Max Sandin (June 3, 1889–September 14, 1971) was a painter and anti-war activist who was persecuted by the United States government during both World Wars for refusal to cooperate with military conscription.
World War I
When Sandin was drafted into the U.S. military during World War I, he declared himself a
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 ...
. The military would not accept this, on the grounds that his objection was political, not religious, in nature. Subsequently, for refusing to obey an order, Sandin was sentenced to be killed by firing squad. President Wilson commuted that sentence to imprisonment 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 ...
.
World War II
Sandin was again imprisoned for refusing to register for the draft in 1943.
War Tax Resistance
In 1943, Sandin began
to refuse to pay taxes that would be destined for military spending.
He continued to refuse for the rest of his life.
In 1949, he joined the war tax resistance pledge of
Peacemakers, the first non-sectarian organized war tax resistance movement in the United States.
When, in 1961, the government began to seize his social security benefits and small pension for back taxes, leaving him destitute, he began a sit-down protest and hunger strike at the U.S. Treasury building. The
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...
responded by imprisoning him, ostensibly for psychiatric evaluation (he was judged sane and released in a few days).
Other Actions
Sandin also took part in a blockade designed to stop the deployment of a Polaris nuclear-weapon-armed submarine in 1960.
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See also
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References
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American tax resisters