Silas Bissell (April 27, 1942 – June 15, 2002
) was an American activist. He joined
The Weatherman movement for a brief time before going underground after planting a bomb at the
University of Washington's ROTC building.
Bissell was arrested after 17 years of being underground and served 18 months in jail.
Early life
Silas Trim Bissell was born April 27, 1942.
Bissell’s father, Wadsworth, was the grandson of the founder of the
Bissell carpet sweeper company. Silas’ mother, Hillary Nelle Rarden, was a Marxist-civil rights activist and encouraged her son to be the same.
["Silas Trim Bissell, 60, Longtime Antiwar Fugitive." ''New York Times'', 25 June 2002, Print.]
Bissell went to the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, where he was awarded three Hopwood Awards for poetry. He fell in love with Judith Emily Siff, a New Yorker and they later married.
He was arrested during his senior year of high school for taking part in a sit-in.
["Woo, Elaine. "Portrait of the Artist as a Complex Man." ''The Los Angeles Times'', 23 June] Bissell graduated with a bachelor's degree in English literature in 1964 and then went to
Syracuse University
Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...
and graduated with a master's degree in creative writing in 1965.
When
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
and
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
were assassinated and activists stormed Chicago during the
1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus making ...
, Silas and Judith joined a
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
draft resistance group. They were soon drawn to the Weatherman organization.
Weatherman
Because they were a married couple in a movement that perceived the practice of monogamy as
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
, the Bissells were challenged by the members of Weatherman to prove their dedication. Their chance came on January 17, 1970, after being asked to place a bomb at
the University of Washington.
They placed a home-made bomb under the steps of the University’s ROTC building. It did not go off because the Bissells made mistakes with the wiring. They were captured by the campus police almost immediately, making them think they had been framed by the members of Weatherman.
Although it has been reported that Bissell was a member of the Weatherman, his widow Ruth disputes the allegation, though she reports that Bissell repeatedly said, "I would have if they'd have taken me."
Underground
The Bissells posted the $50,000 in bonds and were planning to face the court in
Seattle
Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...
until, Bissell claims, Weatherman
Mark Rudd
Mark William Rudd (born June 2, 1947) is an American political organizer, mathematics instructor, anti-war activist and counterculture icon who got involved with the Weather Underground in the 1960s.
Rudd became a member of the Columbia Unive ...
told them to go underground. Traveling by bus and train, they relocated from Seattle to
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
, but were now shunned by fellow Weathermen. They ended up in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, where the mounting pressures of hiding finally ate away at the marriage. They divorced in 1970.
In the early 1970s, he lived in Ithaca, New York, where he worked in a food co-op and was not politically active. He then moved to Eugene, Oregon, where he took a job as a nurse's assistant. He continued his artwork and playing music. He went back to university and earned a bachelor's degree in biology from
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University (NCCU or NC Central) is a public historically black university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by James E. Shepard in affiliation with the Chautauqua movement in 1909, it was supported by private funds from b ...
in 1979 and a master's degree in physical therapy from
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
in 1981.
He then moved to
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.
As of the 2020 United States Census, Eu ...
, and started work as a physical therapist.
Arrest
On January 29, 1987, he was arrested at home by
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
agents who said they had received an anonymous tip from an I.D. on a wanted poster. Once again Bissell believed that he was turned in to the FBI in Eugene by a close friend for the $5,500 reward. Bissell was charged with conspiracy to destroy federal property and possession of a bomb in connection to an attempt to destroy the University of Washington ROTC building.
[Mosely, Joe. "Board says Silas Bissell can practice." ''Eugene Register-Guard'', 25 February 1987: B. Print.] He was sentenced to two years imprisonment but was released after only eighteen months in custody. While behind bars, he married Ruth Evan, a school teacher. They had been at high school together in
Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...
, and she had written letters to him while he was in prison.
After release
After Bissell's release he and Ruth moved back to Eugene, where he became devoted to sculpture and painting. He achieved success, showing in many West Coast galleries. He used the proceeds from the sale of his work to fund human rights work. In 1993, he founded the Campaign for Labor Rights, a nationwide organization fighting sweatshop conditions in factories around the globe, and was the national director for many years. Even when he became semi-paralyzed after special
chemotherapy
Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemotherap ...
for the cancer that was diagnosed in 2000, Bissell never stopped his work as an artist up until his death.
Silas Trim Bissell died at age 60 in Eugene of cancer of the brain on June 15, 2002.
["Silas Trim Bissell, 60, a member of the militant 1960s...." ''Baltimore Sun'', 18 June 2002: B. Print.]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bissell, Silas
1942 births
2002 deaths
People from Eugene, Oregon
University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni
Deaths from brain cancer in the United States
Activists from Seattle
Duke University alumni
Members of the Weather Underground
American anti–Vietnam War activists