In the summer of 1934, residents of Griggstown, New Jersey watched with alarm as tents emblazoned with swastikas were erected on the banks of the Delaware and Raritan Canal.
asserted
tents → watch → Canal
Two hundred boys ranging in age from eight to sixteen, dressed in khaki shirts, black rubber-soled shoes, and brown stockings rolled below the knees, conducted military-style drills before swastika flags that were four feet long.
asserted
that → range → flags
These exercises were part of a youth summer camp called Wille und Macht (Will and Might), sponsored by the Friends of the New Germany, the largest Nazi organization in America, with more than ten thousand members.
uncertain
exercises → call → members
Camp Wille und Macht opened shortly after the Friends of the New Germany held a massive rally attended by twenty thousand people in New York's Madison Square Garden.
asserted
Friends → open → Garden
Nazi storm troopers stood at attention atop a red-draped platform.
asserted
troopers → stand → platform
On each side of the stage were black columns decorated with the German eagle bearing the swastika.
asserted
columns → decorate → swastika
The Nazis wore swastika armbands and uniforms consisting of military trousers, Sam Browne belts, high boots, and white shirts.
asserted
Nazis → wear → trousers
Seven hundred policemen patrolled the Garden, attempting to rein in rowdy counterprotesters including the Young Communists' League and the "Anti-Nazi Minute Men."
asserted
policemen → patrol → League
The presence of Nazis in the United States led to widespread calls for hate speech laws.
asserted
presence → lead → laws
It set off an intense dialogue around the question: Does the First Amendment provide freedom of speech to those who would, if in power, destroy freedom?
asserted
who → set → freedom
During the 1930s, more than eight hundred fascist groups gained a toehold in the United States during the national crisis of the Great Depression.
asserted
groups → gain → Depression
With names like the Silver Shirts, the Citizens Protective League, and the Patriotic Sons of America, the fascist groups, with their promises of hope and prosperity, appealed to thousands of disaffected and impoverished Americans.
asserted
groups → appeal → Americans
Some of the groups were native in origin, while some of them, such as the Friends of the New Germany, were Nazi organizations funded by Berlin.
asserted
Some → fund → Berlin
More than three hundred publications in the United States spewed Hitler's racial theories.
asserted
publications → spew → theories
Jews were routinely blamed for the nation's financial woes.
asserted
Jews → blame → woes
Some called the New Deal a "Jewish plot."
asserted
Some → call → Deal
Father Charles Coughlin, known as the "Radio Priest," commanded thirty million listeners at the height of his popularity in the mid-1930s.
asserted
Coughlin → know → mid-1930s
Coughlin also published a magazine called Social Justice, which was known to print copy verbatim from The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.
asserted
which → publish → Zion
Although the fascists never posed a threat to the nation's security, they had an ominous presence.
asserted
they → pose → presence
In New York and New Jersey, Nazis affiliated with the Friends of the New Germany held rallies and marched in the streets chanting "Heil Hitler."
asserted
Nazis → affiliate → Hitler
They distributed antisemitic literature and showed Nazi propaganda films from Germany.
asserted
They → distribute → Germany
Everywhere they went, they were met with violence; they were pelted with eggs, and hecklers cut off their speeches.
asserted
hecklers → go → speeches
Several towns in New York and northern New Jersey prohibited the Nazis from assembling.
asserted
towns → prohibit → Nazis
By the end of 1934, the Friends of the New Germany had been banned in several municipalities in New Jersey.
asserted
Friends → ban → Jersey
Just days after Camp Wille und Macht was discovered, two members of the New Jersey Assembly introduced a bill that was intended to stop the violent breaches of the peace that took place wherever the Nazis gathered and distributed their propaganda.
asserted
Nazis → discover → propaganda
Under the "anti-Nazi" bill, any person who created, distributed, or circulated a "book, speech, article, statement, circular or pamphlet" which "in any way … incites, counsels, promotes, or advocates hatred, violence, or hostility against any group or groups of persons … by reason of race, color, religion, creed, or manner of worship" could be punished with a fine or a jail sentence ranging from ninety days to three years and a fine from $200 to $5,000.
uncertain
which → create → 5,000
The bill did not mention Nazis specifically, but there is no question that it was aimed at the Nazis.
asserted
it → mention → Nazis
The bill banned organizations that had bylaws advocating racial or religious hatred and made it a crime to print, possess, broadcast, or display a photograph or sign that could incite such hatred.
uncertain
that → ban → hatred
It was forbidden under the law to make any statement "in the presence of two or more persons" inciting "race hatred."
asserted
It → forbid → hatred
Even true statements could be punished if they promoted hatred or hostility against any group of persons in the state by reason of race or religion.
uncertain
they → punish → race
The Aporia
