Silver Legion of America
From Conservapedia
The Silver Legion of America (usually referred to as the Silver Shirts) was a United States' Nazi organization founded by William Dudley Pelley in January 1933, with their headquarters at Asheville, North Carolina. Perry wanted to be the "American Hitler", and ran for President on the Christian Party ticket in 1936. One of its first members was Gerald L. K. Smith, himself the founder of the Christian Nationalist Church which supported Mussolini and Hitler. They enrolled white Protestant Christians as members of a "Christian Militia", through numerous "State Encampments" and "Posts". The Silver Legion’s emblem was a scarlet letter "L", which was featured on their flags and uniforms. Pelley founded "chapters" of the Silver Legion in almost every state in the country, and attracted a considerable number of followers.
Aims
The Silver Shirts manifesto asserted:
- that they represented a Protestant Christian movement for bringing on the "new Christ government", through a strictly Christian Militia
- that this new government would be administered by people of the Christian faith and Silver Shirt ideals
- that President Franklin D. Roosevelt had set aside the Constitution, which they desired to restore
- that they aimed to save the United States from a state of Sovietism into which they believed the Jews were leading the country
- that they would "ward off the Money Power wielded by outstanding leaders of the predatory people, the Jews"
- that they would ensure "a people who constitute only 2.5 % of the population be held down to a 2.5 % influence in the American government
The attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 led to the rapid decline of the Silver Legion, and Pelley was charged with high treason and sedition in 1942, receiving a sentence of 15 years imprisonment. He was paroled in 1950, on the condition that he never engage in political activity again.
