Unofficially, nearly 4,000 men claimed to be Conscientious Objectors during this time. Most of them were sent to prison, because it was against the law to object to the war. Can you imagine being sent to prison because of your religious beliefs?! Two popular sites that people were sent to were Alcatraz Island and Ft. Leavenworth U.S. Disciplinary Barracks. Some of the men who refused to fight while at army barracks and camps were just considered crazy or mentally unstable so they could be sent home and people wouldn't have to deal with them anymore.
One man during this time was named Henry H. Miller. Miller was a Mennonite and believed that when the Bible says "Thou shall not kill," then he cannot kill anyone no matter what the circumstances are. While at the court hearing, the judge asked him if he had any family, and he said he had several sisters. The judge then began to question if someone would try to attack and rape your sisters, would you use violence to protect them? He of course said because the Bible says that that is wrong. The judge continued to question his love for his sisters because he refused to use violence to save his sisters lives. How could someone in their right mind question the love of someone else's family based off of religious beliefs?! Personally, I would hope my brother would try to save me, but if we disagreed with violence and war, then I would want him to stand up for what we believe. I don't think the judge was in the position to ask that question.
Why did so many Americans hate Conscientious Objectors? If Americans have the freedom to believe what they want to, then how come they are being sent to prison? So many people found it unpatriotic to be against this war. This was the first time the government had actually made a draft for the war. There was a law stating that you could not show hatred towards the government and the war, which is what the objectors were doing. However, these men stood behind their beliefs and were not afraid of what the government was going to do to them. They believed that life was too valuable to just throw away with violence and war. They were going to stand up for what they believed in no matter what. This was also partially because if it was because of their religion that they could not fight, then they thought that they would go to hell for killing men in battle. However, not all of these people were Conscientious Objectors because of religion, some were Socialists and members of the IWW, which is the International Workers of the World. One famous Objector was Howard W. Moore, who was agnostic and not a part of any type of party. He wrote a book about his struggles as being a Objector in WWI called "Plowing My Own Furrow."
Personally, I am for war, but I also believe that these men were not treated the way they should have been treated. They were discriminated against because of personal opinion and religion. No, I do not agree with those opinions, but they deserve to have a say in what they do. Being sentenced to prison was not necessary. I'm very glad though that these people did not let the government tell them they had to kill people and fight in the war. They took the unfair punishment that they were given and stood behind what they believed.
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| Mennonite Harry Sommers' Parole Pass |
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| Book by Howard W. Moore, a Conscientious Objector during WWI, about his struggles. |
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| Conscientious Objectors during WWI |
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| These men were Objectors at Camp Pike in Arkansas |
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| This is a group of Mennonite Conscientious Objectors. |
Sources:
· Swarthmore College Library - This website described conscientious objectors during WWI, like Mennonites
Plowing My Own Furrow - This book is written by a conscientious objector named Howard W. Moore who lived during WWI and refused to fight in the war
Seattle Community Network - This website just explains what a conscientious objector is in general
Testimony of Henry H. Miller - This file has a copy of the testimony of Henry H. Miller after he was arrested for refusing to fight in the war
Conscientious Objectors - The Northwest Worker - This article is from the newspaper archive and states what exactly a conscientious objector is and what they believe
EBSCO Plowing My Own Furrow - AVL source that first showed me the book "Plowing My Own Furrow"
Conscientious Objectors - The Sun - Article from a newspaper that talks about some cases of conscientious objectors
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