The Silver Shirts, or Silver Legion of America, were a fascist political movement in America from 1933 to 1941. Founded by William Dudley Pelley, a screenwriter, the group had some notoriety and wealthy supporters. James Zills explains.
A Wanted poster for William Dudley Pelley, founder of the Silver Shirts.
The end of World War One saw the reshaping of boundaries in Europe, insurmountable war debt, the collapse of the German economy, and a growing distrust in democracy. This gave rise to the age of dictators, who through the help of their paramilitary forces grew to power – with their success being most notable in Germany and Italy. A key element in the militias utilized to gain control was the differentiating of the colors worn by these organizations. The Germans sported the Brown Shirts, Italian Black Shirts, and Spain with Blue Shirts. History barely recognizes similar movements in other countries with their own fashionable shirts. Bulgaria with red, Brazil green, Mexico with opposing gold and red, and finally the United States of America and the fashionable Silver Shirts. With the exception of the red shirts who leaned toward communism in Mexico, all were similar in the fact that they shared a distrust and hatred for Jews.
The Silver Shirts, like many novel ideas in America, had their roots in Hollywood. William Dudley Pelley, a screenwriter in the great intellectual desert, formed the Silver Legion (Silver Shirts) in January 1933 shortly after Hitler seized power in Germany. Pelley, an ardent admirer of Hitler believed that he could achieve similar success, openly declaring: “the time has come for an American Hitler” (Murphy 2018). Like most screenwriters in ‘Hollyweird’, originality was not his strong suit. Once the movement began to pick-up momentum, Pelly moved his operation to Asheville, North Carolina. His move to North Carolina was motivated by the need for funding and he found that piggy bank from a wealthy individual in Ashville. With funding established it was time to establish goals - any organization worth its weight in silver has to have goals.
Goals of a Presidential Hopeful
The overarching goal of the Silver Shirts was to bring religion back to the forefront of American Society. The legion also aspired to revert private owned lands back to the state, re-institute slavery for African Americans, and begin the deportation of Jews. Those who were loyal to the cause would enjoy the bounty of sharing the properties seized by the legion. Lifting a move from Joseph Smith, Pelley claimed to have been visited by none other than Jesus himself. In this celestial vision, Pelley claimed that Jesus gave him the stamp of approval for his quest.
Knowing that the Silver Shirts lacked the membership numbers for a hostile takeover, Pelley did the next best thing. Founding the Christian Party in 1935, he used it as a means to run as a third party candidate in the 1936 presidential election. “For Christ and the Constitution” (Finklestein 1938) was the rallying call for the party, but it would do little to gain the necessary momentum. Pelley was only able to get on the ballot in Washington State and solely running his candidacy from Ashville presented problems with persuading voters. The newly formed Christian Party and its leader failed at the long-shot presidential run, garnering just 1,598 votes. To put it into perspective, almost 700,000 people voted in the presidential election in Washington State in 1936.
As for the legion itself, its membership peaked at 15,000. Interestingly, there seemed to be no attempt to use its membership numbers for voter fraud in Washington, especially with most of its members residing on the West Coast. The most the Silver Shirts amounted to was the ability to secure a cache of weapons and ammunition and be mildly intimidating. These achievements would gain the attention of the FBI and after the attack on Pearl Harbor there was probable cause to put an end to the Silver Shirts. The Dies Committee started paying closer attention to the organization as well as the extra-curricular activities of its leader.
Pelley needed funds to support his lifestyle and, like many heads of organizations or cults, he skimmed off the top; in Pelley’s case, he defrauded shareholders (Daly 2018). The ever-watchful eye of big brother, and his run-ins with the authorities forced Pelley into hiding. He spent some time hiding out with likeminded folks, such as the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana, before ultimately disbanding the Silver Shirts after the attack on Pearl Harbor to alleviate the pressure put on him by the FBI. Pelley would eventually spend some time in prison for securities fraud and the publication of treasonable material. After serving his time, he kept up with all things silver and began a fascination with aliens.
The Casting Couch
Aside from the man-crush he had on Hitler, Pelley acquired some interesting reasons for his dislike of Jewish people. His mistrust for Jewish people began in Hollywood. His experience in Hollywood led him to believe that Jews controlled the movie industry, which impeded his creativity. He constantly complained that Jewish directors routinely made changes to his writing that were adapted for film. Furthermore, Pelley mentions the infamous casting couch as another reason for his contempt of Jews in movie city. In Arthuriana Vol. 26 No. 2 Pelley, is quoted as saying
Do you think of me unduly incensed about them? I’ve seen too many Gentile Women ravished and been unable to do anything about it. They have a concupiscent slogan in screendom. Don’t hire till you see the whites of their thighs! (68)
On the surface the Silver Legion, headed by the ambitious Pelley, was just a small blip on the government radar. While they failed to mass number like the American Bund Movement, they gained a wealthy following that allowed a flow of funds to the actual Nazi Party. The brainchild of a Hollywood insider failed to gain enough traction to bring Nazi policy to America and like so many other pro-Nazi organizations, folded under pressure when World War Two began.
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Now you can read how Hitler’s Nazis tried to gain influence in New York City in the 1930s here.
Bibliography
Daley, Jason. "The Screenwriting Mystic Who Wanted to Be the American Führer." Smithsonian Magazine. Last modified October 3, 2018. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/meet-screenwriting-mystic-who-wanted-be-american-fuhrer-180970449/.
Finklestein, Sarah. "Candidate." Our Campaigns. Accessed November 17, 2020. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=4576.
Harty, Kevin J. "William Dudley Pelley, An American Nazi in King Arthur’s Court." Arthuriana 26, no. 2 (2016), 64-85. doi:10.1353/art.2016.0034.
Moncure, Billy. "The Silver Legion: The Nazi Sympathisers of America." War history online. Last modified September 27, 2019. https://www.warhistoryonline.com/instant-articles/the-silver-legionthe-nazi.html.
