Books on trial

red scare in the Heartland

By Wiegand, Shirley A. & Wiegand, Wayne A.

Publishers Summary:
"In a raid on the Progressive Bookstore of Oklahoma City in 1940, local officials seized thousands of books and pamphlets and arrested twenty customers and proprietors, several of them members of the Communist Party. All were detained incommunicado and many were held for months on unreasonably high bail. Four were tried and convicted for violating Oklahoma's 'criminal syndicalism' law and sentenced to ten years in prison. The defendants' convictions and sentences caused a nationwide furor and were ultimately overturned on appeal after protests from labor unions, churches, publishers, academics, librarians, the American Civil Liberties Union, members of the literary world, and prominent individuals ranging from Woody Guthrie to Eleanor Roosevelt." "Shirley A. Wiegand and Wayne A. Wiegand share the story of this important case for the first time, drawing on recently discovered trial transcripts, interviews with witnesses and those arrested, documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and other primary sources."--BOOK JACKET.

 Not Rated. Be the first to rate this product!

ISBN
978-0-80613-868-8
Publisher
Norman : University of Oklahoma Press, c2007.


REVIEWS

Library Journal

Reviewed on September 15, 2007

Shirley Wiegand (law, Marquette Univ.;Library Records ) and Wayne Wiegand (library & information studies, American studies, Florida State Univ., Tallahassee;Irrepressible Reformer: A Biography of Melvil Dewey ) cover a fascinating chapter in the grassroots history of American communism. In August 1940, the Oklahoma City police illegally raided the local Communist Party bookstore, carting off its contents and arresting everyone in it. The suspected Reds were held incommunicado in ...Log In or Sign Up to Read More

Become a Pro


This feature is only available to Pro subscribers. Please log in, or upgrade your subscription.

Add To My List

cover
by

This feature is only available to Pro subscribers. Please log in, or upgrade your subscription.

Export


This feature is only available to Pro subscribers. Please log in, or upgrade your subscription.

Save List Search Query


This feature is only available to Pro subscribers. Please log in, or upgrade your subscription.

Follow Lists


This feature is only available to Pro subscribers. Please log in, or upgrade your subscription.