Prescott Freese Dennett (1907–1992) was one of 30 people indicted for sedition for sympathizing with the Axis powers, in his case Nazi Germany, and tried in Washington in 1944. The case ended in mistrial on Dec. 7, 1944. Dennett petitioned unsuccessfully to reopen the trial in order to clear his name, the only one of the defendants to do so. Dennett was born in

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

and attended

Bangor High School Bangor High School, a member of the Bangor School System, is a high school in Bangor, Maine, United States. It has an enrollment of approximately 1,200 students in grades 9–12. It is Bangor's only public high school. Since its 2001–2002 sel ...

and then Wheaton College in Illinois. Winning an essay contest at Wheaton, he transferred to the journalism school of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where he was awarded a pulitzer traveling scholarship for travel in Europe. In 1939 he was a publicist in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

when he was paid by German agent

George Sylvester Viereck George Sylvester Viereck (December 31, 1884 – March 18, 1962) was a German-American poet, writer, and pro-German propagandist, latterly on behalf of the German Nazi government. Biography Early life Sylvester's father, Louis Viereck, was born ...

to front (as Treasurer) the "Make Europe Pay its War Debt Committee" and later the "Islands for War Debt Committee", both of which were aimed to prevent the American government from extending aid to war-time Britain and France. Dennett was at the center of an elaborate scheme by which

isolationist Isolationism is a political philosophy advocating a national foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality and opposes entangl ...

Congressmen such as

Hamilton Fish III Hamilton Fish III (born Hamilton Stuyvesant Fish and also known as Hamilton Fish Jr.; December 7, 1888 – January 18, 1991) was an American soldier and politician from United States Congressional Delegations from New York, New York State. Born ...

and

Robert Rice Reynolds Robert Rice Reynolds (June 18, 1884 – February 13, 1963) was an American politician who served as a Democratic US senator from North Carolina from 1932 to 1945. Almost from the outset of his Senate career, "Our Bob," as he was known among ...

would make pro-German statements in the

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...

, which would then be printed by Viereck and mailed around the country without postal charge using the Congressional franking privilege. Just before Federal agents raided Dennett's offices, he transferred a number of bags of illegally franked mail to Representative Fish's office, where they were subsequently discovered. Fish's chief aid George Hill was convicted of perjury in connection with the case. Dennett was inducted into the army as a private in 1941, but was subpeoned by a grand jury in September, and then indicted in July, 1942 (by which time America had declared war on Germany) with 29 other defendants on sedition charges. Most of the others charged were confirmed Nazi (or Japanese) sympathizers or agents. Dennett claimed not to harbor such sympathies, but to have only been used by Viereke and his isolationist allies in Congress. When the case resulted in mistrial in 1944, Dennett alone petitioned for a new trial in order to clear his name. This was denied, and he continued to petition Congress after the war, eventually forming a "Justice for New Deal Victims Committee" in 1948.''Spartenburg Herald-Tribune'', Feb. 10, 1946, p. 10

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dennett, Prescott Freese People from Bangor, Maine Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism alumni Wheaton College (Illinois) alumni 1907 births 1992 deaths Old Right (United States) Pulitzer Traveling Scholarship winners