In 1620 the much-vaunted Mayflower carrying the ‘Pilgrims’ arrived after a sixty-six-day voyage landing at what became known as ‘New England’. The ‘Pilgrims’ who had set sail from Plymouth, England, named a colony in their new home ‘New Plymouth’ and it was men like William Bradford, Stephen Hopkins, Edward and Gilbert Winslow and others who became well known as colonisers of the ‘New World’.
Violence after a time became rife despite revisionists trying to tell us differently as the Pilgrims’ interests and those of the indigenous population began to surface. The new colonisers after a time and as more of them arrived began to exterminate the locals. It was the new comers who had modern weapons and the locals with ordnance barely out of the Stone Age. The ‘Pilgrims’ (also the nickname of Plymouth Argyle Football Club) were supposedly religious and devout Christians. Like all those who profess to be all loving following an ’all powerful, all caring God’ they actually practised the opposite as the local indigenous population were to soon find out. So, violence was an ever-present spectre in what became known as the United States of America from the earliest of times.
Let us move on a couple of centuries to the ‘American Revolution’. In October 1781 British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown thus bringing to an end the revolution. America had won her independence from Britian by the use of, for once, justifiable force. In 1791 Washington became the first President of the United States and despite his support for slavery steered a steady ship relative to the times. In 1798 John Adams became the second President of the fledgling United States and for the first time we see political extremism coming into the field. That is political extremism in comparison to the Washington years. Many French people were arriving in the US and Adams saw these as a threat due to the fact they held many revolutionary views, just as Adams himself had once done during the American Revolution. Perhaps some of these French people did not get along with the ‘counter revolutionary’ views of Napoleon Bonaparte? Whatever their reasons for coming to the USA President Adams was cautious to the point of introducing new laws to counter this perceived ‘threat’. He introduced the ‘Sedition Act’ which made it a crime to criticise the government no matter where such criticism was made. Basically Adams banned ‘free speech’ something he had fought for during the revolutionary years! Such ‘sedition’ as commenting derogatorily about Adams and his government met with a lengthy jail sentence. A person could be sat enjoying a few pints of ale in a pub, make a disparaging remark about the government or, even worse, Adams himself, and be informed on by anybody who overheard the remark. The next thing the door would fly open and the hapless victim carried off to jail. This ‘Sedition Act’ introduced by John Adams was an early sign of political extremism which would ebb and flow in the USA until present days.
Sometimes a US President can tolerate extremism, what today we would call right-wing extremism, simply by doing nothing thus be seen as encouraging such extremism! This was the case of the 25th US President, William McKinley, who in 1898 did nothing or said nothing when a white mob lynched black local government representatives in North Carolina. The venue for this overthrow of democracy was Wilmington, North Carolina, when all the black representatives elected by the people of Wilmington were overthrown and some were ‘lynched’ by a baying white supremacist mob. McKinley opted not to do anything about this afront to democracy. He could, and perhaps should, have sent in federal troops to stop this mass murder and subversion of the democratic process. He did not, instead he did nothing at all, he was deafening by his silence! The events on Wilmington 1898 made it clear: black people were not welcome either in the town or in the USA at all. They were seen and considered inferior to white people and could be done without. This was just over thirty years since Abraham Lincoln had signed the ‘Emancipation Act’ freeing the black slaves of the USA! These are just two of many early seeds sewn leading to early political extremism in the USA. like Lincoln, a good man assassinated, ironically so too was a not so decent a man McKinley assassinated in 1901 by an anarchist.
Another example of extreme measures taken by a US Government against those who oppose policy would be the 4th May 1970. On this date the Ohio National Guard shot dead four students and wounded a further nine who were protesting against the Vietnam War and the ‘draft.’ The ‘draft’ was an attempt by the administration of Richard Nixon to ‘draft’ people into the army and fight in Vietnam against the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army who had the support of the landless people. Public opinion was turning against the war and students in particular made their voices of opposition heard. Once again, the misleadingly named ‘Land of the Free’ resorted to extreme measures costing four young people their lives.
Moving on to modern times and the election of Joe Biden in 2020 and the reaction of former President, Donald Trump. In January 2020 Trump refused to accept the Electoral College result proclaiming Biden the winner, claiming he, Trump, was still really the President. An attempt was made by Trump supporters to subvert the result as they stormed Capitol Hill threatening a coup. It took the forces of law and order a great effort to crush Trump supporter’s attempts at overthrowing the incoming Biden Presidency. The question is did Donald Trump encourage this attempted right-wing subversive act reminiscent of Hitlers attempted Bier Putsch of 1923? Well, if he did not encourage his supporters by words he did by deed. He, like McKinley in 1898, by saying nothing to stop the violence thus encouraged it. He was seen in his Limousine giving the fists up to his supporters often referred to as the ‘Proud Boys.’ Therefore the only conclusion is that Trump supported these extreme tactics of his supporters!
In 2025, Trump will be back in the White House and has control of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Is there no holding this extremist President this time round with the Republican Party controlling Congress with Trump at the helm? Trump has put business man Elon Musk in his cabinet, a very dangerous sign. It is a possible first move towards fascism because one major ingredient of this ideology is ‘Corporatism’. Many people rightly so equate fascism with authoritarianism, which it is, anti-communism, which it is, anti-trade unionism and worker’s rights, which it is but very few can see the ‘Corporate’ ingredient when big business becomes the actual government. This is what has happened or is happening under Trump in the USA this time round. Under capitalism all governments in all countries govern on behalf of and for the benefit of the capitalist class. But when members of this class, while still controlling a business empire as does Elon Musk, are actually involved in government then the signs are ominous. Sometimes MPs or TDs have outside business interests in the UK and 26 counties but not on a corporate level, they do not control huge multinational corporations. Musk along with another multi billionaire conglomerate owning businessman, Vivek Ramaswamy, have been appointed to the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’, an advisory, ‘non-agency’ arm of government. Musk and his business cohort Ramaswamy will advise Trump on a number of issues including the economy. Musk is already on record as saying “countries should be run as an enterprise” meaning he wants the USA run and governed like one of his business concerns to make a profit. When such governance is in place it is a major step towards fascism, it could be described as ‘Para-fascism’. This basically means certain fascist trappings are implemented within a supposedly non-extremist democratically elected government. In the UK the policies of Margaret Thatcher especially during the 1984/85 Miners Strike and prior to this the 1981 Irish republican hunger strikes would be an example of para-fascism in the UK.
Let us move on a couple of centuries to the ‘American Revolution’. In October 1781 British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered to General George Washington at Yorktown thus bringing to an end the revolution. America had won her independence from Britian by the use of, for once, justifiable force. In 1791 Washington became the first President of the United States and despite his support for slavery steered a steady ship relative to the times. In 1798 John Adams became the second President of the fledgling United States and for the first time we see political extremism coming into the field. That is political extremism in comparison to the Washington years. Many French people were arriving in the US and Adams saw these as a threat due to the fact they held many revolutionary views, just as Adams himself had once done during the American Revolution. Perhaps some of these French people did not get along with the ‘counter revolutionary’ views of Napoleon Bonaparte? Whatever their reasons for coming to the USA President Adams was cautious to the point of introducing new laws to counter this perceived ‘threat’. He introduced the ‘Sedition Act’ which made it a crime to criticise the government no matter where such criticism was made. Basically Adams banned ‘free speech’ something he had fought for during the revolutionary years! Such ‘sedition’ as commenting derogatorily about Adams and his government met with a lengthy jail sentence. A person could be sat enjoying a few pints of ale in a pub, make a disparaging remark about the government or, even worse, Adams himself, and be informed on by anybody who overheard the remark. The next thing the door would fly open and the hapless victim carried off to jail. This ‘Sedition Act’ introduced by John Adams was an early sign of political extremism which would ebb and flow in the USA until present days.
Sometimes a US President can tolerate extremism, what today we would call right-wing extremism, simply by doing nothing thus be seen as encouraging such extremism! This was the case of the 25th US President, William McKinley, who in 1898 did nothing or said nothing when a white mob lynched black local government representatives in North Carolina. The venue for this overthrow of democracy was Wilmington, North Carolina, when all the black representatives elected by the people of Wilmington were overthrown and some were ‘lynched’ by a baying white supremacist mob. McKinley opted not to do anything about this afront to democracy. He could, and perhaps should, have sent in federal troops to stop this mass murder and subversion of the democratic process. He did not, instead he did nothing at all, he was deafening by his silence! The events on Wilmington 1898 made it clear: black people were not welcome either in the town or in the USA at all. They were seen and considered inferior to white people and could be done without. This was just over thirty years since Abraham Lincoln had signed the ‘Emancipation Act’ freeing the black slaves of the USA! These are just two of many early seeds sewn leading to early political extremism in the USA. like Lincoln, a good man assassinated, ironically so too was a not so decent a man McKinley assassinated in 1901 by an anarchist.
Another example of extreme measures taken by a US Government against those who oppose policy would be the 4th May 1970. On this date the Ohio National Guard shot dead four students and wounded a further nine who were protesting against the Vietnam War and the ‘draft.’ The ‘draft’ was an attempt by the administration of Richard Nixon to ‘draft’ people into the army and fight in Vietnam against the Vietcong and North Vietnamese Army who had the support of the landless people. Public opinion was turning against the war and students in particular made their voices of opposition heard. Once again, the misleadingly named ‘Land of the Free’ resorted to extreme measures costing four young people their lives.
Moving on to modern times and the election of Joe Biden in 2020 and the reaction of former President, Donald Trump. In January 2020 Trump refused to accept the Electoral College result proclaiming Biden the winner, claiming he, Trump, was still really the President. An attempt was made by Trump supporters to subvert the result as they stormed Capitol Hill threatening a coup. It took the forces of law and order a great effort to crush Trump supporter’s attempts at overthrowing the incoming Biden Presidency. The question is did Donald Trump encourage this attempted right-wing subversive act reminiscent of Hitlers attempted Bier Putsch of 1923? Well, if he did not encourage his supporters by words he did by deed. He, like McKinley in 1898, by saying nothing to stop the violence thus encouraged it. He was seen in his Limousine giving the fists up to his supporters often referred to as the ‘Proud Boys.’ Therefore the only conclusion is that Trump supported these extreme tactics of his supporters!
In 2025, Trump will be back in the White House and has control of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Is there no holding this extremist President this time round with the Republican Party controlling Congress with Trump at the helm? Trump has put business man Elon Musk in his cabinet, a very dangerous sign. It is a possible first move towards fascism because one major ingredient of this ideology is ‘Corporatism’. Many people rightly so equate fascism with authoritarianism, which it is, anti-communism, which it is, anti-trade unionism and worker’s rights, which it is but very few can see the ‘Corporate’ ingredient when big business becomes the actual government. This is what has happened or is happening under Trump in the USA this time round. Under capitalism all governments in all countries govern on behalf of and for the benefit of the capitalist class. But when members of this class, while still controlling a business empire as does Elon Musk, are actually involved in government then the signs are ominous. Sometimes MPs or TDs have outside business interests in the UK and 26 counties but not on a corporate level, they do not control huge multinational corporations. Musk along with another multi billionaire conglomerate owning businessman, Vivek Ramaswamy, have been appointed to the ‘Department of Government Efficiency’, an advisory, ‘non-agency’ arm of government. Musk and his business cohort Ramaswamy will advise Trump on a number of issues including the economy. Musk is already on record as saying “countries should be run as an enterprise” meaning he wants the USA run and governed like one of his business concerns to make a profit. When such governance is in place it is a major step towards fascism, it could be described as ‘Para-fascism’. This basically means certain fascist trappings are implemented within a supposedly non-extremist democratically elected government. In the UK the policies of Margaret Thatcher especially during the 1984/85 Miners Strike and prior to this the 1981 Irish republican hunger strikes would be an example of para-fascism in the UK.
If I was a trade unionist in the USA I would be concerned. What if Musk advises Trump that trade unions and workers' rights get in the way of business and profits? What then? Will the President outlaw trade unions, as did Hitler and Mussolini during the 1930s? What if the other advisor on ‘government efficiency’, Ramaswamy suggests opposition parties, particularly the Democratic Party, are a barrier to progress and profits, as are the House of Representatives and the Senate, does Trump get rid of them, would he permanently suspend Congress? Does he then introduce Government by Presidential Decree? Given Trumps turbulent political history it would appear nothing is beyond him. If Trump were to ban all opposition parties, outlaw trade unions, make it illegal for any worker to question the employer’s authority and give the Police and National Guard limitless powers then we have moved away from ‘para-fascism’ into the realms of full-blown fascist dictatorship. Would this President, himself a big businessman, on the advice of Musk and Ramaswamy go down this avenue? Fascism without mentioning the word! Do the USA have enough political checks and balances to prevent such moves?
Another example of Trump’s mentality is his appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Junior, to the Department of Health. Kennedy, the nephew of assassinated former President John F. Kennedy and son of sixties assassinated Presidential Democrat hopeful Robert Kennedy, will oversee the Health Department in Trump's Administration. Kennedy has broken with his family, all Democrats, to embrace his “new family” in Trump's Republican Party. This is the man who claims Covid vaccines are “dangerous” and, remember when then President Trump back in 2019, suggested we all “inject ourselves” with disinfectant to kill the Covid virus, Robert F. Kennedy Junior was in the mix when Trump made his ridiculous recommendation and now, he is going to preside over an already fucked up rich person's health service.
As US political history has proved with many instances of extremism, which only three I have alluded to, the next four years will be turbulent. Could Trump lead the USA towards full fascism in all but name? I underline could in bold because hopefully there are enough checks and balances to prevent it and short of nuclear annihilation, fascism in the USA is one of the worst possible scenarios. Let us hope it does not come to pass, but early signs are not great!!
Another example of Trump’s mentality is his appointment of Robert F. Kennedy Junior, to the Department of Health. Kennedy, the nephew of assassinated former President John F. Kennedy and son of sixties assassinated Presidential Democrat hopeful Robert Kennedy, will oversee the Health Department in Trump's Administration. Kennedy has broken with his family, all Democrats, to embrace his “new family” in Trump's Republican Party. This is the man who claims Covid vaccines are “dangerous” and, remember when then President Trump back in 2019, suggested we all “inject ourselves” with disinfectant to kill the Covid virus, Robert F. Kennedy Junior was in the mix when Trump made his ridiculous recommendation and now, he is going to preside over an already fucked up rich person's health service.
As US political history has proved with many instances of extremism, which only three I have alluded to, the next four years will be turbulent. Could Trump lead the USA towards full fascism in all but name? I underline could in bold because hopefully there are enough checks and balances to prevent it and short of nuclear annihilation, fascism in the USA is one of the worst possible scenarios. Let us hope it does not come to pass, but early signs are not great!!
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| Caoimhin O’Muraile is Independent Socialist Republican and Marxist. |
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