Montana grants WWI critics posthumous pardons (a little late)

[Charlie Brown]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/05/03/montana.pardons.ap/index.html

Governor Brian Schweitzer said the state was "about 80 years too late" in pardoning the mostly working-class people of German descent who were convicted of breaking what was then one of the harshest sedition laws in the nation.

Under Montana's sedition law, it was illegal to make "any disloyal, profane, violent, scurrilous, contemptuous, slurring or abusive" comment about the U.S. Constitution, the federal government, soldiers or sailors, the flag or the uniforms of the Army or Navy.

Laws at the time even made it illegal to speak German. Schweitzer, whose ethnic German immigrant parents had recently arrived in Montana, said his grandmother was not allowed to speak the only language she knew while out in public.

August Lambrecht spent seven months in prison for saying the country would "get a licking" in France. His great-grandson, David Gabriel of Helena, said Lambrecht was sent out of state after his release for fear of being imprisoned again.

"This is America," Gabriel said. "Having freedom of speech and saying what is on your mind doesn't make you a criminal and it shouldn't."

Their relatives were imprisoned for an average of 19 months, often based on casual comments made in saloons. At the time, profane language or insulting the virtues of women usually resulted in a longer sentence.

Journalism professor Clem Work of the University of Montana said many were turned in by friends, acquaintances or in some cases by people jealous of their land holdings.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. And you thought freepers are nuts now, you should've seen their grandfolks

They renamed their foods like the pukes did after 9-11, like Liberty Cabbage for sauerkraut, Coney Islands/hot dogs for frankfurters, Salisbury steak for hamburger, etc.

They forbid the teaching of the German language in public schools.

If you want to see a depiction of mob violence on German-Americans, it can be found in a scene in East of Eden starring James Dean. A grocery store that is run by German-American citizens is trashed by a mob who intend to harm the owners as well. It's ugly.

And about those lost civil liberties during WWI? A law professor was "asked to leave" his post by the administration simply because he refused a mandate to buy Liberty Bonds. His passive protest against the war made him a potential victim of the times. However, this professor went on to be a judge in a series of courts until he was the Chief Judge of the D.C. Court of Appeals, Henry Edgerton.

And since this is Montana granting amnesty for crimes that should have never been recognized, what about its great representative, Jeanette Rankin, the first female to be elected to Congress and the only representative to vote AGAINST U.S. participation in BOTH World War One and World War Two. They should have given her due recognition for her contribution. She was the Dennis Kucinich of her time.

[Ediacara]

2. Jeanette Rankin is actually very highly thought of in Montana

And as far as I know, she wasn't jailed for sedition. You're right, these people should never have been convicted of a crime under a law that should never have been passed, but Schweitzer is certainly doing the right thing here.

[400Years]

3. making up for the sins of Woodrow Wilson