''Social Justice'' was a topical political periodical published by
Father Charles Coughlin from 1936 to 1942.
History
''Social Justice'' was controversial for printing antisemitic
polemic
Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...
s such as ''
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
''The Protocols of the Elders of Zion'' () or ''The Protocols of the Meetings of the Learned Elders of Zion'' is a fabricated antisemitic text purporting to describe a Jewish plan for global domination. The hoax was plagiarized from several ...
''. Coughlin claimed that
Marxist atheism in Europe was a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
plot against America. The December 5, 1938, issue of ''Social Justice'' included an article by Coughlin which reportedly closely resembled a speech made by
Joseph Goebbels
Paul Joseph Goebbels (; 29 October 1897 – 1 May 1945) was a German Nazi politician who was the ''Gauleiter'' (district leader) of Berlin, chief propagandist for the Nazi Party, and then Reich Minister of Propaganda from 1933 to 19 ...
on September 13, 1935, attacking Jews and Communists, with some sections being copied verbatim by Coughlin from an English translation of the Goebbels speech. Coughlin, however, stated, "Nothing can be gained by linking ourselves with any organization which is engaged in agitating racial animosities or propagating racial hatreds." Furthermore, in an interview with
Eddie Doherty
Edward J. "Eddie" Doherty (October 30, 1890 – May 4, 1975) was an American newspaper reporter, author and Oscar-nominated screenwriter. He is the co-founder of the Madonna House Apostolate, and later ordained a priest in the Melkite Greek ...
, Coughlin stated: "My purpose is to help eradicate from the world its mania for persecution, to help align all good men. Catholic and Protestant, Jew and Gentile, Christian and non-Christian, in a battle to stamp out the ferocity, the barbarism and the hate of this bloody era. I want the good Jews with me, and I'm called a Jew baiter, an anti-Semite."
After America's entry into
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Coughlin's broadcasts were ended by the
National Association of Broadcasters
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a trade association and lobby group representing the interests of commercial and non-commercial over-the-air radio and television broadcasters in the United States. The NAB represents more than ...
. In 1942, the periodical's second class mailing permit was revoked under the
Espionage Act of 1917
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 (War ...
as part of Attorney General
Francis Biddle
Francis Beverley Biddle (May 9, 1886 – October 4, 1968) was an American lawyer and judge who was the United States Attorney General during World War II. He also served as the primary American judge during the postwar Nuremberg Trials as well a ...
's efforts against "vermin" publications.
The paper remained available on newsstands in cities such as Boston, where it was distributed by private delivery trucks.
See also
*
Charles Coughlin#Newspaper shutdown and end of political activities
References
{{Reflist
Antisemitic publications
Magazines established in 1936
Magazines disestablished in 1942
Censorship in the United States
Far-right publications in the United States
History of Catholicism in the United States
Catholic magazines
Social justice
1936 establishments in the United States
1942 disestablishments in the United States
Right-wing antisemitism
Defunct political magazines published in the United States
Magazines published in Michigan