence had been suspended pending good behavior, but the court found that during that period, Pelley had published false and libelous statements, published inaccurate reports and advertising, and supported a secret military organization.Associated Press, "Pelley of Silver Shirts Must Serve Prison Term," The San Bernardino Daily Sun, San Bernardino, California, Wednesday 21 January 1942, Volume 48, page 1. For claiming that the devastation of the Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor was worse than the government claimed, Pelley was arrested by federal authorities and sentenced to 15 years in prison for sedition and conspiracy to commit sedition, including for making seditious statements, obstructing military recruiting, and fomenting insurrection within the military.

Pelley was paroled on February 14, 1950."Pelley, 'Silver Shirts' Founder, Gets Parole," Jewish Telegraphic Agency, February 14, 1950. He died on June 30, 1965. His New York Times obituary described him as "an agitator without a significant following.""William Dudley Pelley, 75, Dies; Founded Fascist Silver Shirts," New York Times, July 2, 1965.

See also Christian Party (United States, 1930s) German American Bund Political uniform Ulrich Fleischhauer

References Notes

Further reading Allen, Joe "'It Can't Happen Here?': Confronting the Fascist Threat in the US in the Late 1930s," International Socialist Review, Part One: whole no. 85 (Sept.–Oct. 2012), pp. 26–35; Part Two: whole no. 87 (Jan.–Feb. 2013), pp. 19–28.

Ribuffo, Leo Paul The Old Christian Right: The Protestant Far Right from the Great Depression to the Cold War. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1983. Spivak, John L. Secret Armies: The New Technique of Nazi Warfare. New York: Modern Age Books, 1939. Werly, John The Millenarian Right: William Dudley Pelley and the Silver Legion of America. PhD dissertation. Syracuse University, 1972. Yeadon, Glen. The Nazi Hydra in America. Joshua Tree, CA: Progressive Press, 2008.

External links Photo of a Silver Legion of America meeting in the 1930s The Holocaust Chronicle: Prologue: Roots of the Holocaust, p. 89 The American Jewish Committees' archive on the Silver Shirts