American Protective League

The American Protective League Newsletter

    The American Protective League was a group of volunteers who sought out anti-american activity in their neighbors, coworkers, and even family members, and reported them. It was headed up by a man named Albert Briggs, who was a Chicago advertising expert.He contributed a lot to the members, including payments, and cars so they could more easily watch the suspicious activity. Most Americans were infatuated with this idea that their surroundings were made safer because of this surveillance that the volunteers did. Some people even quit their jobs, just to solely devote their time to recognizing the threats that these double crossing German supporters!

APL Special Members Certification

                       The volunteer group was under a branch of the FBI, and was allowed because President Wilson and the Attorney General Gregory both supported it. It was legal to spy on your neighbors because of the Sedition act. This organization was huge by the end of WWI, with eighty to one hundred thousand members (mostly white American men in the beginning) represented throughout the country, in over six hundred cities and towns. Mostly in large cities where large alien activity was happening. They even had a newsletter, called The Spyglass! The "web" as the people in this society called themselves, believed their duty was to relieve overall fear of foreign spies, immigrants, and terrorists. The Web was infiltrated in every single aspect of daily life that you could imagine, including corporate business people, construction workers,newspaper writers, artists, any job you can think of, the important part is that extremely powerful people were involved with this.

APL to U.S. Food Administration: 
Carl A. Rink

    The APL was highly praised in some places, like the government for conducting investigations for lots of federal agencies, or for finding different kinds of delinquents from the Draft. (Selective Service Act) However, they were also a largely criticized group, because of their blatant discrimination and racism against foreign peoples, and also their legalized hate crimes.  They spied on people just for having German surnames, and their are thousands of letters that were written to the head of the organization, the National Board of Directors, about how their friends, families, and neighbors were acting disloyal, disturbing, embarrassing, or harmful to the United States, or their government.  This would definitely be illegal today.There are instances similar to the Holocaust, where businesses and homes were burned down! The group was mostly peaceful though. 

The American Protective
 League Badge

 

    The way I would describe it would be similar to the National Guard today. Except, instead of protecting our citizens physically, they are infiltrating terrorists and the equivalent of Al-Qaeda supporters. At the time of WWI, though, many critics of this group would have compared them to  history repeaters, like the Sons of Liberty in the Civil War, the American Protective Association (which is similar, but failed ultimately), the Anti- Catholic Association, the Industrial Workers of the World, and because of their discrimination, some people have compared it to the Klu Klux Klan!
     The APL only lasted for about a year, from March 1918, two weeks before America joined WWI, to February 1919, when it was said to be out of control, and not necessary any longer by the Attorney General, and commanded to be dissolved. The Web members  badges and certifications were considered inane. Many members still had strong feelings about their dislike of suspicious citizens, but the activity surely died down. This was very interesting and I liked learning about it! However in my own opinion, I disagree with the people spying on anyone, other than the government looking at them.

Sources:

Primary Source: National Archives-OPL
primary source pictures and archives
AVL-Tulane Memorial Library- Special Collections,APL Records 1918, Louisiana Research Collection
basic information about the group

APL: The American Protective League-History Magazine-J.G. Hammel
primary source  about the group

George Mason University. History News Network Civil Liberties, Joan Jenson
general information about the names and titles of people and also the league

Biltmore Industries Archive
   the size of the group

National Counter Intelligence Center-American Revolution-WWII
critics of the League

National Archives-records of the FBI
 details about the group status in the government