''Social Justice'' was a topical political periodical published by

Father Charles Coughlin Charles Edward Coughlin ( ; October 25, 1891 – October 27, 1979), commonly known as Father Coughlin, was a Canadian-American Catholic priest based in the United States near Detroit. He was the founding priest of the National Shrine of the ...

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 topic ...

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 ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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.

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

History

See also

References