socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
. Twice nominated by the
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...
as its candidate for
Governor of New Jersey
The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...
and twice a candidate for
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
, Krafft is best remembered as the defendant in a 1918 trial for alleged violation of the Espionage Act. Krafft later was the only person convicted under this law to receive a full executive pardon from
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
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 ...
.
Biography
Early years
Frederick Krafft was born in the United States in 1860. He was the son of
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
parents, radical republican "'48ers" who emigrated to America following the abortive
German revolutions of 1848
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
.H.C. Peterson and
Gilbert C. Fite
Gilbert C. Fite (May 14, 1918 – July 13, 2010) was an American historian best known for his numerous works on American agricultural history. Fite's lengthy catalog included works that focused heavily on how farmers affected the political enviro ...
, ''Opponents of War, 1917-1918.'' Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1957; pg. 47.
During his youth, Krafft studied to become a
Christian minister
In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidanc ...
, but the death of his father forced Frederick into the world of business, where he was employed by a
life insurance
Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...
company for 25 years."Krafft Begins Five Year Prison Term," ''New York Call,'' vol. 11, no. 143 (June 16, 1918), pp. 1-2. Krafft was subsequently the business manager for the ''
New Yorker Volkszeitung
''New Yorker Volkszeitung'' was the longest-running German language daily labor newspaper in the United States of America, established in 1878 and suspending publication in October 1932. At the time of its demise during the Great Depression the ' ...
,'' a German-language socialist daily newspaper located in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Political career
A longtime resident of Ridgefield, Frederick Krafft was a State Secretary of the Socialist Party of New Jersey, the state affiliate of the
Socialist Party of America
The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...
(SPA). Krafft was a frequent delegate to conventions of the party, including the gatherings held in 1908, 1912, 1917, and 1919.
Krafft was elected to the governing 15 member National Executive Committee (NEC) of the SPA in 1918, although he was unable to participate in its activities until early the next year due to his ongoing legal difficulties.
During the bitter 1919 party split from which emerged the Communist Party of America and the
Communist Labor Party of America
The Communist Labor Party of America (CLPA) was one of the organizational predecessors of the Communist Party USA.
The group was established at the end of August 1919 following a three-way split of the Socialist Party of America. Although a legal ...
, Krafft was one of the 7 supporters of the "Regular" faction headed by Executive Secretary
Adolph Germer
Adoph F. Germer (15 January 1881 – 26 May 1966) was an American socialist political functionary and union organizer. He is best remembered as National Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party of America from 1916 to 1919. It was during this pe ...
and NEC member James Oneal. Krafft was the NEC member who moved for the suspension of the Ohio state organization of the SPA in June 1919 owing to its support of the
Left Wing Section
The Left Wing Section of the Socialist Party was an organized faction within the Socialist Party of America in 1919 which served as the core of the dual communist parties which emerged in the fall of that year—the Communist Party of America ...
headed by
Alfred Wagenknecht
Alfred Wagenknecht (August 15, 1881 – August 26, 1956) was an American Marxist activist and political functionary. He is best remembered for having played a critical role in the establishment of the American Communist Party in 1919 as a leader ...
and
L.E. Katterfeld
Ludwig Erwin Alfred "Dutch" Katterfeld (15 July 1881 – 11 December 1974) was an American socialist politician, a founding member of the Communist Labor Party of America, a Comintern functionary, and a magazine editor.
Biography
Early life
...
.
In 1920, Krafft was the nominee of the SPA for Congress in the 6th Congressional District of
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
."New Jersey: U.S. Representatives: 1920s," Political Graveyard. Retrieved February 2, 2010. He ran again for the same seat in 1924, this time as the nominee of the Progressive Party headed by Robert M. La Follette, an umbrella organization with which the Socialist Party actively participated.
The 1918 trial
Frederick Krafft is best remembered as the defendant of one of the political trials associated with
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
In August 1917, Krafft was speaking on a street corner in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area. Instead of receiving police protection, Krafft was instead arrested for holding a meeting without a permit. These charges were later extended under the 1917 Espionage Act when a complaint was filed by soldiers in the crowd, who accused the socialist agitator of German extraction of attempting to cause insubordination and disloyalty in the armed forces.
During the course of the trial, the government called five witnesses, each of whom told varying accounts of the alleged disloyal speech which Krafft was charged with uttering. The most damning phrases seem to have been "I can't see how the government can compel troops to France" and "if it was up to me, I'd tell them to go to hell." Despite the fact that 12 witnesses were called by the defense to refute the allegation that such words were uttered, and despite Krafft's own protest that Krafft stated under oath that he had actually said very nearly the opposite, the jury returned a verdict of guilty.
Krafft was sentenced to 5 years in federal penitentiary and fined $1,000.
On March 5, 1919, Krafft received a full pardon from President Woodrow Wilson for the 1918 conviction, owing in part to Krafft's pro-war stance at the
1917 Emergency National Convention
Events
Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix.
January
* January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...
of the Socialist Party.
Death and legacy
Frederick Krafft died in August 1933 at his home in
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', September 1, 1933. Accessed November 16, 2017. "Frederick Krafft, in his day one of the most active and demonstrative Socialist workers in Bergen County, is dead at his home in Ridgefield."