Jeremiah Aloysius O'Leary (July 24, 1881 – March 13, 1972) was an
Irish-American
Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry.
Irish immigration to the United States
From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...
lawyer, journalist and politician who was arrested and charged with treason under the
Espionage Act
The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code ( ...
during
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
.
Long active in
Irish nationalist
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of cult ...
politics, O'Leary was indicted by a
grand jury
A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...
in 1917 and charged with inciting mutiny in the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Na ...
. He fled the state and spent several months as a
fugitive
A fugitive or runaway is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also known ...
, but was captured and returned to
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
New York may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* ...
. After a nine-month trial, O'Leary was acquitted on all but one of the charges (the last of which
hung the jury) and was released. Later indictments against him were dismissed.
Career
O'Leary founded the American Truth Society in 1912, an anti-
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.
* British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
organization that sought to prevent an
Anglo-American alliance and drew support primarily from the Irish and
German diaspora
The German diaspora (, ) consists of German people and their descendants who live outside of Germany. The term is used in particular to refer to the aspects of migration of German speakers from Central Europe to different countries around the ...
. During the
1916 presidential election, O'Leary sent president
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...
a telegram attacking him for his pro-British foreign policy, claiming it would cost him the election.
Wilson responded as follows:
In
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
, O'Leary ran for
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
in
New York's 18th congressional district
New York's 18th congressional district is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York (state), New York’s Hudson Valley that contains some of the northern suburbs and exurbs of New York City. It is cur ...
, challenging incumbent
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY)
**Democratic Part ...
John F. Carew
John Francis Carew (April 16, 1873 – April 10, 1951) was an American lawyer and politician who served eight terms as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1913 to 1929. He was a nephew of Thomas Francis Magner.
Biography
Born in Williams ...
. Running as a
Farmer–Laborite, O'Leary campaigned on the release of all
political prisoners
A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention.
There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although ...
, opposition to the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
, U.S. recognition of the revolutionary governments in
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
and
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, and
public ownership
State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed t ...
of
mines
Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to:
Extraction or digging
*Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging
*Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine
Grammar
*Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun
Mi ...
. Although early returns from the ''
New-York Tribune
The ''New-York Tribune'' (from 1914: ''New York Tribune'') was an American newspaper founded in 1841 by editor Horace Greeley. It bore the moniker ''New-York Daily Tribune'' from 1842 to 1866 before returning to its original name. From the 1840s ...
'' showed O'Leary in the lead, he ultimately came in third place with just over 25% of the vote.
Later in life, O'Leary campaigned for the release of
Tom Mooney
Thomas Joseph Mooney (December 8, 1882 – March 6, 1942) was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It quickly became apparent that M ...
. In 1933, he was appointed to the
Triborough Bridge Authority Triborough or Triboro may refer to:
*Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, a unit of the New York state Metropolitan Transportation Authority
*Triborough Bridge
The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge (RFK Bridge; also known by its previous name, the ...
by mayor John P. O'Brien.
Works
''The Fable of John Bull and Uncle Sam''( 1916). New York: American Truth Society.
''My Political Trial and Experiences''(1919). New York: Jefferson Publishing Co.
References
External links
*
1881 births
1972 deaths
People from Glens Falls, New York
20th-century New York (state) politicians
Lawyers from New York City
Farmer–Labor Party (United States) politicians
{{NY-politician-stub