Questions of Loyalty

One of these documents is from 1917, and the other is from 1942, but both have to do with wartime fears about disloyalty. In World War I and then again in World War II, Americans were afraid of spies and others who were not supportive of the American cause—and sometimes these fears appeared in ways that seem strange to us today. The document from 1917 is a newspaper clipping about a teacher who will be tried by her students for being Anti-American. The document from 1942 is a letter from a minister vouching for the loyalty of German-Americans in his congregation.

The teacher to be tried for being Anti-American was accused of remaining in her seat when the Star Spangled Banner played. She pled not guilty, and explained that she was interested in the patriotic lecture given before the national anthem, and might have just sat down too early. One of the most surprising things about this document is that the school trustees called upon the student body to act as a jury for this teacher—something that would be unheard of today. The teacher taught German classes, and was possibly of German descent herself, something that might have put her under more suspicion.

The Reverend J. Mueller of the Lutheran church wrote Illinois Governor Green asking for an official statement regarding church services to be held in German. He explained that after the attack on Pearl Harbor the church had dropped their usual German services, but some of the older members of the congregation greatly struggled with English services. Mueller explained that they were loyal Americans, and that their congregation had 32 men in the service. He requested a statement regarding German services to “help prevent some fanatic from starting trouble.”

Both of these documents reflect anxieties that Americans had during wartime. Since the United States is a nation made up of immigrants, feelings can get complicated during times of conflict. We can see similar reactions today regarding Americans of Middle Eastern origin.