Chapter 8: Father Coughlin, Fomenting Anti-Semitism via the Radio

"Father Coughlin had a voice like honey, but his message was pure evil," Rodger Streimatter in "Mightier that the Sword."

Father Couglin
http://undercoverblackman.blogspot.com/2007/08/father-coughlin-and-jews.html

Among many historical episodes in which media play a very important role, Roger Streitmatter cites Father Coughlin and his Anti-Semitism message that “Jews were evil, money-hungry conspirators who had infiltrated American life and were destroying every value that Christian people held sacred”. I chose this chapter because radio became a powerful tool to reach the masses and drive changes; however, instead of fulfilling its democratic role, it was used by Father Coughlin to spread Anti-Semitism and violence.

Father Coughlin in Action

(by Candour Magazine on YouTube)

Looking forward to spread “the word” with his innovative means, Father Coughlin, who was assigned to be a pastor of a new church in the suburb of Detroit, approached Detroit radio station WJR and asked to broadcast a weekly sermon based on the news events. Initially, he attacked economic matters; then, he jumped to politics. As his voice was captivating, people would gather around the radio and listen to the words of the man of God.

His attacks caused authorities to doubt of his tactics and CBS to refuse to renew his contract in order to avoid trouble. After complaining about his freedom being violated, Father Coughlin founded the National Union of Social Justice, and later on his weekly tabloid called Social Justice that printed scripts of his broadcasts. In both air waves and tabloid, he would establish his Anti-Semitist feeling through stereotypes and insinuation. He even accused Jews of being the in a global conspiracy to ensure communism; then, he argued that Jewish bankers plotted and financed the Revolution in 1917.

http://archives.lib.cua.edu/education/politics/1936-chided.cfm

 After those accusations, many Catholics leaders renounced him and the Cardinal George Mundelein of Chicago said that Father Coughlin was welcome to express his opinions; however, he was not authorized to speak for the Catholic Church or represent the doctrines and sentiments of the Church.

As a response to that, Father Coughlin took a very shocking step; he started advocating violence as a response to the social ills that had been instigated by the Jews. Coughlin critics formed the Friends of Democracy to remove the priest from the air, and several large radio stations refused to air his broadcast. As it wasn’t economic feasible to continue broadcasting, he retired.

Father Coughlin in action.
http://www.ssa.gov/history/fcspeech.html

Social Justice continued to attack the Jews saying they were the cause of World War II. As people like Father Coughlin were no longer tolerated, officials stepped up and took direct action to quiet him; they seized his paper and nosiness records. However, it was needed more than that to silence Father Coughlin’s thoughts. Authorities of the Catholic Church had to order him to choose between ceasing all his non-religious activities or be expelled from his religious duties. That was when he disappeared from public’s eyes.

This chapter not only shows us how powerful words can be when reached the masses but also how radio is a very important part of spreading the word and propelling changes, in Streitmatter’s words, “not necessarily by appealing to the best in human nature.”

Chapter 3: Slowing the Momentum for Women's Rights

I chose this chapter because it was the exception. In the other 3 chapters of "Mightier than the Sword" by Rodger Streitmatter, media changed history bringing revolution towards freedom, giving life to the Abolitionist Movement by putting people together against the sins of slavery, attacking corruption and showing the society that democracy would work in their favor. However, media did nothing but to ignore Women’s Right until the point that few women reached higher position in the media and made their rights something to be heard.

History of Women's Rights by dizzo95, YouTube

NPS
First class postage from 1948 commemorating the
First Women's Rights Convention.
http://www.nps.gov/wori/historyculture/people.htm

   The possibility of women rights started to rise, and that took powerful men to feel threatened with the thought of sharing their control with women. As the typical eighteen-century women reached a place in society based on her husband’s identity, they were considered incapable of important decision making. Also, they were narrowed to their home and kept away from everything that was not involved in the women sphere. Tired of being undermined, women turned against the powerful men who limited everything from their role in society to their abilities. As a result, they found in the Abolitionists steps the encouragement they needed to reach their goals and use the media as a mean to express their hope of neutralizing the male dictatorship that was a barrier to their progress. Even though the institution of journalism was pervasive, it was out of reach of the women sphere; therefore, they were simply ignored.



Elizabeth Cady Stanton (seated) with Susan B. Anthony (standing)
http://www.thewisconsinnews.com/not-for-ourselves-alone-elizabeth-cady-stanton-and-susan-b-anthony/


 As result of the dynamic partnership betweenElizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony, Seneca Falls marked the beginning of Women’s Rights Movement. The convention brought up themes such as social, civil, and religious rights of women.

Declaration of Sentiments, Seneca Falls. July, 1848
http://yourdailyhistorylesson.tumblr.com/post/671838167/seneca-falls-convention

Ignoring the newspapers attack, Stanton and Anthony founded The Revolution, a newsletter about meeting locations.

http://www.feministsforlife.org/FeminismCourse/revolution.htm

Despite all the effort, victory only came on the beginning of the 20th Century because of the emphasis on efficiency and productivity that allowed women to work on the media field where they could focus in the women suffrage. It wasn’t long after that that Harriot Stanton Blatch founded the Women’s Political Union that appealed to working class women and organized suffrage parades.

Suffragettes campaigning during a by-election, 1910.
Museum of London: http://www.heritage-images.com/Preview/PreviewPage.aspx?id=1192024&pricing=true&licenseType=RM

Alice Paul stepped forward and mobilized public demonstrations that pushed the movement towards a constitutional amendment. In 1913, the National Woman’s Party was founded.

Associated Press, hairwoman Alice Paul, second from left, and officers of the
National Woman's Party, June 1920
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/news/on-this-day/July-August-08/On-this-Day--19th-Amendment-Gives-Women-Right-to-Vote.html

Only after seventy two years since Seneca Falls, women suffrage became the law in 1920; that was the first of many victory towards women's rights.

Nowadays, we still find ourselves fighting against sexists that want to slow down our empowerment in our work space as well as in society. The beauty of all this fight is that one victory leads to another, and we see ourselves growing stronger and more determined than never before.