Resistance and Identity: Leftist Leanings, German Culture, and Immigrant Identity

• In Event: 2366 - Section on Peace, War, and Social Conflict Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 1. Peace, War, and Social Conflict: Intergroup Dynamics

Abstract

This article analyzes an unusual historic period to understand the importance of resistance and an expression of identity. Support of candidate Victor Berger and the Socialist Party expressed the leftist, German, and immigrant identities of southeastern Wisconsinites at the time of the First World War. At this time, Palmer Raids, war efforts against the German enemy, and anti-immigrant laws, demonized leftist politics, German identity, and immigrant statuses. Rather than destroying these communities, such actions validated these identities, with these groups coming together with positive actions. These actions, however, were not simply self-help but were forms of active resistance. Thse communities saw themselves as underdogs under attack, and are strengthened in “backlash mobilization.” In asserting their immigrant status, German origins, and left-leaning inclinations, these people were able to proclaim their strong collective identity, while also resisting the legal and cultural forces that condemned these identities. Aware of the laws’ lack of neutrality and their own lack of standing in an increasingly pro-war, anti-immigrant and anti-German cultural milieu, these Wisconsinites lost trust in the political system (3 branches).

Author

• Elizabeth A. Hoffmann, Purdue University