Benjamin Joseph Salmon (1888–1932) was an American
Christian pacifist
Christian pacifism is the theological and ethical position according to which pacifism and non-violence have both a scriptural and rational basis for Christians, and affirms that any form of violence is incompatible with the Christian faith. Chri ...
,
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
,
conscientious objector
A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to object ...
and outspoken critic of
just war theory
The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is m ...
, who believed no war could be morally justified.
Biography
Salmon was born and raised in a working-class Catholic family, and became an office clerk with the
Colorado and Southern Railroad. Outraged by the
Ludlow Massacre, he became more active in populist causes such as unionism and the
single tax. When President
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
ordered a draft, Salmon was one of a number of Americans to refuse to cooperate. On June 5, 1917, Salmon wrote in a letter to President Wilson:
Salmon was arrested in January 1918 for refusing to complete a
Selective Service questionnaire. While out on bail, he was re-arrested for refusing to report for
induction
Induction, Inducible or Inductive may refer to:
Biology and medicine
* Labor induction (birth/pregnancy)
* Induction chemotherapy, in medicine
* Induced stem cells, stem cells derived from somatic, reproductive, pluripotent or other cell t ...
. He was locked in the guardhouse for refusing to wear uniform and forced to work in the yard. Despite not having been inducted, he was court-martialed at
Camp Dodge
Camp Dodge is a military installation in the city of Johnston, Iowa, Johnston, Iowa. Centrally located near the capital of Iowa, it currently serves as the headquarters of the Iowa National Guard.
History
Original construction of the post began i ...
, Iowa on July 24, 1918, charged with desertion and spreading propaganda. He was sentenced to death, but later re-sentenced to 25 years hard labor. He arrived at
Fort Leavenworth
Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
on October 9, 1918, to start his sentence, just one month before World War I ended on November 11, 1918. He began a
hunger strike
A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke a feeling of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change. Most ...
"for liberty or death" on July 13, 1920. The government claimed that his fast was a symptom of mental illness and sent him to a ward reserved for the "criminally insane" at
St. Elizabeths Hospital
St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast, Washington, D.C. operated by the District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health. It opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for the Insane, the first federally oper ...
in Washington, D.C., on July 31, 1920.
The fledgling
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
(ACLU) eventually took up his case and post-war public opinion favored the release of conscientious objectors. Salmon was pardoned and released along with 32 others on November 26, 1920, Thanksgiving Day, and given a dishonorable discharge from the military service he had never joined.
Upon his release, Salmon led a quiet life with his family, but his prison ordeal, which included beatings and
force-feedings, had permanently damaged his health. He died of pneumonia in 1932.
Opposition to "just war" theory
Salmon based his pacifism partly on political analysis and humanitarian principles, but also on religious principle derived from his Catholicism. That put him at odds with the leadership of the Catholic Church. Traditional Catholic doctrine advanced the
Just war theory
The just war theory ( la, bellum iustum) is a doctrine, also referred to as a tradition, of military ethics which is studied by military leaders, theologians, ethicists and policy makers. The purpose of the doctrine is to ensure that a war is m ...
. Archbishop
James Gibbons
James Cardinal Gibbons (July 23, 1834 – March 24, 1921) was a senior-ranking American prelate of the Catholic Church who served as Apostolic Vicar of North Carolina from 1868 to 1872, Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as ninth ...
, ''de facto'' head of the Catholic Church in the United States, had directed that all Catholics were to support the war. The majority of Catholic Bishops supported President Wilson, citing the just war teaching of the Church, and Cardinal
John Farley of New York remarked in 1918 that "criticism of the government irritates me. I consider it little short of treason... Every citizen of this nation, no matter what his private opinion or his political leanings, should support the President and his advisers to the limit of his ability."
Salmon explained his objections to just war theory in a hand-written 200-page manuscript produced during his time in
St. Elizabeths Hospital
St. Elizabeths Hospital is a psychiatric hospital in Southeast, Washington, D.C. operated by the District of Columbia Department of Behavioral Health. It opened in 1855 under the name Government Hospital for the Insane, the first federally oper ...
. His only reference tools were a Bible and the ''
Catholic Encyclopedia
The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...
''. He cited Christ's blessing of the merciful (Matthew 5:7) and the peacemakers (Matthew 5:9). He noted that Jesus said "Do not murder" (Matthew 19:18). He declared there was no such thing as a just war and urged Christians to "listen to the voice of Christ echoed from the pages of the New Testament."
Salmon's position was so offensive to others in the Catholic Church that some priests refused him the Sacraments even when he was sick and in prison.
Decades later, Catholic peace activists, including Fathers
Daniel Berrigan and
John Dear, cited Salmon as an inspiration for their anti-war beliefs.
See also
*
Christian anarchism
Christian anarchism is a Christian movement in political theology that claims anarchism is inherent in Christianity and the Gospels. It is grounded in the belief that there is only one source of authority to which Christians are ultimately answ ...
References
Further reading
*
*
External links
Official websiteCatholic Peace Fellowship*
* by Romero Theater Troupe
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salmon, Ben
1889 births
1932 deaths
American conscientious objectors
American Roman Catholics
American anti-war activists
American anti–World War I activists
Nonviolence advocates
American Christian pacifists
Christian radicals