Silas Bissell
Encyclopedia
Silas Bissell joined The Weatherman
movement for a brief time before going underground after planting a bomb at the University of Washington's
ROTC building. Bissell was arrested after 17 years of being underground and served 18 months in jail.
. Silas’ mother, Hillary, was a Maxist-civil rights activist and encouraged her son to be the same.
Bissell went to the University of Michigan
, where he was awarded three Hopwood Awards for poetry. Silas fell in love with Judith Emily Siff, a New Yorker. They later got married. He was arrested during his senior year of high school for taking part in a sit-in. Bissell graduated with a bachelor's degree in English literature in 1964 and then went to Syracuse University
and graduated with a master's in creative writing in 1965.
When Robert F. Kennedy
and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated and activists stormed Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention
, Silas and Judith joined a Seattle draft resistance group.
They were soon drawn to the Weatherman organization
.
to prove their dedication. Their chance came on Jan. 17, 1970, after being asked to place a bomb at the University of Washington
.
They placed a home-made bomb under the steps of the University of Washington’s
ROTC building. It did not go off because the Bissells made mistakes with the wiring. The Bissells were captured by the campus police almost right away, making them think they had been framed by the members of Weatherman
.
Mark Rudd
told them to go underground. Traveling by bus and train, they relocated from Seattle to San Francisco, but were now shunned by fellow Weathermen
. They ended up in Boston
, where the mounting pressures of hiding underground finally ate away at the marriage. They divorced in 1970.
In the early 1970s he lived in Ithaca, New York where he worked in a food coop and was not politically active. He then moved to Eugene, Oregon, where he took a job as a nurse's assistant. He continued his artwork and playing music. He went back to school and earned a bachelor's in biology from North Carolina Central University
in 1979 and a master's degree in physical therapy from Duke University
in 1981. He then moved to Eugene, Oregon
and started work as a physical therapist.
by a close friend for the $5,500 reward. Silas Bissell was charged with conspiracy to destroy federal property and possession of a bomb in connection to an attempt to destroy the University of Washington
ROTC building. He was sentenced for two years but was released after only eighteen months in custody. While behind bars, he married school teacher, Ruth Evan. They had gone to high school together in Grand Rapids
, and she had written letters to him while he was in prison.
, where he became devoted to sculpture and painting. He achieved success, showing in many West Coast galleries. He used the proceeds from the sale of his work to fund human rights work. In 1993, he founded the Campaign for Labor Rights, a nationwide organization fighting sweatshop conditions in factories around the globe, and was the national director for many years. Even when he became semi-paralyzed after special chemotherapy
for the cancer that was diagnosed in 2000, Bissell never stopped his work as an artist up until his death. Silas Trim Bissell died at age 60 in Eugene, Oregon
, of cancer of the brain on June 15, 2002.
Weather Underground (organization)
Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization , was an American radical left organization. It originated in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society composed for the most part of the national office leadership of SDS and their...
movement for a brief time before going underground after planting a bomb at the University of Washington's
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
ROTC building. Bissell was arrested after 17 years of being underground and served 18 months in jail.
Early life
Silas Trim Bissell was born April 27, 1942. Bissell’s father, Wadsworth, was the grand-son of the founder of the Bissell carpet sweeper companyBissell Inc.
Bissell Inc., also known as Bissell Homecare, is a privately owned vacuum cleaner and floor care product manufacturing corporation headquartered in Walker, Michigan, a suburb of Grand Rapids...
. Silas’ mother, Hillary, was a Maxist-civil rights activist and encouraged her son to be the same.
Bissell went to the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, where he was awarded three Hopwood Awards for poetry. Silas fell in love with Judith Emily Siff, a New Yorker. They later got married. He was arrested during his senior year of high school for taking part in a sit-in. Bissell graduated with a bachelor's degree in English literature in 1964 and then went to Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
and graduated with a master's in creative writing in 1965.
When Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated and activists stormed Chicago during the 1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29, 1968. Because Democratic President Lyndon Johnson had announced he would not seek a second term, the purpose of the convention was to...
, Silas and Judith joined a Seattle draft resistance group.
They were soon drawn to the Weatherman organization
Weather Underground (organization)
Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization , was an American radical left organization. It originated in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society composed for the most part of the national office leadership of SDS and their...
.
Weatherman
Because they were a married couple in a movement that perceived the practice of monogamy as bourgeois, the Bissells were challenged by the members of WeathermanWeather Underground (organization)
Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization , was an American radical left organization. It originated in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society composed for the most part of the national office leadership of SDS and their...
to prove their dedication. Their chance came on Jan. 17, 1970, after being asked to place a bomb at the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
.
They placed a home-made bomb under the steps of the University of Washington’s
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
ROTC building. It did not go off because the Bissells made mistakes with the wiring. The Bissells were captured by the campus police almost right away, making them think they had been framed by the members of Weatherman
Weather Underground (organization)
Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization , was an American radical left organization. It originated in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society composed for the most part of the national office leadership of SDS and their...
.
Underground
Judith and Silas Bissell posted the $50,000 in bonds and were planning to face the court in Seattle until, Bissell claims, WeathermanWeather Underground (organization)
Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization , was an American radical left organization. It originated in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society composed for the most part of the national office leadership of SDS and their...
Mark Rudd
Mark Rudd
Mark William Rudd is a political organizer, mathematics instructor, and anti-war activist, most well known for his involvement with the Weather Underground. Rudd became a member of the Columbia University chapter of Students for a Democratic Society in 1963. By 1968, he had emerged as a leader...
told them to go underground. Traveling by bus and train, they relocated from Seattle to San Francisco, but were now shunned by fellow Weathermen
Weather Underground (organization)
Weatherman, known colloquially as the Weathermen and later the Weather Underground Organization , was an American radical left organization. It originated in 1969 as a faction of Students for a Democratic Society composed for the most part of the national office leadership of SDS and their...
. They ended up in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, where the mounting pressures of hiding underground finally ate away at the marriage. They divorced in 1970.
In the early 1970s he lived in Ithaca, New York where he worked in a food coop and was not politically active. He then moved to Eugene, Oregon, where he took a job as a nurse's assistant. He continued his artwork and playing music. He went back to school and earned a bachelor's in biology from North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels....
in 1979 and a master's degree in physical therapy from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
in 1981. He then moved to Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
and started work as a physical therapist.
Arrest
On January 29, 1987, a knock at his front door brought him out of hiding. FBI agents arrested him, saying they received an anonymous tip from an I.D. on a wanted poster. Once again Bissell believed that he was turned in to the FBI in EugeneEugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
by a close friend for the $5,500 reward. Silas Bissell was charged with conspiracy to destroy federal property and possession of a bomb in connection to an attempt to destroy the University of Washington
University of Washington
University of Washington is a public research university, founded in 1861 in Seattle, Washington, United States. The UW is the largest university in the Northwest and the oldest public university on the West Coast. The university has three campuses, with its largest campus in the University...
ROTC building. He was sentenced for two years but was released after only eighteen months in custody. While behind bars, he married school teacher, Ruth Evan. They had gone to high school together in Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
, and she had written letters to him while he was in prison.
After release
After Bissell's release he and Ruth moved back to EugeneEugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, where he became devoted to sculpture and painting. He achieved success, showing in many West Coast galleries. He used the proceeds from the sale of his work to fund human rights work. In 1993, he founded the Campaign for Labor Rights, a nationwide organization fighting sweatshop conditions in factories around the globe, and was the national director for many years. Even when he became semi-paralyzed after special chemotherapy
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the treatment of cancer with an antineoplastic drug or with a combination of such drugs into a standardized treatment regimen....
for the cancer that was diagnosed in 2000, Bissell never stopped his work as an artist up until his death. Silas Trim Bissell died at age 60 in Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...
, of cancer of the brain on June 15, 2002.