Lawrence Dennis
Encyclopedia
Lawrence Dennis was an mixed raced American diplomat
, consultant
and author
. He advocated Socialist fascism
in America after the Great Depression
, arguing that capitalism
was doomed.
. He was of mixed race, though this was a fact he concealed later on in life. Following a notable career as a child evangelist
, he was sent to Phillips Exeter Academy
and then to Harvard.
During World War I
, Dennis commanded a company of military police
in France
. He graduated from Harvard in 1920 and entered the foreign service.
The turning point of Dennis' life came when he served in Nicaragua
. He resigned from the foreign service in disgust at the U.S. intervention there against the Sandino rebellion. He then became an adviser to the Latin American fund of the Seligman banking trust, but again made enemies when he wrote a series of exposes of their foreign bond enterprises in The New Republic
and The Nation
in 1930. These exposes propelled Dennis into a national public intellectual career, publishing his first book at the height of the depression in 1932, Is Capitalism Doomed?. The book submitted that capitalism
was, and by all right should be, on its death knell, but warned of the grave dangers of a world devoid of its positive legacy. Dennis' two later books detailed his sense of the system that was emerging to replace it, which he believed to be a sort of Socialist fascism
. The Coming American Fascism in 1936, detailing the system's substructure
, and The Dynamics of War and Revolution in 1940, on the superstructure
. In 1941 Life
called Dennis "America's No. 1 intellectual Fascist".
Dennis was an editor at The Awakener
for some time. Later he founded his own publication, the Weekly Foreign Letter, and he wrote for Today's Challenge, published by the pro-German American Fellowship Forum of George Sylvester Viereck
and Friedrich Auhagen. He tried to enlist in the American Army during World War II
, but the Army rejected him after the media ran stories about him.
agitators, in a sedition prosecution under the Smith Act
which ended in a mistrial after the judge died of a heart attack. Dennis co-authored with Maximilian St. George an account of the Great Sedition Trial of 1944 which appeared in 1946 as A Trial on Trial, but put forth his own defense in court.
and the Cold War
, and propagated his views through a modest newsletter, The Appeal to Reason, which maintained a prominent circle of readers, including Herbert Hoover
, Joseph P. Kennedy, William Appleman Williams
, Harry Elmer Barnes
, and James J. Martin
. Dennis' last book, Operational Thinking for Survival, was published in 1969.
Diplomat
A diplomat is a person appointed by a state to conduct diplomacy with another state or international organization. The main functions of diplomats revolve around the representation and protection of the interests and nationals of the sending state, as well as the promotion of information and...
, consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He advocated Socialist fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
in America after the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, arguing that capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
was doomed.
Life
Dennis was born in Atlanta, GeorgiaAtlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. He was of mixed race, though this was a fact he concealed later on in life. Following a notable career as a child evangelist
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
, he was sent to Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
and then to Harvard.
During World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, Dennis commanded a company of military police
Military police
Military police are police organisations connected with, or part of, the military of a state. The word can have different meanings in different countries, and may refer to:...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He graduated from Harvard in 1920 and entered the foreign service.
The turning point of Dennis' life came when he served in Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
. He resigned from the foreign service in disgust at the U.S. intervention there against the Sandino rebellion. He then became an adviser to the Latin American fund of the Seligman banking trust, but again made enemies when he wrote a series of exposes of their foreign bond enterprises in The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
and The Nation
The Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
in 1930. These exposes propelled Dennis into a national public intellectual career, publishing his first book at the height of the depression in 1932, Is Capitalism Doomed?. The book submitted that capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
was, and by all right should be, on its death knell, but warned of the grave dangers of a world devoid of its positive legacy. Dennis' two later books detailed his sense of the system that was emerging to replace it, which he believed to be a sort of Socialist fascism
Fascism
Fascism is a radical authoritarian nationalist political ideology. Fascists seek to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity, in which individuals are bound together in national identity by suprapersonal connections of ancestry, culture, and blood...
. The Coming American Fascism in 1936, detailing the system's substructure
Substructure
In mathematical logic, an substructure or subalgebra is a structure whose domain is a subset of that of a bigger structure, and whose functions and relations are the traces of the functions and relations of the bigger structure...
, and The Dynamics of War and Revolution in 1940, on the superstructure
Superstructure
A superstructure is an upward extension of an existing structure above a baseline. This term is applied to various kinds of physical structures such as buildings, bridges, or ships...
. In 1941 Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
called Dennis "America's No. 1 intellectual Fascist".
Dennis was an editor at The Awakener
The Awakener
The Awakener was an American right-wing anti-New Deal, anti-labor publication.It was founded in 1934 by Harold Lord Varney, and included as editors Lawrence Dennis, Joseph P. Kamp and Milford W. Howard. Lawrence Dennis removed himself from the publication in 1935...
for some time. Later he founded his own publication, the Weekly Foreign Letter, and he wrote for Today's Challenge, published by the pro-German American Fellowship Forum of George Sylvester Viereck
George Sylvester Viereck
George Sylvester Viereck was a German-American poet, writer, and propagandist.-Biography:...
and Friedrich Auhagen. He tried to enlist in the American Army during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, but the Army rejected him after the media ran stories about him.
Sedition trial
In 1944 he was indicted, in a group which ranged from genuine progressives to pro-NaziNazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
agitators, in a sedition prosecution under the Smith Act
Smith Act
The Alien Registration Act or Smith Act of 1940 is a United States federal statute that set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of the U.S...
which ended in a mistrial after the judge died of a heart attack. Dennis co-authored with Maximilian St. George an account of the Great Sedition Trial of 1944 which appeared in 1946 as A Trial on Trial, but put forth his own defense in court.
Later life
In his later years Dennis repudiated his views of the 1930s and early 1940s, became a critic of militarismMilitarism
Militarism is defined as: the belief or desire of a government or people that a country should maintain a strong military capability and be prepared to use it aggressively to defend or promote national interests....
and the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
, and propagated his views through a modest newsletter, The Appeal to Reason, which maintained a prominent circle of readers, including Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, Joseph P. Kennedy, William Appleman Williams
William Appleman Williams
William Appleman Williams was one of the 20th century's most prominent revisionist historians of American diplomacy, and has been called "the favorite historian of the Middle American New Left." He achieved the height of his influence while on the faculty of the Department of History at the...
, Harry Elmer Barnes
Harry Elmer Barnes
Harry Elmer Barnes was a prominent American historian in the 20th century. A "progressive who had some classical liberal impulses," he was associated for virtually his entire career with Columbia University.-Early career:...
, and James J. Martin
James J. Martin
James J. Martin was an American historian. He was educated at the University of New Hampshire and the University of Michigan, earning a Ph.D. in history in 1949....
. Dennis' last book, Operational Thinking for Survival, was published in 1969.
Books
- Is Capitalism Doomed? (Harper & BrothersHarper & BrothersHarper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins.-History:James Harper and his brother John, printers by training, started their book publishing business J. & J. Harper in 1817. Their two brothers, Joseph Wesley Harper and Fletcher Harper, joined them...
, 1932) - The Coming American Fascism (Harper & Brothers, 1936)
- The Dynamics of War and Revolution (Harper & Brothers, 1940)
- A Trial On Trial: The Great Sedition Trial of 1944 (1946)
- Operational Thinking for Survival (Ralph Myles, 1969)
External links
- "The fascist who 'passed' for white", by Gary YoungeGary YoungeGary Younge is a British journalist, author and broadcaster, born to immigrant parents from Barbados....
in The Guardian, April 4, 2007 - "The Color of Fascism: Lawrence Dennis, Racial Passing, and the Rise of Right-Wing Extremism in the United States", New York University Press webpage for the book by Gerald HorneGerald HorneGerald Horne is an African American historian who currently holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston. He received his PhD from Columbia University and a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. He is a frequent...
- "Tales of a Seditionist: The Lawrence Dennis Story" by Justin RaimondoJustin RaimondoJustin Raimondo is an American author and the editorial director of the website Antiwar.com. He describes himself as a "conservative-paleo-libertarian."-Background:...
, antiwar.com, April 28, 2000 - "Lawrence Dennis and a Frontier Thesis for American Capitalism" by Keith Stimely, The Occidental Quarterly, Fall 2001