Jeremiah A. O'Leary
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Jeremiah A. O'Leary | |
|---|---|
 O'Leary in 1918 | |
| Born | July 24, 1881 Glens Falls, New York, U.S. |
| Died | March 13, 1972 (aged 90) New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Occupations | Lawyer, journalist, politician |
| Political party | Farmer–Labor |
| Other political affiliations | Sinn Féin |
| Spouse |
Gertrude E. Whalen
(m. 1909, died) |
| Children | 5 |
Jeremiah Aloysius O'Leary[1] (July 24, 1881 – March 13, 1972)[2] was an Irish-American lawyer, journalist and politician who was arrested and charged with treason under the Espionage Act during World War I.[3]
Long active in Irish nationalist politics,[4] O'Leary was indicted by a grand jury in 1917 and charged with inciting mutiny in the United States Armed Forces.[5] He fled the state and spent several months as a fugitive, but was captured and returned to New York.[6] After a nine-month trial,[7] O'Leary was acquitted on all but one of the charges (the last of which hung the jury)[8] and was released.[9] Later indictments against him were dismissed.[10]
O'Leary founded the American Truth Society in 1912, an anti-British organization that sought to prevent an Anglo-American alliance and drew support primarily from the Irish and German diaspora.[11] During the 1916 presidential election, O'Leary sent president Woodrow Wilson a telegram attacking him for his pro-British foreign policy, claiming it would cost him the election.[3] Wilson responded as follows:
I would feel deeply mortified to have you or anybody like you vote for me. Since you have access to many disloyal Americans and I have not I will ask you to convey this message to them.[12]
O'Leary was chairman of the Larkin Amnesty Committee which sought a pardon for Jim Larkin from the Governor.[13] In 1920, O'Leary ran for Congress in New York's 18th congressional district, challenging incumbent Democrat John F. Carew.[14] Running as a Farmer–Laborite, O'Leary campaigned on the release of all political prisoners, opposition to the League of Nations, U.S. recognition of the revolutionary governments in Ireland and Russia, and public ownership of mines.[15] Although early returns from the New-York Tribune showed O'Leary in the lead,[16] he ultimately came in third place with just over 25% of the vote.[17]
Later in life, O'Leary campaigned for the release of Tom Mooney.[18] In 1933, he was appointed to the Triborough Bridge Authority by mayor John P. O'Brien.[19]
