Frederick Krafft (1860–1933) was an Americansocialistpolitical activist andpolitician. Twice nominated by theSocialist Party of America as its candidate forGovernor of New Jersey and twice a candidate forUnited States Congress, Krafft is best remembered as the defendant in a 1918 trial for alleged violation of theEspionage Act. Krafft later was the only person convicted under this law to receive a fullexecutive pardon fromPresidentWoodrow Wilson.
Frederick Krafft was born in the United States in 1860. He was the son ofGerman parents, radical republican "'48ers" who emigrated to America following the abortiveGerman revolutions of 1848.[1]
During his youth, Krafft studied to become aChristian minister, but the death of his father forced Frederick into the world of business, where he was employed by alife insurance company for 25 years.[2] Krafft was subsequently the business manager for theNew Yorker Volkszeitung, a German-language socialist daily newspaper located inNew York City.[2]
A longtime resident ofRidgefield,[3] Frederick Krafft was a State Secretary of the Socialist Party of New Jersey, the state affiliate of theSocialist Party of America (SPA). Krafft was a frequent delegate to conventions of the party, including the gatherings held in 1908, 1912, 1917, and 1919.[4]
Krafft was elected to the governing 15 member National Executive Committee (NEC) of the SPA in 1918, although he was unable to participate in its activities until early the next year due to his ongoing legal difficulties.[5]
During the bitter 1919 party split from which emerged theCommunist Party of America and theCommunist Labor Party of America, Krafft was one of the 7 supporters of the "Regular" faction headed by Executive SecretaryAdolph Germer and NEC memberJames Oneal. Krafft was the NEC member who moved for the suspension of the Ohio state organization of the SPA in June 1919 owing to its support of theLeft Wing Section headed byAlfred Wagenknecht andL.E. Katterfeld.[6]
In 1920, Krafft was the nominee of the SPA for Congress in the 6th Congressional District ofNew Jersey.[7] He ran again for the same seat in 1924, this time as the nominee of theProgressive Party headed byRobert M. La Follette,[7] an umbrella organization with which the Socialist Party actively participated.
Frederick Krafft is best remembered as the defendant of one of the political trials associated withWorld War I.
In August 1917, Krafft was speaking on a street corner inNewark, New Jersey. At some point in his talk, soldiers in the crowd began to create a disturbance, causing Krafft to send for the police in an effort to maintain order.[1] Instead of receiving police protection, Krafft was instead arrested for holding a meeting without a permit. These charges were later extended under the 1917 Espionage Act when a complaint was filed by soldiers in the crowd, who accused the socialist agitator of German extraction of attempting to cause insubordination and disloyalty in the armed forces.[1]
During the course of the trial, the government called five witnesses, each of whom told varying accounts of the alleged disloyal speech which Krafft was charged with uttering. The most damning phrases seem to have been "I can't see how the government can compel troops to France" and "if it was up to me, I'd tell them to go to hell." Despite the fact that 12 witnesses were called by the defense to refute the allegation that such words were uttered, and despite Krafft's own protest that Krafft stated under oath that he had actually said very nearly the opposite, the jury returned a verdict of guilty.[2]
Krafft was sentenced to 5 years in federal penitentiary and fined $1,000.[1]
On March 5, 1919, Krafft received a full pardon from President Woodrow Wilson for the 1918 conviction, owing in part to Krafft's pro-war stance at the1917 Emergency National Convention of the Socialist Party.[8]
Frederick Krafft died in August 1933 at his home inRidgefield, New Jersey.[9]