Fascism in North America

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Part of a series on
Fascism
Fasces
Principles
Topics
Politicians
Intellectuals
Literature
Organizations
History
Lists
Variants
By continent
Related topics

Fascism has a long history in North America, with the earliest movements appearing shortly after the rise of fascism in Europe. Fascist movements in North America never gained power, unlike their counterparts in Europe.

Canada

Main article: Fascism in Canada
Further information: Antisemitism in Canada and Racism in Canada

In Canada, fascism was divided between two main political parties. The

Parti national social chrétien, later renamed the Canadian National Socialist Unity Party, was founded by Adrien Arcand and inspired by Nazism. The Canadian Union of Fascists in English Canada never reached the level of popularity that the Parti national social chrétien enjoyed in Quebec. The Canadian Union of Fascists focused on economic issues while the Parti national social chrétien concentrated on racist themes. The influence of the Canadian fascist movement reached its height during the Great Depression and declined from then on.[1]

Central America

See also: Nazi Party/Foreign Organization

The dominance of right-wing politics in Central America by populism and the military has meant that there has been little space for the development of proper fascist movements.

As a minor movement, the Nazi Party was active among German immigrants in El Salvador, where the government cracked down on activity,[2] and Guatemala, which outlawed the Nazi Party and the Hitler Youth in May 1939,[3] among others. They also organised in Nicaragua although Falangism was more important, especially in the Colegio Centro América in Managua where this brand of fascism flourished in the 1930s.[4]

Costa Rica

The existence of figures sympathetic to Nazism in high political positions has been pointed out in the administrations of León Cortés Castro and Rafael Ángel Calderón Guardia. Cortés in particular (who spent some time in Nazi Germany) was famous as sympathizer since he was a presidential candidate.[5][6]

In the 1930s, a movement sympathetic to Nazism developed among the large community of German origin.[7] Supporters of Nazism used to meet in the German Club.[7]

Since the declaration of war on the Third Reich by Costa Rica during Calderón Guardia's presidency, many citizens and residents of German and Italian origin were imprisoned and their properties nationalized, even though the vast majority had no links with Nazism or Fascism.[6] The doctrinal origins of racism and the allegations of European racial superiority in Costa Rica had previous origins, as for example among the racist writings of Costa Rican scientist Clodomiro Picado Twight.[8]

Panama

The Central American leader who came closest to being an important domestic fascist was Arnulfo Arias of Panama who, during the 1940s, became a strong admirer of Italian fascism and advocated it following his ascension to the presidency in 1940.[9]

Caribbean

Fascism was rare in Caribbean politics, not only for the same reasons as those in Central America but also due to the continuation of

FBI scrutiny.[12]

Mexico

Further information: Racism in Mexico

In 1922, the Mexican Fascist Party was founded by Gustavo Sáenz de Sicilia. The party was viewed with dismay by Italian fascists, and in 1923, the Italian ambassador stated that "This party was not anything else than a bad imitation of ours".[13]

The

counterrevolutionary to be considered truly fascist.[15]

A similar group, the

Gold Shirts, founded in 1933 by Nicolás Rodríguez Carrasco
, also bore some of the hallmarks of fascism.

A Falange Española Tradicionalista was also formed in Mexico by Spanish merchants who were based there and opposed the consistent level of support which was given to the Republican side during the Spanish Civil War by Lázaro Cárdenas. However, the group was peripheral because it did not seek to acquire any amount of influence outside this immigrant population.[16] A Partido Nacional Socialista Mexicano was also active, with most of its 15,000 members being of German background.[17]

A more modern group, the Nationalist Front of Mexico was founded in San Luis Potosí in 2006 by Juan Carlos López Lee. It has strongly promoted the Reconquista ideology.

United States

Further information: Nazism in the Americas, Antisemitism in the United States, History of antisemitism in the United States, Racism in the United States, and Radical right (United States)

According to claims which have been made by academics Gavriel D. Rosenfeld and Janet Ward, the origins of fascism in the United States date back to the late 19th century, during the passage of Jim Crow laws in the American South, the rise of the eugenicist discourse in the U.S., and the intensification of nativist and xenophobic hostility towards European immigrants. During the early 20th century, several groups were formed in the United States, contemporary historians have classified these groups as fascist organizations, one of them is the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).[18] During the 1920s, American intellectuals frequently wrote about the rise of Italian fascism under Benito Mussolini, but few of them supported it. However, Mussolini and his fascist policies initially gained widespread support among Italian Americans.[19][20] During the 1930s, Virgil Effinger established the paramilitary Black Legion, a violent offshoot of the KKK that sought to establish fascism in the United States by launching a revolution against the federal government. Although it was responsible for a number of attacks, the Black Legion was small in size and ultimately petered out.[21]

According to Noam Chomsky, in his 2003 book Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance, the rise of fascism in Europe during the interwar period raised concerns in the U.S., but European fascist regimes were largely viewed in a positive light by the American ruling class, including government officials, businessmen and other members of the elite. Chomsky argued that this was due to the fact that fascist interpretations of ultranationalism allowed a nation to gain a significant amount of economic influence in the Western world and it also allowed the government of a nation to destroy left-wingers and labour movements.[22] William Philips, who served as the American ambassador to Italy, was "greatly impressed by the efforts of Benito Mussolini to improve the conditions of the masses" and found "much evidence" in support of the fascist argument that "they represent a true democracy in as much as the welfare of the people is their principal objective."[23] Phillips found Mussolini's achievements "astounding [and] a source of constant amazement," and greatly admired his "great human qualities." United States Department of State officials enthusiastically agreed with Phillips' assessment, praising Italian fascism for having "brought order out of chaos, discipline out of license, and solvency out of bankruptcy" as well as Mussolini's "magnificent" achievements in Ethiopia during the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.[23]

German American Bund (1936–1940)

  • Flag of the German American Bund (1936)
    Flag of the German American Bund (1936)
  • Bund parade on East 86th St., New York City (October 1939)
    Bund parade on East 86th St., New York City (October 1939)
  • Poster for Bund rally at Madison Square Garden (1939)
    Poster for Bund rally at Madison Square Garden (1939)

The

fascist organization in the United States. It was founded in 1936, following the model of Hitler's Nazi Germany. It appeared shortly after the founding of several smaller groups, including the Friends of New Germany and the Silver Legion of America, founded in 1933 by William Dudley Pelley and the Free Society of Teutonia. Membership in the German-American Bund was only open to American citizens of German descent.[24] Its main goal was to promote a favorable view of Nazi Germany
.

The Bund was very active. Its members were issued uniforms and they also attended training camps.

Hitler salute. Its leaders denounced the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jewish-American groups, Communism, "Moscow-directed" trade unions and American boycotts of German goods.[26] They claimed that George Washington was "the first Fascist" because he did not believe that democracy would work.[27]

The high point of the Bund's activities was the

Bolshevik-Jewish American leadership.[29] The rally ended with violence between protesters and Bund "storm-troopers".[30] In 1939, America's top fascist, the leader of the Bund, Fritz Julius Kuhn
, was investigated by the city of New York and found to be embezzling Bund funds for his own use. He was arrested, his citizenship was revoked, and he was deported. After the War, he was arrested and imprisoned again.

In 1940, the U.S. Army organized a draft in an attempt to bring citizens into military service. The Bund advised its members not to submit to the draft. On the basis of this piece of advice, the Bund was outlawed by the U.S. government, and its leader, Fritz Julius Kuhn, fled to Mexico.

  • Father Charles Coughlin (right) on the cover of Time magazine {1934}
    Father Charles Coughlin
    (right) on the cover of Time magazine {1934}
  • The poet Ezra Pound in prison (1945)
    The poet Ezra Pound in prison (1945)

Father Charles Coughlin

Father Charles Coughlin was a Roman Catholic priest who hosted a very popular radio program in the late 1930s, on which he often ventured into politics. In 1932 he endorsed the election of President Franklin Roosevelt, but he gradually turned against Roosevelt and became a harsh critic of him. His radio program and his newspaper, "Social Justice", denounced Roosevelt, the "big banks", and "the Jews". When the United States entered World War II, the U.S. government took his radio broadcasts off the air, and blocked his newspaper from the mail. He abandoned politics, but continued to be a parish priest until his death in 1979.[31]

The American architect-to-be Philip Johnson was a correspondent (in Germany) for Coughlin's newspaper, between 1934 and 1940 (before beginning his architectural career). He wrote articles favorable to the Nazis; and critical of "the Jews", and he also took part in a Nazi-sponsored press tour, in which he covered the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland. He quit the newspaper in 1940, was investigated by the FBI and was eventually cleared for army service in World War II. Years later he would refer to these activities as "the stupidest thing [sic.] I ever did ... [which] I never can atone for".[32]

Ezra Pound

The American poet Ezra Pound moved from the United States to Italy in 1924, and he became a staunch supporter of Benito Mussolini, the founder of a fascist state. He wrote articles and produced radio broadcasts which were critical of the United States, international bankers, Franklin Roosevelt, and the Jews. His propaganda was poorly received in the U.S.[33] After 1945, he was taken to the United States, where he was imprisoned for his actions on behalf of fascism. He was placed in a psychiatric hospital for twelve years, but in 1958, he was finally released after a campaign was launched on his behalf by American writers. He returned to Italy, where he died in 1972.

World War II and "The Great Sedition Trial" (1944)

During World War II, first Canada and then the United States battled the Axis powers. As part of the war effort, they suppressed the fascist movements within their borders, which were already weakened by the widespread public perception that they were fifth columns. This suppression consisted of the internment of fascist leaders, the disbanding of fascist organizations, the censorship of fascist propaganda, and pervasive government propaganda against fascism.

In the US, this campaign of suppression culminated in "The Great Sedition Trial" of November 1944, in which

Gerald Winrod, William Griffin, and, in absentia, Ulrich Fleischhauer were all put on trial for aiding the Nazi cause, supporting fascism and isolationism. After the death of the judge, however, a mistrial was declared and all of the charges were dropped.[34]

Later years and the American Nazi Party (1959–1983)

In 1959, the

John Patler, a former party member who had previously been expelled by Rockwell due to his espousal of his alleged "Bolshevik leanings".[35]
The Party was dissolved in 1983.

White supremacy and fascism

In the view of philosopher Jason Stanley, white supremacy in the United States is an example of the fascist politics of hierarchy, because it "demands and implies a perpetual hierarchy" in which whites dominate and control non-whites.[36]

Donald Trump and fascism

See also: Alt-right, Political positions of Donald Trump, Racial views of Donald Trump, Radical right (United States), and Trumpism

Some scholars have argued that the political style of

Stanley Payne continue to disagree that fascism is an appropriate term to describe Trump's politics.[44] Jason Stanley argued (2018) Trump uses "fascist techniques to excite his base and erode liberal democratic institutions."[50]

In 2017, the

Ohio Capital Journal, quoting his roommate, politician Josh McLaurin, then-Republican candidate and senator-elect from Ohio, J. D. Vance, was said to have wondered whether Trump was "America's Hitler".[56] Harvard University professor of government Daniel Ziblatt
also drew similarities between Hitler's rise and Trump's. [57] Trump has also been compared to Narendra Modi,[58] and former aide Anthony Scaramucci also compared Trump to Benito Mussolini and Augusto Pinochet.[59]

In a July 2021 piece for

New York Magazine asked, "Is It Finally Time to Begin Calling Trumpism Fascist?"[62] Dana Milbank also believed the insurrection qualified as fascist, writing in The Washington Post, "To call a person who endorses violence against the duly elected government a 'Republican' is itself Orwellian. More accurate words exist for such a person. One of them is 'fascist.'"[63] Dylan Matthews writing in Vox quoted Sheri Berman as saying, "I saw Paxton's essay and of course respect him as an eminent scholar of fascism. But I can't agree with him on the fascism label."[44]

The Guardian further reported on Trump's "stand back and stand by" directive during the

United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack public hearings explored the relationships which existed between the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys, and Trump's allies, with evidence of coordination in the run-up to the Capitol attack.[68]

In August 2022, President Biden referred to the "extreme

MAGA agenda" as "semi-fascism".[69] In the Battle for the Soul of the Nation speech September 1, Biden criticized the "extremism" and "blind loyalty" of Trump supporters, calling them a threat to democracy. He added that he did not consider a majority of Republicans to be MAGA Republicans.[70][71][72]

On March 13, 2023, journalist James Risen reported that it was discovered that 2021 United States Capitol Attack attendee, Hatchet Speed, was planning to kidnap Jewish leaders, including the leaders of the ADL, and the philanthropist George Soros. Speed was working as a Pentagon Analyst at the time of Risen's investigation of him and his planned attack. Reportedly, he has praised Hitler as "one of the best people there has ever been on the earth".[73]

Notable neo-fascist and neo-Nazi groups

United States

Canada

See also

References

  1. ^ Gonick, Cy (January 13, 2015). "Fascism". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Archived from the original on October 10, 2008. Retrieved June 16, 2009.
  2. ^ Gunther, Inside Latin America, p. 129
  3. ^ Gunther, Inside Latin America, p. 125
  4. ^ Gunther, Inside Latin America, pp. 141–2
  5. ^ "AFEHC : articulos : Antisemitismo en Costa Rica: una comparación con Alemania : Antisemitismo en Costa Rica: una comparación con Alemania". afehc-historia-centroamericana.org. Archived from the original on November 21, 2011. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  6. ^ a b "El fantasma nazi – ÁNCORA". nacion.com.
  7. ^ a b "Preludios de miedo y violencia – ÁNCORA". nacion.com.
  8. ^ Duncan, Quince. "Génesis y evolución del racismo real-doctrinario" (PDF). enlaceacademico.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 19, 2012. Retrieved July 20, 2019.
  9. ^ "Arnulfo Arias, 87, Panamanian Who Was President 3 Times". The New York Times. August 11, 1988.
  10. ^ "La Delegación Nacional del Servicio Exterior de la Falange". www.rumbos.net.
  11. ^ Gunther, Inside Latin America, p. 467
  12. ^ Gunther, Inside Latin America, pp. 434–5
  13. ^ Franco Savarino, "The Sentinel of the Bravo: Italian Fascism in Mexico, 1922–35." Totalitarian Movements and Political Religions 2.3 (2001): 97–120.
  14. ^ Roger Griffin (1993). The Nature of Fascism. p. 149.
  15. ^ Payne. A History of Fascism 1914–45. pp. 342–3.
  16. ^ A. Hennessy, "Fascism and Populism in Latin America", W. Laqueur, Fascism: A Reader's Guide, Harmondsworth: Pelican, 1979, p. 283
  17. ^ John Gunther, Inside Latin America, 1941, p. 113
  18. ISSN 0261-3077
    . Retrieved February 26, 2024.
  19. ^ John P. Diggins, Mussolini and Fascism: The View from America (Princeton University Press, 1972).
  20. ^ Francesca De Lucia, "The Impact of Fascism and World War II on Italian-American Communities." Italian Americana 26.1 (2008): 83–95 online.
  21. ^ Michael E. Birdwell (2001). Celluloid Soldiers. p. 45.
  22. ^ Chomsky 2003, p. 46.
  23. ^ a b Chomsky 2003, pp. 46–47.
  24. ^ Van Ells, Mark D. (August 2007). Americans for Hitler – The Bund. Vol. 3. pp. 44–49. Retrieved May 13, 2016. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  25. ^ "German-American Bund". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 5, 2012.
  26. ISBN 0-8232-2528-3
    .
  27. ^ "Nazis Hail George Washington as First Fascist". Life. March 7, 1938. p. 17. Retrieved November 25, 2011.
  28. ^ "Bund Activities Widespread. Evidence Taken by Dies Committee Throws Light on Meaning of the Garden Rally". The New York Times. February 26, 1939. Retrieved February 19, 2015. Disorders attendant upon Nazi rallies in New York and Los Angeles this week again focused attention upon the Nazi movement in the United States and inspired conjectures as to its strength and influence.
  29. ^ "When Nazis Rallied at Madison Square Garden". WNYC Archives. Event occurs at 1:05:54. Retrieved March 14, 2022. ...and in our political life, where a Henry Morgenthau takes the place of men like Alexander Hamilton, and a Frank D. Rosenfeld takes the place of a George Washington.
  30. ^ Buder, Emily (October 10, 2017). "When 20,000 American Nazis Descended Upon New York City". The Atlantic. Retrieved December 6, 2017. In 1939, the German American Bund organized a rally of 20,000 Nazi supporters at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
  31. ^ Stanley G. Payne (2001). A History of Fascism 1914–45. pp. 350–1.
  32. ^ New York Times obituary, January 27, 2005, accessed March 16, 2022
  33. ^ Victor C. Ferkiss, "Ezra Pound and American Fascism." Journal of politics 17.2 (1955): 173–197.
  34. ^ Piper, Michael Collins, and Ken Hoop. "A Mockery of Justice—The Great Sedition Trial of 1944." The Barnes Review 5 (1999): 5–20 online.
  35. ^ "Killer of American Nazi Chief Paroled". St. Joseph News-Press. August 23, 1975. Retrieved December 3, 2021.
  36. ISBN 978-0-52551183-0
  37. ^ Kagan, Robert (May 18, 2016). "This is how fascism comes to America". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  38. SSRN 2773217
    .
  39. ^ Stanley, Jason (October 15, 2018). "If You're Not Scared About Fascism in the U.S., You Should Be". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  40. ^ Snyder, Timothy (October 30, 2018). "Donald Trump borrows from the old tricks of fascism". The Guardian. Retrieved June 11, 2020.
  41. ^ Gordon, Peter (January 7, 2020). "Why Historical Analogy Matters". The New York Review of Books. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  42. ^ Szalai, Jennifer (June 10, 2020). "The Debate Over the Word Fascism Takes a New Turn". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  43. ^ Cummings, William; Garrison, Joey; Sergent, Jim (January 6, 2021). "By the numbers: President Donald Trump's failed efforts to overturn the election". USA Today. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  44. ^ a b c Matthews, Dylan (January 14, 2020). "The F Word: The debate over whether to call Donald Trump a fascist, and why it matters". Vox. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  45. ^ Calabresi, Steven G. (July 20, 2020). "Trump Might Try to Postpone the Election. That's Unconstitutional". The New York Times. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  46. ^ Gerson, Michael (February 1, 2021). "Trumpism is American fascism". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  47. ^ Paxton, Robert O. (January 11, 2021). "I've Hesitated to Call Donald Trump a Fascist. Until Now". Newsweek. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  48. ^ Trump and the legacy of a menacing past. Giroux, Henry A., Cultural Studies, 09502386, Jul2019, Vol. 33, Issue 4
  49. ^ Evans, Richard J. (January 13, 2021). "Why Trump isn't a fascist". The New Statesman. Retrieved August 7, 2021.
  50. S2CID 212950934
    .
  51. ^ "German magazine depicts Trump giving Nazi salute". Politico. August 24, 2017.
  52. ^ Bender, Michael C. (2021). Frankly, We Did Win This Election: The Inside Story of How Trump Lost
  53. ^ a b "Trump told chief of staff Hitler 'did a lot of good things', book says". the Guardian. July 7, 2021.
  54. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  55. ^ Glasser, Susan; Baker, Peter (August 8, 2022). "Inside the War Between Trump and His Generals". The New Yorker. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
  56. ^ "Vance wondered whether Trump was 'America's Hitler,' says former roommate sharing screenshot". April 19, 2022.
  57. ^ "One Scholar On Similarities, Substantial Differences Between Trump And Hitler / NPR Here & Now". gov.harvard.edu. Archived from the original on September 25, 2022. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  58. ^ "The neo-fascist discourse and its normalisation through mediation". By: Cammaerts, Bart, Journal of Multicultural Discourses, 17447143, Sep2020, Vol. 15, Issue 3
  59. ^ Homans, Charles (October 21, 2020). "Donald Trump's Strongman Act, and Its Limits". The New York Times.
  60. ^ David Frum (July 2021). "There's a Word for What Trumpism Is Becoming". The Atlantic.
  61. ^ Nick Cohen (January 16, 2021). "If Trump looks like a fascist and acts like a fascist, then maybe he is one". The Guardian.
  62. ^ Kilgore, Ed (July 14, 2021). "Is It Finally Time to Begin Calling Trumpism Fascism?". Intelligencer.
  63. ^ Milbank, Dana (February 7, 2022). "There's a name for someone who calls violence 'legitimate.' It isn't 'Republican.'". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  64. ^ "Read the full transcript from the first presidential debate between Joe Biden and Donald Trump". USA Today. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  65. ^ Thrush, Glenn; Kanno-Youngs, Zolan (September 29, 2020). "Refusing to categorically denounce white supremacists, Trump falsely says extremist violence is 'not a right-wing problem'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  66. ^ Olorunnipa, Toluse; Wootson Jr., Cleve R. (September 30, 2020). "Trump refused to condemn white supremacists and militia members in presidential debate marked by disputes over race". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved September 30, 2020.
  67. ^ Altman-Devilbiss, Alexx (September 30, 2020). "Sen. Tim Scott says Trump 'misspoke' when he told Proud Boys 'stand back and stand by'". WPDE. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved October 1, 2020.
  68. ^ Barbara Sprunt (July 12, 2022). "Jan. 6 panel shows evidence of coordination between far-right groups and Trump allies". NPR.
  69. ^ Holland, Steve (August 25, 2022). "Biden has harsh words for Republicans ahead of political rally". Reuters. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  70. ^ "Joe Biden says Trump ideology threatens US democracy". BBC News. September 2, 2022. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  71. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  72. ISSN 0362-4331
    . Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  73. ^ Risen, James (March 13, 2023). "Pentagon Intelligence Analyst Kept Intel Job After Joining Jan. 6 Mob, Planned To Kidnap Jewish Leaders". The Intercept. Retrieved March 16, 2023.
  74. ^ Lemire, Jonathan; Kunzelman, Michael; Jalonick, Mary Clare (October 1, 2020). "Trump Proud Boys remark echoes Charlottesville". Associated Press. Washington, D.C. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  75. ^ Solomon, Molly (November 20, 2018). "FBI Categorizes Proud Boys As Extremist Group With Ties To White Nationalism". NPR. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  76. ^ Templeton, Amelia; Wilson, Conrad (December 5, 2018). "Portland FBI Head Clarifies Statement On Proud Boys". Oregon Public Broadcasting. Portland, Ore. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  • Chomsky, Noam (2003). Hegemony or survival : America's quest for global dominance. Henry Holt and Company, LLC.
    ISBN 0-8050-7400-7
    .

Further reading
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fascism_in_North_America&oldid=1216996033"