On July 30, 1916, German saboteurs blew up the ammunition dump on Black Tom Island, on the south side of what is today called Liberty State Park in New York Harbor. The explosion and fire destroyed the ammunition dump and shattered windows for ten miles. A chunk of metal stopped the Jersey Journal’s clock tower at 2:12 a.m.
German saboteurs are believed to have caused more than $1 billion (2009 dollars) in damage by the time the U.S. entered WWI, including suspect fires and explosions at more than 40 factories nationwide. The U.S. government responded to the Black Tom Island explosion and other sabotage with the Espionage Act of 1917 which made it a crime to express political opinions that could be construed as helping the enemy. Soon after the Espionage Act the Justice Department created the Bureau of Investigation which later became the FBI.
Vigilante groups also formed during WWI including the American Protective League, a badge carrying private group that claimed 25,000 members and sought spies, disloyal Americans, and draft dodgers. They never caught any spies.
Spying, espionage, sabotage, and terrorism have a long history here in the U.S., from General George Washington’s spy networks to 19th century anarchists, extensive German American Bund activity throughout the U.S. leading up to WWII, the McCarthyism era, to 9/11.
I learned about these events at a fascinating exhibit called, The Enemy Within: Terror in America – 1776 to Today, at the Maltz Museum of Jewish History, in Cleveland, Ohio. The exhibits are on loan from the Spy Museum in Washington, DC. I highly recommend you visit the exhibit and I have some details below if you are interested.
The exhibit presents an amazing look at different eras when the U.S. has had enemies within, from spies, to hate groups, anarchists, protestors, extremists and terrorists. To me, the map showing locations of known and currently active U.S. hate groups is the most disturbing because they are in every major U.S. city and many of the minor ones. The most interesting were the spy stories that I knew little or nothing about before my visit. I saw German pencil bombs that would make the shoe bomber jealous, a video interview of a Weather Underground member, exhibits on McCarthyism, J. Edgar Hoover, FBI files on Lucille Ball, Eleanor Roosevelt and of course, Marilyn Monroe. I saw cigar bombs, anthrax, a suicide bomber vest, and learned about a partially successful attempt to send 36 package bombs to prominent politicians and industrialists in 1919. Several people were injured but many lives were probably saved by an alert New York mail clerk who found it odd that package’s with a Gimbles’ department store as a return address would have incorrect postage. He put the packages aside.
Today, we are living in dangerous times, or at least that is what many people think. Spend 90 minutes at this exhibit and you might not think our current situation is all that exceptional. Modern weapons may be more potent but the enemies have always been within, they have always thought of themselves as liberators or freedom fighters and been willing to kill for their cause, and yet the U.S. continues to thrive.
I visited the museum the same day the New York Times reported that former Vice President Cheney had ordered the CIA to conceal terrorist hit squads from Congress. The coincidence caused me to believe that the current wave of news on the Bush administration’s post 9/11 actions makes the Enemies exhibit incredibly relevant to all voters, no matter your position on Bush and Cheney.
How can I say that?
Enemies within are so common to U.S. history that the exhibit opens with a timeline running from 1776 to today, detailing the different eras of enemies within, such as Revolution (1775-1783), Hate (1915-1939), Subversion (1938-1956), to today’s era of Terrorism (1980 – Present). The timeline shows that the common response to enemy action, particularly in the 20th – 21st centuries, has been passage of some sort of domestic security legislation. That legislation is usually created during the passionate anger following an incident and therefore has to be repealed later – Our nation has been battling over security vs. rights since John Adams signed the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798.
Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. The exhibit shows that throughout our history U.S. citizens have lost rights when enemies from within threaten. I don’t need an exhibit to remind me that on 9/11 we lost lives because we had neglected security. The battle between security and rights is a difficult battle but it is one that needs to be fought continuously. Defending our nation means defending our rights as U.S. citizens. Security and rights go together but they can also be opposing goals. I believe that the continued battle over rights and security helps maintain balance. Trouble starts when we get out of balance.
I don’t know what I will think about the Bush/Cheney actions when we a have more complete understanding of the Bush administration’s security measures following 9/11. I don’t know what we don’t know about threats to the U.S. and efforts to protect the country. What I do know is that the debate we are currently having on security vs rights is more about screaming at each other than applying logic to the problem. That’s not helping.
I can sum up my learning from The Enemies Within in one single statement: We need to tone down the condemnations from both sides of the Bush/Cheney debate and take a different approach. I would like to see the debate move from the micro details of Bush/Cheney hatred vs Bush/Cheney loyalty to the broader question of security vs rights in the era of Terrorism. I think we should begin with an exploration of where our nation has been – we should learn from our history.
Perhaps our exploration should begin with a visit to the Enemies Within exhibit, followed by rational discussion of the demands created by the lack of knowledge after 9/11. Maybe we can do a better job of balancing security and rights in the future.
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I encourage you to visit Maltz museum to see the Enemies Within exhibit, but go soon because it ends August 16th. Follow this link for more information. I will also give the metropolitan Cleveland area a free plug. With all of the museums, activities, bars, and restaurants, the city should be a major, hot, weekend get away spot. That it is not is because the city does not promote itself very well, not for lack of great things to do. Don’t let the image discourage you from having a good time. Try Cleveland. This seems to be a pretty good link for more info about what to do in Cleveland. The Football Hall of Fame in Canton is an easy drive (60-90 minutes) from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame which is a few minutes from the Art Museum and the Auto and Aircraft museum, etc etc etc etc. Have fun!
