Note: The third speech is courtesy of Schlitzkrieg, another member.

Chapter 10: Outspoken Hate

The following speeches were recorded from 1929-1933 by the Patriotic Party Propaganda Committee. This would be the nucleus of the infamous Department of Public Information, directed by Secretary of Public Information Charles Coughlin, that would serve in McSweeney's New America. The Department of PubIn would stir up nationalist ideals, ethnic and racial bigotry as well as stirrings of anger towards certain religious organizations such as the Church of Latter-Day Saints. The rhetoric espoused by the Department convinced many Americans that what they were doing was encouraged by the Government, which it was, with the blessing of God. Its members would be notorious for twisting the truth and proclaiming the "Big Lie."

Speech in Columbus, Ohio in December 1929.
Speaker: Gordon McSweeney
Attendance: 160,000
Documented by Party Correspondent for their local newspaper, The Disciple.

-The day was fair and clear, an occasional puffy white cloud eschewed across the heaven but other than that there was nothing but the large expanse of blue.

Looking towards the crowd I feel pride bursting in my chest. Since the Depression hit attendance for rallies had risen significantly. Those featuring the Chairman himself skyrocketed. There were about 270,000 people in Columbus and over a hundred thousand of those waiting for the Chairman to speak were locals. The rest came from miles around to hear the American Savior.

In disciplined ranks of a hundred-by-ten a thousand Greenshirts stood at near military attention, behind them a hundred Blueshirts waited around and on the platform.

For some minutes there was the low mumbling of the crowd until the Greenshirts began to yell "Unity", "America" and "God Bless the United States". The crowd began to repeat the words and within a few minutes 160,000 people were chanting "Unity", "America", and "God Bless the United States" in that order. At the end of the third cycle of the people enthusiastically shouting those words McSweeney himself took the stage.

The crowd went wild with the shrill screams of excited women and the throaty yells of support from the men. The Chairman was clad in a Blueshirt like-esque uniform, with matching dark blue pants and shirt, a black tie dangling until put back into place in the secure confinements of the outer jacket he wore to help keep the chill at bay. The Medal of Honor hanged proudly upon his left breast, near the heart.

McSweeney looked relatively unremarkable with his reddish-brown hair and hazel eyes but he had a strong chin, a well sized nose, and forehead where one could see a scar he acquired in the Great War and a stare that was wintry. It was intimidating, full of anger and faith. It was two feelings many Americans shared and his emotions appealed to them, doubling theirs, and contributing to his charisma. As he took to the podium the cheering and clapping ebbed after he rose his hands to signal silence. The Greenshirts and Blueshirts instantly quieted themselves and stood at stiff attention in the face of their leader.

The crowd, undisciplined and many not registered members of the militaristic Party, took longer but they too became quiet. And then he spoke.

"My fellow Americans, countrymen, comrades, brothers and sisters I stand before you today and I see people in despair. Many of you are suffering from the Stock Market Crash, I can see it in your eyes, in your choice of clothing, in the haggard look about you.

"But do not feel shame! Do not, I beseech you. Instead feel blessed. For too long our country has been led to the darkness by incompetent Democrats, back-stabbing Socialists, and indecisive Republicans. Above all this was orchestrated by the Jews who thought they could blindly lead our nation to the abyss.

"But they failed, my friends! They failed! Whether intentional or by accident, they caused the Depression to come about by controlling international banking and moving multiple governments around like puppets. We have been led astray, but it is not too late to right ourselves.

"There is still hope for America, and that hope is you! Will you follow me to save our United States? Will you vote for me come November of 1932 and will you by the Grace of God support me in my endeavors to make us strong again? We will be respected as we once were before the War of Secession. Not only will we deal with our internal dissidents but also with our external rivals. The Dominion of Canada and the Confederacy will one day have to acknowledge our might and power.

"If not, well there are ways to make them believe we are the most powerful country in North America."

At that the cheering began again and arms rose in salute to the Chairman with bellows of "Unity" and "America" echoing across the large expanse where rally was being held. In the wind fluttered the American flag with the Party's Eagle with Crossed Sword clutching the Single Star Flag on the same level. With McSweeney stepping away from the microphone he saluted in the direction of the flags just as the Star-Spangled Banner began to play through the speakers. As a Party member for the past seven years my chest swelled with pride. Our time was coming, and it was fast approaching.

Speech in Los Angeles, California on February 13th, 1932
Speaker: Charles Coughlin
Attendance 130,000
Documented by a reporter for the Democrat backed Los Angeles Times in September of 1932.

-Mr. Coughlin, the anti-Semite chief propagandist of the Patriots, takes to the podium with the roaring of over one hundred thousand men and women, generally of lower to middle class white families. I count well over a thousand of the notorious Greenshirts and about fifty of the bodyguard Blueshirts.

The former priest steps next to the podium and after a brief introduction by local Party Chief James Davis who speaks of the great strides the NPPA had made in California since the Depression hit Coughlin finally begins his tirade.

"They say revenge is sweet. If so, we had better prepare ourselves for its tart flavor now. For too long have the 'Allies' curbed our destiny. They clamp down on us economically, territorially and militarily. Since the War of Secession we have seen nothing but defeats in foreign wars and growing unrest from increased immigration and racial unrest.

"The Patriot Party promises a better future, a future where we reign supreme on this blessed continent. A future where a white American can stand tall and proud, with his chest out and his arms raised in triumph. A future where we will reclaim the states lost in wars past and a future where the Star-Spangled Banner flies high and mighty. A future where Socialists, Democrats, and Republicans will be powerless to interfere in the greater good the Patriots will bring. We promise a future where all our internal racial issues will be resolved… permanently."

Mr. Coughlin has a good voice for speech-making, and the Patriots do know how to run a rally, but their rhetoric is more of anger and revenge than actual politics. Distasteful and unconventional, but looking at the people around me who are more engaged with the Patriots than most others citizens are with their party of choice, it seems to me maybe the Democratic Party should be more unconventional. If we do not adapt and change with the times I fear we may lose.

Speech in Griswold Park, Erie, Pennsylvania on Monday, November 7th 1932

Speaker: Gordon McSweeney

Attendance: 100,000

Documented by the Pennsylvanian Patriot-backed newspaper, The Holy Word

My fellow Americans, I am blessed to stand before you this day. It means that we are on the verge of finally casting off the shackles we, as a nation, have been forced to wear for too long.

For three generations, our blessed United States have been surrounded on all sides, by enemies of both God and all things good. To the south, our former countrymen oppress us time and time again in the name of the Devil with the force of their arms. To the north, across this very great lake, the slatterns of Great Britain lurk with fists full of daggers to plunge into our backs the moment we turn. Together, they conspired to place their boots upon our necks when they made war upon us.

Had this scheming been just between those two appendages of darkness, I say, we would stand astride this continent like the Colossus over Rhodes, as God intended when He granted us our independence. If not for the enemies within, the enemies without would have found only misery and ruin against the arms of the United States. A nation truly united is necessary for our survival. The wily Jew will remain loyal no longer than the moment the next offer comes along. The Mormon will remain disloyal regardless of whatever gifts or enticements you offer him. The Negro makes himself a whore to his former owners, so much does he hate the United States and all that we stand for.

I say to you, no more shall the United States fragment and crumble in the face of aggression! Never again shall we lay prostrate at the feet of those who fancy themselves the lords of all Creation! I call to you, citizens of the United States, to truly unite! I call to you, who worship the one true Lord Jesus Christ, to follow His call and stand with your brothers! The time of reckoning draws ever nearer. Our enemies have not gone to sleep. They remain, waiting for the chance to attack again, to finish us off once and for all.

I call upon all good, God-fearing Americans to go out tomorrow to the polls and help me save our great nation. With your vote and the Lord's blessings, I and the National Patriotic Party of America will take us where we belong and avenge these long decades of humiliation and supplication. Thank you very much, and may God bless these United States of America.

Excerpt from Flora Blackford nee Hamburger's diary, published as the international bestseller "McSweeney's America: Through the Eyes of the Victims" by her son Joshua Blackford in 1955.

-I remember that day clearly. Snow swirled down; covering the Powel House, with hundreds of thousands crowding the streets, many people on local residents' lawns but no one seemed to care. It was an exciting, glorious day… for some.

For me it was as if I woke from a nightmare to find the dreams were in fact reality. McSweeney had been elected in last November and now he was taking in the oath of office. Revulsion fluttered inside me, but I could not let it show for there were Patriots and Patriot sympathizers and supporters everywhere.

They cheered wildly as first the Vice-President-elect William Dudley Pelley and grew more fanatical as McSweeney took the oath on a Bible. As the words "I do solemnly swear… that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States… and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States," were spoken aloud each phrase made my stomach turn. I felt sick that it had come to this.

With the Inauguration complete McSweeney made a speech, fervent and energetic as usual. I stayed for it, but I could not bear myself to listen that closely, no matter how much I knew that I should have. It was obvious what it would be about, the same as all the others made since 1920. Hate against America's 'internal enemies' while heavily hinting of eventual revenge against the British, the Canadians and principally against the Confederacy. I had protested the Great War before it even broke out, and I had protested the war when I was in Congress as well. It was a terrible struggle, yet it seemed McSweeney was mad enough to want another. And the sad thing is, people were not only supporting him, they were encouraging him. America wanted another war, a war to win, and the Patriots were the only major party exclaiming that. They knew how to manipulate people's nationalism and emotions to drive their own efforts and policies through. It was sickening, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. Since the Red Uprising saw most Socialists lose their Congressional seats, I lost what little power and influence I had gained.

Now I was a nobody. A nobody who happened to belong to a religion McSweeney detested.

I remembering closing my eyes, willing the tears not to fall and failing at that, listening to his madness not only being spoken but cheered on, and every word and yell of approval made me colder than the snow ever could.