Civil Liberties and the Great War in Clay County
Hjemkomst Center
202 1st Ave N, Moorhead, MN 56560, USA
46.8778644
-96.77857689999996
Description
Civil Liberties and the Great War in Clay County
Tuesday, September 17, 6:00PM - 7:30PM
Hjemkomst Center
Join us for a free, local history exploring civil liberties during World War I from HCSCC Senior Archivist Mark Peihl. The lecture is offered with free admission in support of our current exhibition of "War, Flu, and Fear: World War I & Clay County" and in celebration of Welcoming Week and the efforts of Welcoming FM.
World War I was a trying time for civil liberties in the United States. The passage of the Espionage and Sedition Acts of 1917 and 1918 was used to silence and imprison critics of an unpopular war (it was particularly unpopular in the Upper Midwest), while state legal bodies and local political groups resorted to intimidation, alienation, and occasional mob violence in their efforts to stifle dissent. Many historians see this wave of repression culminating in a wave of violence directed against immigrants, people of color, and political radicals in the years immediately following World War I.
On the local front xenophobia, anti-German sentiment, and fears of labor unions and radicals reached a fever pitch. These fears took shape in acts of mob violence and the efforts of the Minnesota Public Safety Commission, a watchdog group that exerted tremendous powers in the state. The MPSC suspending several civil liberties and presided over what University of Minnesota historian Hy Berman described as "a reign of terror."
Admission is free. The lecture will be held in the Hjemkomst Center's Heritage Theater.
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Start:
2019-09-17T18:00:00-05:00
End:
2019-09-17T19:30:00-05:00
Category
Other
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