In the spring of 1917 the Federal government of the United States created various state programs and agencies to support the imminent war effort after Americaentered World War I. State governments looked for ways to manage the war effort on a local level and hence state commissions were made, the MCPS was Minnesota's solution to the war effort.[1] On March 31, 1917, State Senator George H. Sullivan of Stillwater, Minnesota called for the formation of a seven-member commission to be led by Governor Joseph A. A. Burnquist. The Minnesota Legislature approved of Sullivan's proposition on April 14, 1917, two days later on April 16, 1917 the commission was officially founded.[2] The group ended up being named the Minnesota Commission of Public Safety (MCPS) and held near-dictatorial powers to act to ensure public safety under wartime conditions in the state. Only the laws specified in both the state and federal constitutions limited the MCPS's powers.[1][3]
Commissioner McGee infamously stated during the creation of the MCPS in 1917:
"The bill appropriates two million dollars and has teeth in it 18 inches long... There are provisions in it that areunconstitutional and palpably so."[4]
The Commission
Minnesota lawyer John F. McGee, one of the chairmen of the MCPS who was instrumental in instituting many of the laws passed by the MCPS.
The MCPS itself was made up of seven total commissioners alongside Republican politician and Minnesota Governor Joseph A. A. Burnquist, the board of the commission included the following eight total people:
Several other non-commissioned members also assisted the MCPS such as Finnish American politician Oscar Larson of Duluth, Minnesota and Mayor of MinneapolisA. A. Ames who openly cooperated with the MCPS to ensure domestic loyalty amongst Minnesota citizens.[9]Conservative lawyer John F. McGee was the dominant personality behind the MCPS. Under McGee’s leadership, the commission demanded unquestioning support for the war effort and suppressed possible German-American dissent. After the war, McGee became a federal judge who was well known for the heavy sentences he imposed on bootleggers during prohibition in the United States with the passing of the Volstead Act.[10] According to University of Minnesota professor and historian Hyman "Hy" Berman, the commission was modeled after public health authorities and was given a vast amount of emergency powers.[11] Berman states that the commission presided over "a reign of terror that wiped out civil liberties, wiped out freedom of expression, wiped out freedom of association — that created a kind of climate where, in fact, it ruled by force".[11]
Role in Minnesota during the war
The MCPS was tasked with a multitude of responsibilities for the Minnesota home front during the war, namely helping to control of many of the state's regulatory, public safety, and military functions. During its time the MCPS provided public services including the distribution and rationing of food, controlling the prices of goods, and the conservation fuel, all of which had been prioritized for the military.[1] Similar to the modern Federal Emergency Management Agency, the MCPS was also created to assist Minnesotans during natural disasters, such as during the 1918 Tyler tornado or the Cloquet Fire.[4] However, the MCPS is also known for its use of surveillance, intimidation, political repression, strike breaking, and other extreme tactics in the name of protecting Minnesota's citizens.[1]
During the war the Minnesota National Guard became part of the regular United States Army. McGee, the Chairman of the Commission took on the job of organizing the quasi-military arm of the MCPS, Minnesota Home Guard, in order to replace National Guard units.[12] The Minnesota Home Guard eventually grew to twenty-one battalions across the state, roughly 2,500 men. The MCPS ordered much of the Home Guard to Saint Paul, Minnesota during the 1917 Twin Cities streetcar strike. In some areas of Minneapolis–Saint Paul, units of the Home Guard conducted “slacker raids,” during which hundreds of young men were arrested and required to prove that they were not avoiding conscription.[10][13] According to Saint Paul College affiliate Kurt Kortenhof "In addition to potentially disloyal individuals, the MCPS also set its sights on radical labor organizations and political groups it deemed a menace to the war effort. As a result, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) and the Nonpartisan League (NPL) found themselves high on the list of MCPS priorities".[14]
The NPL had been establishing regional offices all around Minnesota since 1917, the main goal of the NPL was to allow farmers to have better financial control over their products which they needed in order to do business, however, in the eyes of the MCPS this made them a nuisance to the state's political and industrial control of the wartime economy.[1] According to Hyman Berman "The NPL included farm protesters who wanted better pay for their crop, who wanted a system of taxation where those who benefit from the war pay for the war".[11] The MCPS lacked the legal power to stop the NPL outright, so instead the MCPS denounced the NPL as an un-patriotic political organization and actively encouraged the community to shut down local NPL meetings.[1] In 1918 during the Republican gubernatorial primary the NPL chose Charles Lindbergh as their candidate, who in turn faced violent threats from the MCPS and MCPS-allied demonstrators. according to Minnesota historian Peter J. DeCarlo "Lindbergh's campaign across Minnesota revealed a divided state. In some towns he drew very large crowds, and was welcomed as a hero. In others, however, he faced violence and strong opposition".[14][15] Lindbergh eventually lost to Burnquist in the Minnesota Republican primary.
German Americans were historically a significant ethnic group which helped settle the Minnesota Territory, along with the state of Minnesota. German-speaking Minnesotans were the single largest ethnic group living in Minnesota still by 1917, accounting for roughly 70% of the states total population of 2 million citizens.[11][16] Shortly before the First World War the German language was the most taught and spoken language in the state of Minnesota besides the English language.[3] Many Americans, such as Minneapolis BishopJohn Ireland promoted that English should be the only language spoken in both the church and public.[3] Minnesotans living in rural areas such as New Ulm, Minnesota and Brown County, Minnesota were of majority German ancestry and openly opposed entry into the war.[11][17][18]
The Selective Service Act of 1917 troubled many people in the area, so much so that many prominent citizens of New Ulm who had previously served in the military protested America's entry into the war and openly campaigned for young German-American men to not take part in the war effort, among these prominent citizens were:
The MCPS played a large role in the political repression of much of the city government of New Ulm, Minnesota. One of the stated roles of the MCPS was to protect Minnesotans from treason and subversion.[3][18][14] Being that many of the citizens of New Ulm were first, second, and third generation Germans it was a hotbed for opposition to World War I. On July 25, 1917 a public meeting was held in New Ulm at Turner Park in order to draft men from the region into the Army and Minnesota National Guard. According to historian Paul Nelson both Albert Pfaender and Mayor Fritsche "urged compliance with the draft law, but held out hope that soldiers from New Ulm might not have to fight in Europe".[3][14][18] Pfaender, a lawyer and Major in the Minnesota National Guard, argued that constitutionally speaking the federal government lacked the political power to send Minnesota militiamen of the state National Guard to fight overseas. Likewise, Ackerman praised the patriotism of the citizens of New Ulm, but said that citizens of Minnesota did not want to fight for Wall Street, England, or France. Meanwhile, Steinhauser called the war a scheme of plutocrats for war profiteering.[3][14][18]
One week after the draft meeting in New Ulm the MCPS charged both Fritsche and Pfaender with “promoting and participating in seditious public meetings.” Governor Burnquist suspended both Fritsche and Pfaender from holding public office on August 21, 1917. On December 1, 1917 Fritsche and Pfaender were permanently suspended from holding political office. Ultimately, the MCPS held several court hearings in New Ulm in September and October, 1917 to determine the fate of Fritsche, Pfaender, Ackerman, and Steinhauser.[3][14][18] Fritsche was found not guilty of disloyalty by the Brown-Redwood County Medical Society, Pfaender was expelled from the Brown County Bar Association, Ackerman was forced to resign as a trustee of the Martin Luther College, and Steinhauser was arrested on a federal charge of sedition.[3][18][14]
End of the Commission
The MCPS was eventually disbanded in 1919 when the war in Europe had ended on November 11, 1918. The MCPS was abolished by legislative act on April 14, 1919 and passed in a vote of 107-12.[1] The MCPS met for the last time in December 1920 and never returned to power, even during World War II. With the commission’s demise and the end of the war, anti-German nativism lost much of its momentum. The MCPS had a lasting political and social affect on the citizenry, politics, and work industry of Minnesota and had effectively banned the German language from being spoken publicly in Minnesota.[3][19]
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