William Dudley Pelley: A Life in Right-Wing Extremism and the OccultWilliam Dudley Pelley was one of the most important figures of the anti-Semitic radical right in the twentieth century. Best remembered as the leader of the paramilitary "Silver Shirts," Pelley was also an award-winning short story writer, Hollywood screenwriter, and religious leader. During the Depression Pelley was a notorious presence in American politics; he ran for president on a platform calling for the ghettoization of American Jews and was a defendant in a headlinegrabbing sedition trial thanks to his unwavering support for Nazi Germany. Scott Beekman offers not only a political but also an intellectual and literary biography of Pelley, greatly advancing our understanding of a figure often dismissed as a madman or charlatan. His belief system, composed of anti-Semitism, economic nostrums, racialism, neo-Theosophical channeling, and millenarian Christianity, anticipates the eclecticism of later cult personalities such as Shoko Asahara, leader of Aum Shinrikyo, and the British conspiracy theorist David Icke. By charting the course of Pelley's career, Beekman does an admirable job of placing Pelley within the history of both the anti-Semitic right and American occult movements. This exhaustively researched book is a welcome addition to the growing body of scholarship on American extremism and esoteric religions. |
Contents
Early Years 18901915 | xvii |
Paris and Asia 19161919 | 15 |
Hollywood 19201927 | 31 |
Seven Minutes in Eternity 19281929 | 49 |
Liberation 19301932 | 60 |
Silver Shirts 1933 | 77 |
Extremists 1934 | 92 |
Tribulation 19341936 | 103 |
Other editions - View all
William Dudley Pelley: A Life in Right-Wing Extremism and the Occult Scott Beekman Limited preview - 2005 |
Common terms and phrases
America First Committee American Film Institute AMORC anti-Semitic Asheville Caledonian career Chaney Chicago Christ Christian Right clairaudient Committee Communist conspiracy decade developed Door to Revelation extremist film Galahad Press George Gerald L. K. Smith German groups Hitler Hollywood HUAC Ibid Indianapolis Japanese Jewish Jews John leader Lewis Liberation magazine metaphysical Millenarian Right movement Native American Native American Fascism Nazi Germany Noblesville Noblesville Ledger North Carolina novel Old Christian Right Pelley began Pelley believed Pelley claimed Pelley found Pelley later Pelley noted Pelley posited Pelley Publishers Pelley's political Portzline promoted propaganda psychical racial Religion Ribuffo Roosevelt Roundtree Schonbach Scripts Sept seven minutes Silver Shirt chief Silver Shirt Legion Silver Shirts Social Soulcraft souls spiritual spiritualist Star Guests stories Theosophy tion ufology United Univ Washington Werly White William Dudley Pelley William G. A. World writings York