A resolution protesting the admission to the bar of John F. Cassidy, leader of the Christian Front in Brooklyn, has been introduced in the New York State Legislature by Assemblyman Patrick H. Sullivan of New York City. Cassidy was charged with conspiracy to overthrow the U.S. Government, but was subsequently acquitted.
In his resolution, Mr. Sullivan states that “the ideology of the Christian Front, as exemplified by Cassidy, is contrary to true Americanism and true Christianity. The doctrines of hate preached by Cassidy on the street-corners of Brooklyn against the President and the Jews are un-American and un-Christian.” Cassidy’s application for admission to the bar has been before the Appellate Division’s Committee on Character and Fitness in Brooklyn for two years. Secret hearings have been held since last July before a special committee including William Pinkney Hamilton, Jr., Oscar Lewis and Joseph F. Rudden.
Sulliven charged, in his resolution, that among other things, on November 24, 1941, at a Coughlinite meeting in Philadelphia, Cassidy stated that “President Roosevelt is either insane or a liar – is a pagan – and is misleading and misguiding everybody…” and the ” Christian people” don’t know the truth of what’s going on “because the people who talk with their hands control the press and radio.” On April 4, 1939, at a meeting held in Brooklyn, Cassidy declared that President Roosevelt could not be impeached, but “the only possible way of getting rid of him was for somebody to murder him.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
