National States' Rights Party
Encyclopedia
National States' Rights Party was a far right
, white supremacist party that briefly played a minor role in the politics of the United States
.
, the party was based on antisemitism, racism
and opposition to racial integration
with African American
people. Party officials argued for states' rights
against the advance of the civil rights
movement) and was dismissed by opponents as a Nazi
party. The national chairman of the party was J. B. Stoner
, who served three years in prison for bombing the Bethel Baptist Church
in Birmingham, Alabama
. The party produced a newspaper, Thunderbolt, which was edited by Edward Reed Fields. In 1958, the party's first year, five men with links to the NSRP were indicted for their participation in the bombing of The Temple
in Atlanta.
, at a secret meeting held in a rural lodge near Dayton Ohio, the NSRP nominated Governor of Arkansas Orval E. Faubus for President
and retired U.S. Navy
Rear Admiral
John G. Crommelin
of Alabama
for Vice President
. Faubus, however, did not campaign from this ticket actively, and won only 0.07% of the vote (best in his native Arkansas: 6.76%). The party also ran in the 1964 presidential election
, nominating John Kasper
for President and J. B. Stoner
for Vice President, although they won only 0.01%.
The party began to expand its operations and moved to new headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama
in 1960. Supporters were soon kitted out in the party uniform of white shirts, black pants and tie and an armband bearing the thunderbolt version of the Wolfsangel
. Thunderbolt itself gained a circulation of 15,000 in the late 1960s and the party became active in rallies across the United States, with events in Baltimore, Maryland in 1966 particularly notorious with five leading members imprisoned for inciting riots. The Federal Bureau of Investigation targeted the NSRP under its COINTELPRO
-WHITE HATE program.
The party attempted to gain international contacts, and during the 1970s took part in annual international neo-Nazi rallies at Diksmuide
, alongside such groups as the Order of Flemish militants and the United Kingdom
–based League of Saint George
. Before that the party had been close to the British extremist leader John Tyndall
and his Greater Britain Movement
after Tyndall had failed in attempts to forge links with George Lincoln Rockwell
.
. As a result, in April 1976 U.S. Attorney General Edward H. Levi
concluded an FBI investigation into the group, after it was decided that they posed no threat.
The 1980s saw the terminal decline of the NSRP, beginning initially with Stoner being convicted for a bombing in 1980. Without his leadership, the party descended into factionalism, and in August 1983 Fields was expelled for spending too much time on the KKK. Without its two central figures the NSRP fell apart, and by 1987 it had ceased to exist altogether.
, although it did share some of its views. Similarly, the party has no direct connection to the group of the same name set up in June 2005 in Philadelphia, Mississippi
after the conviction of Edgar Ray Killen
for his role in three 1964 murders (although this group consciously picked the name to evoke Stoner's defunct movement).
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
, white supremacist party that briefly played a minor role in the politics of the United States
Politics of the United States
The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...
.
Foundation
Founded in 1958 in Knoxville, TennesseeKnoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, the party was based on antisemitism, racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
and opposition to racial integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
with African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
people. Party officials argued for states' rights
States' rights
States' rights in U.S. politics refers to political powers reserved for the U.S. state governments rather than the federal government. It is often considered a loaded term because of its use in opposition to federally mandated racial desegregation...
against the advance of the civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
movement) and was dismissed by opponents as a Nazi
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
party. The national chairman of the party was J. B. Stoner
J. B. Stoner
Jesse Benjamin "J.B." Stoner was an American segregationist who was convicted in 1980 of the bombing in 1958 of the Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.J. B...
, who served three years in prison for bombing the Bethel Baptist Church
Bethel Baptist Church (Birmingham, Alabama)
Bethel Baptist Church in Collegeville, a neighborhood in Birmingham, Alabama, served as headquarters from 1956 to 1961 for the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights , which was led by Fred Shuttlesworth and active in the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement...
in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
. The party produced a newspaper, Thunderbolt, which was edited by Edward Reed Fields. In 1958, the party's first year, five men with links to the NSRP were indicted for their participation in the bombing of The Temple
Bombing of the Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple
The Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple, a Reform Jewish temple located on Peachtree Street in Atlanta, Georgia, and known simply as "The Temple," was bombed in the early morning hours of October 12, 1958. An explosion of approximately fifty sticks of dynamite tore through the side wall of the...
in Atlanta.
Development
During the 1960 presidential electionUnited States presidential election, 1960
The United States presidential election of 1960 was the 44th American presidential election, held on November 8, 1960, for the term beginning January 20, 1961, and ending January 20, 1965. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was not eligible to run again. The Republican Party...
, at a secret meeting held in a rural lodge near Dayton Ohio, the NSRP nominated Governor of Arkansas Orval E. Faubus for President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
and retired U.S. Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
Rear Admiral
Rear admiral (United States)
Rear admiral is a naval commissioned officer rank above that of a commodore and captain, and below that of a vice admiral. The uniformed services of the United States are unique in having two grades of rear admirals.- Rear admiral :...
John G. Crommelin
John G. Crommelin
Rear Admiral John Geraerdt Crommelin, Jr. was a prominent United States Navy officer and later a frequent political candidate who championed white supremacy.-Early life and naval career:...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
for Vice President
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
. Faubus, however, did not campaign from this ticket actively, and won only 0.07% of the vote (best in his native Arkansas: 6.76%). The party also ran in the 1964 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1964
The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
, nominating John Kasper
John Kasper
John Kasper was an American far-right activist who took a militant stand against racial integration during the civil rights movement.Educated at Columbia University, Kasper became a devotee of Ezra Pound and corresponded with him as a student...
for President and J. B. Stoner
J. B. Stoner
Jesse Benjamin "J.B." Stoner was an American segregationist who was convicted in 1980 of the bombing in 1958 of the Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama.J. B...
for Vice President, although they won only 0.01%.
The party began to expand its operations and moved to new headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
in 1960. Supporters were soon kitted out in the party uniform of white shirts, black pants and tie and an armband bearing the thunderbolt version of the Wolfsangel
Wolfsangel
The Wolfsangel is a symbol. It is also known as the Wolf's Hook or Doppelhaken. The upright variant is also known as "thunderbolt" and the horizontal variant as "werewolf"....
. Thunderbolt itself gained a circulation of 15,000 in the late 1960s and the party became active in rallies across the United States, with events in Baltimore, Maryland in 1966 particularly notorious with five leading members imprisoned for inciting riots. The Federal Bureau of Investigation targeted the NSRP under its COINTELPRO
COINTELPRO
COINTELPRO was a series of covert, and often illegal, projects conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations.COINTELPRO tactics included discrediting targets through psychological...
-WHITE HATE program.
The party attempted to gain international contacts, and during the 1970s took part in annual international neo-Nazi rallies at Diksmuide
Diksmuide
Diksmuide is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Diksmuide proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke, Nieuwkapelle, Oostkerke, Oudekapelle, Pervijze, Sint-Jacobs-Kapelle,...
, alongside such groups as the Order of Flemish militants and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
–based League of Saint George
League of Saint George
The League of St. George is a Neo-Nazi organization based in the United Kingdom.-History:The League was formed around 1974 as a political club by Keith Thompson and Mike Griffin as a breakaway from the Action Party, founded by British fascist, Oswald Mosley. The League sought to continue what it...
. Before that the party had been close to the British extremist leader John Tyndall
John Tyndall (politician)
John Hutchyns Tyndall was a British politician who was prominently associated with several fascist/neo-Nazi sects. However, he is best known for leading the National Front in the 1970s and founding the contemporary British National Party in 1982.The most prominent figure in British nationalism...
and his Greater Britain Movement
Greater Britain Movement
The Greater Britain Movement was a British far right political group formed by John Tyndall in 1964 after he split from Colin Jordan's National Socialist Movement...
after Tyndall had failed in attempts to forge links with George Lincoln Rockwell
George Lincoln Rockwell
George Lincoln Rockwell was the founder of the American Nazi Party. Rockwell was a major figure in the neo-Nazi movement in the United States, and his beliefs and writings have continued to be influential among white nationalists and neo-Nazis.-Early life:Rockwell was born in Bloomington,...
.
Decline
The party saw its influence decline in the 1970s, as chief ideologue Fields began to devote more of his energies to the Ku Klux KlanKu Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
. As a result, in April 1976 U.S. Attorney General Edward H. Levi
Edward H. Levi
Edward Hirsch Levi was an American academic leader, scholar, and statesman who served as United States Attorney General. He is regularly cited as the "model of a modern attorney general," the "greatest lawyer of his time," and considered, along with Yale's Whitney Griswold, the greatest of...
concluded an FBI investigation into the group, after it was decided that they posed no threat.
The 1980s saw the terminal decline of the NSRP, beginning initially with Stoner being convicted for a bombing in 1980. Without his leadership, the party descended into factionalism, and in August 1983 Fields was expelled for spending too much time on the KKK. Without its two central figures the NSRP fell apart, and by 1987 it had ceased to exist altogether.
Similar groups
The group had no specific connection to the less extreme States' Rights Democratic PartyDixiecrat
The States' Rights Democratic Party was a short-lived segregationist political party in the United States in 1948...
, although it did share some of its views. Similarly, the party has no direct connection to the group of the same name set up in June 2005 in Philadelphia, Mississippi
Philadelphia, Mississippi
Philadelphia is a city in and the county seat of Neshoba County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 7,303 at the 2000 census.- History :...
after the conviction of Edgar Ray Killen
Edgar Ray Killen
Edgar Ray "Preacher" Killen is a former Ku Klux Klan organizer who conspired in the murders of three civil rights activists—James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner—in 1964....
for his role in three 1964 murders (although this group consciously picked the name to evoke Stoner's defunct movement).