By the order of the President, all South Carolina National Guard forces are to stand down and report to base effective immediately.
-Executive Order, February 4th, 1953
I wasn’t particularly happy with the loyalty enforcement. From one perspective it looked like McCarthy all over again. But as long as they weren’t asking about Communism, it was none of my business. Whatever they may wish, white supremacists and states-rights activists don’t have the power to destroy a city.
-J. Edgar Hoover, The Invisible War.
I [insert name here] hereby reaffirm the following:
That my first loyalty is to the United States of America and its people and to the whole of the United States rather than any part of it.
That the Constitution is the Supreme law of this country, from which all government derives its authority.
That any law that conflicts with the Constitution will not and should not be enforced and I will not attempt to enforce it.
That as the servant of the people it is my responsibility to protect all people, regardless of race, creed, gender, or age.
That I will not let my personal prejudices influence my work or prevent me from protecting people.
Finally, that I will serve honestly and faithfully and obey my superiors.
-the Loyalty Oath, given in the Fifties to most members of military, National Guard, and police forces.
The tanks? Nah, there is no way they would have ever fired. Heck, we weren’t even issued ammunition. Our job was to speed through the hills menacingly, just to make sure the Southerners understood: the supremacy of the Federal Government is a Big Deal.
-John Slately, sergeant, Pacification of the South.
It wasn’t as bad in Virginia as it was in South Carolina, of course, because our government hadn’t made any secession noises. We learned our lesson the last time. Still, they were going over the policemen with a fine comb, and a lot of them ended up fired when they said they wouldn’t support integration. Instead, they sent in a lot of Northerners.
-anonymous woman, Pacification of the South.
It was a strange time. We’d been fighting for change for so long, but we’ve always been warned that change would take time. Instead it came overnight, charging in like Paul Revere. Suddenly we had equal rights, or so the President said, and he was willing to enforce it. We still didn’t expect it when they came to us. Mr. Daniels came and told us that with so many policemen in Montgomery refusing to serve, the police department would be shorthanded for a while. And then he told us that since the government wanted to make sure everyone’s rights would be protected, he was wondering whether we would be able to point out some likely boys, ones who would be willing to serve, but wouldn’t try to take revenge. Let me tell you, he told us he wanted “some of you people in the Force”, and for the first time ever I was glad to hear ‘you people’.
-Rosa Parks, Civil Rights activist, Pacification of the South.
Honestly? Every moment I was there, I was afraid. What we were doing was unprecedented, and it always seemed as though a riot might break out at any moment. Hell, once we had a crowd of protesters twenty feet from a hardware store. That store had chainsaws in it. I mean, Jesus, can you imagine? I thank God every day for getting us through that one peacefully.
The closest call is probably the most famous one. Let me tell you, no matter what some people say today, we did what had to be done. South Carolina was a powder keg, and anything could set off a spark. So I got really upset when I found a Klan meeting in full daylight. They were all chanting ‘death to the darkies!’ Waving around their guns, too. Now, it doesn’t take a genius to see where things were going to go next. So I came and asked them to disperse. They weren’t having any of it, though. They heckled me, threw vegetables; some of them even pointed their guns at me.
Well, I went away, and called for reinforcements. I wasn’t about to take that kind of thing, and it scared me half to death. Now, it would take more force than we had to threaten them into submission, so we just did the best thing we could under the circumstances: hollered a warning through a loudspeaker, and when they didn’t disperse right away, we started chucking gas over the wall.
-Jack Orris, retired policeman, Pacification of the South.
I think that was the record for how soon the Supreme Court took up a case. Normally it takes a good, long while to go through the appeals system. Not that the Klan ever stood a chance on that one – they’d threatened a policeman with violence. This did not come under the definition of ‘peaceful assembly.’ But there was a principle at stake, and that principle had to be settled.
-Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr, White Bastion: Amidst the Chaos
It has always been known that though the speech in this country may be free, some specific expressions of it are not and cannot be completely unrestrained. In particular, any speech that incites violence, repression, or sabotage cannot be protected. Because as one man’s rights end where another man’s rights begin, the right of a citizen to free speech ends whenever it interferes with another citizen’s right to live his life at peace, without the threat of violence looming over him and his family.
[FONT="]-Supreme Court of the United States, in a 10-5 majority ruling.[/FONT]