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Joseph P. Kamp

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Joseph P. Kamp (May 3, 1900 – June 7, 1993)[1] was an American political activist from New York who ran the Constitutional Educational League and was jailed in 1950 for contempt of Congress.[2][3][4]

Background

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Joseph Peter Kamp was born on May 3, 1900, in Yonkers, New York.[5] His parents were German-born Joseph Kamp, tailor, and Margaret Franz Kamp. He attended grammar school in Yonkers and spent a few months at Fordham Prep.[4]

Career

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Elizabeth Dilling (pictured in 1939) was an associate of Kamp.

Kamp started his career by working in a law office, followed by work at a newspaper. In 1921, he worked in construction, at which time he first encountered and joined the Constitutional Educational League. By 1925, he had become a public speaker for the League.[4]

In 1934, Kamp became executive editor[4] for The Awakener, founded in 1934 by Harold Lord Varney (manager of the Italian Historical Society, which shared offices with the Constitutional Educational League[4]), with fellow editors Lawrence Dennis and Milford W. Howard.[6] The Awakener folded in 1936. Kamp sent a manuscript to the League, which was published in Join the C.I.O. and Help Build a Soviet America. In 1947, he joined the League's staff as executive vice chairman.[4]

In 1942 and 1943, two federal grand juries issues indictments against people and organizations conspiring against US involvement in World War II; the League appeared both times.[4] During the 1944 presidential campaign, the Constitutional Educational League published a brochure, Vote CIO and Get A Soviet America. A federal grand jury, investigating 1944 campaign expenditures, sought to find out who the League's financial backers, as requested by a congressional subpoena; Kamp refused to answer.[4][7] In December 1944, Kamp found himself indicted for contempt of Congress.[4]

Starting on June 16, 1950, Kamp was sentenced to four months in prison for refusing back in 1944 to answer questions regarding campaign activities, asked by the House Campaign Expenditures Committee. (He was also "in trouble" with the House Lobby Investigating Committee for refusing to share his organization's records.) The United States Supreme Court refused to hear his appeal earlier in 1950.[2] Others who also defied Congress over similar issues include: Edward A. Rumely of the Committee for Constitutional Government and Merwin K. Hart of the National Economic Council, Inc.[2]

Kamp was tried another time for congressional defiance in 1951, when he failed to produce records for the House Lobby Investigating Committee.[8] He was found guilty, but was granted another trial on appeal due to possible jury bias. In 1952, Kamp was acquitted as the House Committee failed to orderly disclose why he was in default. The second contempt charge in relationship with the lobbying activities of the Constitutional Educational League, an anti-communist organization.[2][9] In 1956, he issued the pamphlet Behind the Plot to Sovietize the South, in which he protested against desegregation. He said the first step after desegregation would be black supremacy, and then Sovietism. Kamp said the civil rights movement had the goal of making the South a "Soviet South", and then a "Soviet America". He went as far as to imply that President Dwight D. Eisenhower was worse than Adolf Hitler for using federal troops to enforce the Brown v. Board ruling.[10]

"Some intemperate Southern leaders have compared Dwight Eisenhower to Adolf Hitler. . . . They are wrong. . . . Hitler had the constitutional right to use Nazi storm troopers in any way he pleased. Eisenhower has no such right to use Federal troops in the South."[11]

Kamp also served as a policy advisor to the Liberty Lobby.[12] He was a staunch supporter of Joseph McCarthy.[13]

Personal life

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Kamp was a great-uncle of actor Jon Voight through his mother, making him the great great uncle of actress Angelina Jolie.[14]

Kamp died on June 7, 1993 in Jupiter, Florida at the age of 93.

Kamp was associated with Alfred Kohlberg, Merwin K. Hart, Edward A. Rumely, J.B. Matthews, and William F. Buckley Jr.[15] He also associated with Elizabeth Dilling, author of The Red Network—A Who's Who and Handbook of Radicalism for Patriots (1934).[3]

Gerald L. K. Smith (1898–1976) far-right clergyman and leader of the Christian Nationalist Crusade called Kamp a "well-informed and fearless patriot."[3]

Works

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Pamphlets

Kamp seems to have penned all pamphlets published by the Constitutional Educational League:

  • Hell of Herrin Rages Again (1937)[16]
  • Join the C.I.O. and Help Build a Soviet America (1937)[17]
  • Stop Lewis and Smash Communism! Program of the Constitutional Educational League (1939)[18]
  • Fifth Column in Washington! (1940)[19][20]
  • Fifth Column in the South (1940)[21][22]
  • Fifth Column vs. the Dies Committee (1941)[23]
  • The Fifth Column Stops Defense (1941)[24]
  • How to Win the War and Lose What We're Fighting For! (1942)[25]
  • Native Nazi Purge Plot (1942)[26]
  • Famine in America (1943)[27][28]
  • The Class War on the Home Front (1943)[29][30]
  • With Lotions of Love... (1944)[31]
  • Vote CIO and Get a Soviet America (1944)[32]
  • Hell with G. I. Joe! (1944)[33][34]
  • Audacious Aubrey Williams and the Sly Strategy of Senator Smear (1945)[35]
  • Anything But the Truth: The Story of the Man who Lied to Congress (1945)[36]
  • How to be an American, to Organize for America, to Fight Un-Americanism (1946)[37]
  • Communist Carpetbaggers in Operation Dixie (1946)[38]
  • The Fay Case (1946)[39]
  • Strikes and the Communists Behind Them (1947)[40]
  • Open Letter to Congress. Gentlemen: Are You Mice or Men? An Underworld Secret-Police Terror Menaces America (1948)[41]
  • Behind the Lace Curtains of the YWCA (1948)[42]
  • Hitler Was a Liberal (1949)[43]
  • America Betrayed: The Tragic Consequences of Reds on the Government Payroll! (1950)[44][45]
  • It Isn't Safe to be an American (1950)[46]
  • We Must Abolish the United States: The Hidden Facts Behind the Crusade for World Government (1950)[47]
  • Was Jesus Christ a Jew? (undated)[48]
Maps
  • Join the C.I.O. and help build a Soviet America: a factual narrative (1937)
  • The Fifth Column Menaces America on a Thousand Fronts (1941)
Pamphlets by other authors
  • Joe Kamp: Hero of the Pro-Fascists (Friends of Democracy)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ https://www.newspapers.com/image/133162766/?terms=%22Joseph%20Peter%20kamp%22&match=1
  2. ^ a b c d "Kamp is sent to Jail for Defying Congress". The New York Times. June 17, 1950. p. 2. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c "Pattern for Revolution: A Report by the Friends of Democracy, Inc" (PDF). Kansas City, Missouri: Friends of Democracy, Inc. June 17, 1950. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Joe Kamp: Peddler of Propaganda and Hero of the Pro-Fascists. Friends of Democracy, Inc. 1944. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  5. ^ Kamp, Joseph Peter (1950). We must abolish the United States: the hidden facts behind the crusade for world government. Hallmark Publishers. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  6. ^ "New Anti-Roosevelt Publication Starts". The New York Times. December 31, 1933. p. 4.
  7. ^ "Kamp Blames Trial for Contempt on 'Smearbund'". The Washington Post. December 13, 1945. p. 3.
  8. ^ "Kamp Again on Trial for Contempt". The Washington Post. February 5, 1952. p. 7.
  9. ^ "Kamp Freed in Contempt Case". The Washington Post. February 7, 1952. p. 15.
  10. ^ "mus_m393_0005 | Digital Collections". usm.access.preservica.com. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  11. ^ Kellman, George (1958). "Anti-Jewish Agitation". The American Jewish Year Book. 59: 112. ISSN 0065-8987. JSTOR 23605197.
  12. ^ By (October 20, 1985). "RECEPTION HAS PALM BEACH ALL AFLUTTER 'OUTSIDER' STAGING FUND-RAISER FOR MOSTLY OUTSIDE GUESTS". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  13. ^ Daugherty, Jennifer (March 23, 2007). "Joseph McCarthy". Joyner Library Special Collections. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  14. ^ "(title unclear)". The Barnes Review. TBR Company: 56. 2001. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  15. ^ Diamond, Sigmund (1992). Compromised Campus: The Collaboration of Universities with the Intelligence Community, 1945-1955. Oxford University Press. pp. 170, 328 (fn17). ISBN 9780195053821. Retrieved October 21, 2018.
  16. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1937). Hell of Herrin Rages Again. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 38005707. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  17. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1937). Join the C.I.O. and Help Build a Soviet America. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1939). Stop Lewis and Smash Communism! Program of the Constitutional Educational League. Constitutional Educational League.
  19. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1940). Fifth Column in Washington!. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 40034341. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  20. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1940). Fifth Column in Washington!. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  21. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1940). Fifth Column in the South. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 41002128. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  22. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1940). Fifth Column in the South. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  23. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1941). Fifth Column vs. the Dies Committee. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 41006105. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  24. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1941). The Fifth Column Stops Defense. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  25. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1942). How to Win the War and Lose What We're Fighting For!. New York: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 45014216. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  26. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1942). Native Nazi Purge Plot. New York: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  27. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1943). Famine in America. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 43009042. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  28. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1943). Famine in America, Home Grown by the Farmers from Union Square. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  29. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1943). The Class War on the Home Front. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 43009042. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  30. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1943). The Class War on the Home Front. New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  31. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1944). With Lotions of Love... New Haven, CT: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 45001283. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  32. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1944). How to Win the War and Lose What We're Fighting For!. New York: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 45016580. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  33. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1944). How to Win the War and Lose What We're Fighting For!. New York: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 44051057. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  34. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1944). How to Win the War and Lose What We're Fighting For!. New York: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  35. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1945). Audacious Aubrey Williams and the Sly Strategy of Senator Smear. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  36. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1945). Anything But the Truth: The Story of the Man who Lied to Congress. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  37. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1946). How to be an American, to Organize for America, to Fight Un-Americanism: The ABC's and the Do's and Don'ts for Constructive Patriotic Action. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  38. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1946). Communist Carpetbaggers in Operation Dixie. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  39. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1946). The Fay Case. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  40. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1947). Anything But the Truth: The Story of the Man who Lied to Congress. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  41. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1948). Open Letter to Congress. Gentlemen: Are You Mice or Men? An Underworld Secret-Police Terror Menaces America. New York: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 48018100. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  42. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1948). Behind the Lace Curtains of the YWCA: A Report on the Extent and Nature of Infiltration by Communist, Socialist and Other Left Wing Elements, and the Resultant Red Complexion of Propaganda Disseminated. New York: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  43. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1949). Hitler Was a Liberal. New York: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  44. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1948). America Betrayed: The Tragic Consequences of Reds on the Government Payroll!. New York: Constitutional Educational League. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  45. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1948). America Betrayed: The Tragic Consequences of Reds on the Government Payroll!. New York: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 50002413. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  46. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1950). It Isn't Safe to be an American. New York: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 50009994. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  47. ^ Kamp, Joseph P. (1950). We Must Abolish the United States: The Hidden Facts Behind the Crusade for World Government. New York: Constitutional Educational League. LCCN 50006544. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  48. ^ Swift, Wesley A.; Comparet, Bertrand L.; Kamp, Joseph P. as Jesus Christ a Jew?. Kingdom Identity Ministries. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
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FBI files

Joseph Kamp's FBI files obtained through the FOIA and hosted at the Internet Archive

Other documents
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