Howard E. Penley

Last updated April 07, 2019

Howard E. Penley was an organizer and official of the Socialist Party of America who was forcibly inducted into the U.S. Armed Forces in the Second World War after claiming conscientious objector status for political and religious reasons.

The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a multi-tendency democratic socialist and social democratic political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America which had split from the main organization in 1899.

A conscientious objector is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion.

Penley was a resident of both Bangor, Maine and Dorchester, Massachusetts in the early 1940s and an active political organizer in both places. As the New England District Secretary of the Socialist Party of America, he filed an objection with the government of the state of Maine in 1940 after its presidential election returns that year registered zero votes for Socialist Party candidates. Penley, who with five other Socialists had run as presidential electors, called the returns "ridiculous, as obviously the five presidential electors would have voted for themselves". His petition for a recount was denied on a technicality, however (it came after the 20-day legal filing period). [1]

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 33,039, making it the state's 3rd largest settlement behind Portland (66,882) and Lewiston (36,221).

Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. Maine is the 12th smallest by area, the 9th least populous, and the 38th most densely populated of the 50 U.S. states. It is bordered by New Hampshire to the west, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and northwest respectively. Maine is the easternmost state in the contiguous United States, and the northernmost state east of the Great Lakes. It is known for its jagged, rocky coastline; low, rolling mountains; heavily forested interior; and picturesque waterways, as well as its seafood cuisine, especially lobster and clams. There is a humid continental climate throughout most of the state, including in coastal areas such as its most populous city of Portland. The capital is Augusta.

In January, 1943 Penley picketed the British Consulate in Boston as Chairman of the Boston Free India Now Committee. [2]

On Dec. 23, 1943, Penley was taken into custody by FBI agents in Bangor as he was about to board a train for Caribou, Maine to spend Christmas with his wife's family. In response to a draft notice, he had filed a written statement saying he would not report for induction because he objected to the war on political and religious grounds. He was arraigned in Bangor on fugitive charges, temporarily jailed, and forcibly inducted into the U.S. military. [3]

Caribou is the second largest city in Aroostook County, Maine, United States. Its population was 8,189 at the 2010 census. The city is a service center for the agricultural and tourism industries, and the location of a National Weather Service Forecast Office.

Penley had previously attempted to join the U.S. merchant marine rather than a fighting unit, but had been denied, according to his petition, because of his politics and record as a labor organizer. His conscientious objector status was denied in 1943 because, according to the government, he was "not religious", although he was a member of the Unitarian Church and had recently preached a sermon. He claimed objection to war in general "and this one in particular" because America's allies included the King of Italy and Joseph Stalin. [4]

Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement named for its belief that the God in Christianity is one person, as opposed to the Trinity which in many other branches of Christianity defines God as three persons in one being: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Unitarian Christians, therefore, believe that Jesus was inspired by God in his moral teachings, and he is a savior, but he was not a deity or God incarnate. Unitarianism does not constitute one single Christian denomination, but rather refers to a collection of both extant and extinct Christian groups, whether historically related to each other or not, which share a common theological concept of the oneness nature of God.

After the war Penley moved to Reading, Pennsylvania, where he continued work as a Socialist Party organizer. In 1947 he organized the sending of CARE packages to needy Spanish Republican refugees stranded in post-war France. [5]

Reading is a city in and the county seat of Berks County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 87,575, it is the fifth-largest city in Pennsylvania. Located in the southeastern part of the state, it is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area, and is furthermore included in the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden PA-NJ-DE-MD Combined Statistical Area.

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A Conscientious Objector is an "individual who has refused to take part in the Great War". There were different meanings for this, for example, religious meanings, freedom of thought, conscience, and disability. In many countries Conscientious Objectors are forced to do other services as a substitute for military service. Conscientious Objectors were often seen as cowards. Many people from across the United Kingdom were considered to be Conscientious Objectors during the First World War, and the movement was as pronounced in Wales as in any other part of the county.

Conscientious objection in the United States is based on the Military Selective Service Act, which delegates its implementation to the Selective Service System. Conscientious objection is also recognized by the Department of Defense.

References

↑ "Socialists Demand Recount in 100 Maine Communities", Lewiston (Maine) Evening Journal, Dec. 19, 1940, p. 5
↑ "Friends of India in Boston Picket British Consulate", Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 26, 1943
↑ Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, Dec. 24, 1943, p. 1
↑ Windsor Daily Star, Dec. 22, 1943, p. 14
↑ Reading Eagle, Aug. 25, 1947, p. 2

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[1] "Socialists Demand Recount in 100 Maine Communities", Lewiston (Maine) Evening Journal, Dec. 19, 1940, p. 5

[2] "Friends of India in Boston Picket British Consulate", Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 26, 1943

[3] Lewiston (Maine) Daily Sun, Dec. 24, 1943, p. 1

[4] Windsor Daily Star, Dec. 22, 1943, p. 14

[5] Reading Eagle, Aug. 25, 1947, p. 2