During the decade before the beginning of World War II, American anti-semitism was at an all-time high. From schools to workplaces, people of all ages engaged in offensive behavior and used language that even would have offended George Carlin. This chapter of Mightier than the Sword describes a time in which the news media worked counter to society's progress. This represents a departure from many of the other chapters in the book, including the two other chapter described in this blog. This story is about Father Coughlin, whose weekly radio broadcast and magazine, spread rampant lies about jewish people and culture. And, to the detriment of news media's reputation, Father Coughlin was extremely popular at this time.

Couglin was born in Canada in 1891. He came from an Irish middle-class family. After receiving a Catholic education, he was ordained in 1916 and soon gained a reputation as a gifted speaker. Coughlin was placed as a pastor in a working-class suburb of Detroit. As a way to improve the dilapidated state of the town, he had the idea to use a weekly radio broadcast. So he started working at the local station, WJR. Soon his inspired talks landed him a spot on a nationally broadcast CBS station.

At first, Coughlin didn't express any anger towards jews. He actually started by speaking about economic and political matters. He blamed greedy bankers for having caused the Great Depression. He even accused President Hoover of being connected to those bankers. These sorts of flagrant attacks on the nation's wealthy and influential earned Coughlin a seat among the most popular radio show hosts of all time. And his timing couldn't have been better. Due to technological advances, the radio became common in most American homes.

Coughlin's sermons caught on in large part because his message was so lucrative to the millions of people who were suffering financially. Ironically, Coughlin received such generous support from his loyal listeners, that he was able to erect a mega-church in 1933.

After much success, Couglin had to deal with some naysayers as well. They accused him of using hyperbolic rhetoric and hateful messages that were misleading the American people down the wrong path. Because of these attacks, Coughlin lost his contract with CBS and was unable to find another station to hire him. However, due to his popular appeal and his financial clout, he was able to start his own station.

At this point, Coughlin had the opportunity to start a political movement, which became known as the National Union for Social Justice (NUSJ) in 1934. Naturally, NUSJ grew rapidly and was able to demonstrate its power early on by blocking the formation of a World Court. Coughlin believed the Court would be corrupted by evil, so he mobilized his followers to express their and his discontent. In the end, the Court was crushed, much to the dismay of FDR, president at the time.

As Coughlin spread his message to the masses, he began to become dissatisfied with FDR. At first, Coughlin agreed with the president's agenda, calling the New Deal "God's Deal." But in the mid 30s, he changed his description of the policy package to "a raw deal." Coughlin continued his assault in the form of print media when, in 1936, he started the magazine Social Justice.

Check out this video from 1936:

http://youtu.be/RzLMRAz5G_4

Coughlin was undoubtedly successful in his attempts to upend politics. Not only was he credited with ending the legislative careers of two congressman from Ohio, he also tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to get someone he supported elected president. When this failed despite his best efforts, Coughlin decided to take up a new theme for his radio show.

The subject of anti-semitism had been sprinkled throughout his earlier sermons and writings. He liked to associate jews with money and greed and he often linked them to the Great Depression as well as negative aspects of the media. He referred to jews as being a "problem" for America because they lacked patriotism and compassion, favoring wealth instead.

Even though many people and news organizations caught onto Coughlin's destructive crusade, his popularity hadn't begun to ebb at this point. In 1938, he started the Christian Front and began using military language to describe his goals.  More and more, his movement resembled a war against FDR. 

In 1938, he published in Social Justice a falsified jewish plot to destroy Christianity and to saddle Christians with debt by means of the New Deal. In this accusation, known as "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion," jews apparently planned to take over the country through financial means. Coughlin even contended that jews were behind a world-wide Communist takeover and that they had precipitated the Russian Revolution in 1917.

Coughlin went so far as to defend the Nazis in Germany for fighting against Communism. This commentary earned him a spot on the blacklist of many prominent radio stations. Even Catholic leaders denounced his statements as outlandish, but his loyal supporters continued pushing for his words to be broadcast. And he continued supplying them. When accused of being like Adolf Hitler, Coughlin applauded this comparison.

Father Coughlin crossed a line in 1939 when he aroused his supporters to violence. So began a period in American history that in many ways resembled the realities of Nazi Germany. Jews couldn't walk the streets without being harassed and many jewish homes and institutions were vandalized. Public outrage against Coughlin and the Christian Front grew through the late 30s and early 40s. Members of his cult were arrested by the FBI. One of the final crazy things said by Coughlin was that jews were responsible for the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.  By this time, though, Coughlin had nowhere to share his words because no one was willing to broadcast his sermons.

Coughlin continued his anti-semitic writing, going so far as to accuse the jews of starting World War II. At this point, however, the US government assumed a role in his downfall. They uncovered evidence that he had conspired with the Nazis and forbid publication and syndication of his writings. Even the Catholic Church came out against Coughlin, eventually forcing him to drop all non-religious activities. Coughlin followed these instructions, returning to the Detroit suburb to live quietly until the end of his days in 1979.

This web page has a very interesting comparison between Glenn Beck, current conservative radio broadcaster and Father Coughlin:

http://crooksandliars.com/david-neiwert/compare-and-contrast-glenn-beck-and