# John Kasper > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Kasper > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/John_Kasper.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kasper > Source revision: 1355712257 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American politician (1929–1998)}} {{for-multi|the American Olympic bobsledder|John Kasper (bobsleigh)|the New Zealand cricketer|John Kasper (cricketer)}} {{Infobox person | name = John Kasper | image = John Kasper AP Wirephoto 1.jpg | caption = Kasper in 1957 | birth_date = {{birth date|1929|10|21|mf=y}} | birth_place = [Merchantville, New Jersey](/source/Merchantville%2C_New_Jersey), U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1998|04|07|1929|10|21|mf=y}} | death_place = [Osteen, Florida](/source/Osteen%2C_Florida), U.S. | alma_mater = [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University) | political_party = [National States' Rights Party](/source/National_States'_Rights_Party) }} '''Frederick John Kasper Jr.''' (October 21, 1929 – April 7, 1998) was an American politician, [Ku Klux Klan](/source/Ku_Klux_Klan) member, and a [segregationist](/source/Racial_segregation) who took a militant stand against [racial integration](/source/racial_integration) during the [civil rights movement](/source/civil_rights_movement).{{cite report |author=J SAC, Memphis V |date= 3 Jun 1960 |title=United States Government Memorandum: Frederick John Kasper Racial Matters |url= https://archive.org/stream/JohnKasper/Kasper%2C%20John-HQ-3-3_djvu.txt|publisher= FBI |page= |docket= |access-date= 3 Feb 2022}} ==Life== [[File:1958.10.12.page.from.bright.FBI.file.instructing.agents.to.look.for.kasper.png|thumb|200px|FBI teletype sent immediately after the [Hebrew Benevolent Congregation Temple bombing](/source/Hebrew_Benevolent_Congregation_Temple_bombing), instructing agents to "thoroughly account for the whereabouts of Frederick John Kasper" before and after the time of the explosion]] Raised in [Merchantville, New Jersey](/source/Merchantville%2C_New_Jersey),[Pearson, Drew](/source/Drew_Pearson_(journalist)). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/press-of-atlantic-city-drew-pearson-on-h/141873686/ "Breeders Of Hate Meet To Form Third Party"], ''[The Press of Atlantic City](/source/The_Press_of_Atlantic_City)'', December 3, 1958. Accessed February 22, 2024, via [Newspapers.com](/source/Newspapers.com). "Though John Kasper holds no official position in the new party he is looked upon as its fuehrer and deserves further study. Surprisingly he comes from a moderate family background in Merchantville, N. J., and received a BS degree at Columbia University." and educated at [Columbia University](/source/Columbia_University), Kasper became a devotee of [Ezra Pound](/source/Ezra_Pound){{cite news|work=[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)|date=2 June 1957|title=JAIL TERM UPHELD FOR BIAS LEADER: Kasper, Foe of Integration, Loses Appeal in Tennessee School Disorders Case Details of the Ruling Faces Another Trial|page=57|id={{ProQuest|114221213}}}} and corresponded with the poet as a student.[http://www.robertsgriffin.com/TaleKasper.pdf 'The Tale of John Kasper'] Between 1950 and 1963, Kasper sent 400 letters to Pound and received an unknown number of replies (Pound's letters to Kasper are lost). In the letters Kasper identifies with Pound and, within a short time of beginning the correspondence, he considered himself Pound's main disciple.Alec Marsh, ''John Kasper and Ezra Pound: Saving the Republic'' (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2015). Directed by Pound, Kasper began a small press ([Square Dollar Press](/source/Square_Dollar_Press)) in 1951, to publish works Pound favored. In 1953, Kasper opened the Make It New bookshop in [Greenwich Village](/source/Greenwich_Village), displaying Pound's letters in the shop window. Kasper campaigned against [racial integration](/source/racial_integration) in the [Southern United States](/source/Southern_United_States), calling it a Jewish plot. In those activities and others, Kasper believed he was disseminating the poet's ideas. Pound's association with Kasper caused chagrin among those who were attempting to have Pound released from [St. Elizabeths Hospital](/source/St._Elizabeths_Hospital), where he was incarcerated on charges of treason.Houen, Alex. (2010). ''Anti-Semitism''. Ira B. Nadel (editor), in ''Ezra Pound in Context''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-521-51507-8}}. pp. 397-398 After running the bookshop in [Greenwich Village](/source/Greenwich_Village), Kasper moved to [Washington, D.C.](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.), where he befriended Pound and set up a company to publish the poet's works, as well as those of others such as [Charles Olson](/source/Charles_Olson). Imbibing Pound's [right-wing](/source/right-wing) ideas{{which|date=February 2023}}, Kasper formed the Seaboard [Citizens Council](/source/Citizens'_Councils) immediately after the ruling of the [Supreme Court](/source/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States) in the ''[Brown v. Board of Education](/source/Brown_v._Board_of_Education)'' case, with the aim of preventing [desegregation](/source/School_integration_in_the_United_States) in Washington.{{cite book|author1=Demetres P. Tryphonopoulos|author2=Stephen Adams|title=The Ezra Pound Encyclopedia|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ttMlqGMYCsIC&pg=PA9|accessdate=24 June 2012|year=2005|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-313-30448-4|page=9}} During the 1970s, Kasper returned to Merchantville, New Jersey, where he had grown up. In this time, he worked as an accountant for a train company. Also at this time, he fathered a child{{how|date=February 2023}}. His daughter, named Ruthanne Rose, was born in December 1978. After she was born, Kasper left the area.{{citation needed|date=December 2025}} Kasper was known to be in Florida and North Carolina for a time. He married a woman{{who|date=February 2023}} in 1992 and had another child in 1995 before his death in 1998.{{citation needed|date=December 2025}} ==Defense of segregation == Kasper came to public attention during the [integration of Clinton High School](/source/Clinton_High_School%2C_Tennessee) in [Clinton, Tennessee](/source/Clinton%2C_Tennessee). He sought to mobilize opponents of the desegregation order, and was arrested during the resulting unrest. Kasper was acquitted of inciting a riot and sedition.{{Cite magazine |date=1956-12-10 |title=Education: The Racists' Day |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,808763,00.html |access-date=2024-02-24 |magazine=Time |language=en-US |issn=0040-781X}} The jury included members who served on the arresting auxiliary police force. The courtroom broke out in cheers when the verdict was read.[http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/narratives/John_Moore.htm 'Mr. John G. Moore on the Desegregation of Clinton High School'] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080315014114/http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/resources/narratives/John_Moore.htm |date=2008-03-15 }} As a result of this incident, Kasper became a focal point at similar protests across the Southern United States, often an unwelcome one.[http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/CENTRAL/central0829b.html 'Kasper Not Wanted In Arkansas'] from the ''[Arkansas Democrat-Gazette](/source/Arkansas_Democrat-Gazette)'' {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060518055411/http://www.ardemgaz.com/prev/CENTRAL/central0829b.html |date=May 18, 2006 }} While he was campaigning, Kasper was jailed for crimes ranging from inciting a riot to [loitering](/source/loitering). He was a suspect in a [school bombing](/source/Hattie_Cotton_Elementary_School_bombing) in [Nashville](/source/Nashville%2C_Tennessee) as well as multiple [synagogue](/source/synagogue) bombings—he was a virulent [antisemite](/source/antisemite)—although no evidence was provided to link him directly to any of the cases. In 1956, Kasper was under a court order to desist from obstructing desegregation, which he ignored, prompting his arrest and those of 15 other segregationists. In 1957, Kasper was found guilty of contempt of court and sentenced to one year in jail.[https://law.justia.com] | June 1, 1957 | John Kasper, Appellant, v. D. J. Brittain, Jr., et al., Appellees, 245 F.2d 92 (6th Cir. 1957) | Annotate this Case | US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit - 245 F.2d 92 (6th Cir. 1957) | [https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/245/92/254095/] At Kasper's trial, an enthusiastic supporter of his, Joe Diehl, a [Knoxville](/source/Knoxville%2C_Tennessee) farmer and a leader of the Knoxville Citizens Council, distributed ''The Coming Red Dictatorship'', which claimed that "Asiatic Marxist Jews" were taking over the world, to several people, including the prosecutor. Diehl himself compared the round-up of segregationists to the government enforcing a communist dictatorship. As he was leaving the courtroom, the prosecutor had a federal marshal arrest him. After being told about the incident, the judge sentenced Diehl to 30 days in jail for contempt of court.{{Cite news |date=1956-12-07 |title=Joe Diehl |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-journal-joe-diehl/142011046/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |work=The Knoxville Journal |pages=1}} Of the 16 segregationists arrested, one died in a mental hospital, while four others had the charges against them dropped. In 1957, Kasper and six of the others segregationists were found guilty of contempt in a mass trial.{{Cite news |date=1957-07-24 |title=Criminal contempt of court John Kasper |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-knoxville-journal-criminal-contempt/83349227/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |work=The Knoxville Journal |pages=1}} Several of the defendants were visibly shocked after being found guilty, while Kasper was angry, muttering "It's difficult to understand." Kasper had six months added to his sentence, while his codefendants all received probationary terms ranging from one to two years. The maximum sentence had been six months and a $1,000 fine. The judge believed that Kasper, whom he viewed as an agitator, was the most culpable defendant, telling him that "I am confident that these east Tennesseans would not be before me now if it had not been for you."{{Cite news |date=1957-11-16 |title=VINCENT J SQUILLANTE PLEADS THE FIFTH 11-15-57 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-des-moines-register-vincent-j-squill/11415049/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |work=The Des Moines Register |pages=2}} After losing his appeals, Kasper was sent to prison in November 1957, serving eight months of his sentence for his first conviction.{{Cite news |date=1957-10-18 |title=U.S. JAILS KASPER; MUST SERVE YEAR |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1957/10/18/archives/us-jails-kasper-must-serve-year.html |access-date=2024-02-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Following his release, he said he had been "treated fine" and that "the only trouble was it was completely integrated." He was originally scheduled to be released from a prison in [Tallahassee, Florida](/source/Tallahassee%2C_Florida), but was transferred to the [United States Penitentiary, Atlanta](/source/United_States_Penitentiary%2C_Atlanta) after officials learned that supporters in the [Ku Klux Klan](/source/Ku_Klux_Klan) were planning a celebration party outside. Those left waiting in vain included Klan leader [James W. "Catfish" Cole](/source/James_W._%22Catfish%22_Cole), who'd received national attention for his role in the [Battle of Hayes Pond](/source/Battle_of_Hayes_Pond), in which hundreds of Lumbee Indians had violently broken up a Klan rally in North Carolina, shooting and wounding four Klansmen.{{Cite news |date=1958-08-02 |title=Kasper prison |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/bristol-herald-courier-kasper-prison/142006331/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |work=Bristol Herald Courier |pages=10}} In November 1958, a state court in Nashville found Kasper guilty of inciting a riot. He was sentenced to six months in a workhouse and fined $500.{{Cite news |date=1958-11-09 |title=Kasper Is Convicted In Nashville Rioting; KASPER IS GUILTY IN NASHVILLE RIOT |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1958/11/09/archives/kasper-is-convicted-in-nashville-rioting-kasper-is-guilty-in.html |access-date=2024-02-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} In July 1959, he reported back to prison to serve his sentence for his second conviction.{{Cite news |date=1959-07-24 |title=Kasper return to federal jail |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-independent-journal-kasper-return/142008908/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |work=Daily Independent Journal |pages=20}} While in prison, he was punched in the face by a black prisoner.{{Cite news |date=1959-07-31 |title=KASPER STRUCK IN FACE; Punched by Negro Prisoner in Federal Institution |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1959/07/31/archives/kasper-struck-in-face-punched-by-negro-prisoner-in-federal.html |access-date=2024-02-24 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} In January 1960, Kasper reported to the Davidson County Jail to serve his sentence on his state conviction.{{Cite news |date=1960-01-17 |title=Kasper reports to state jail |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/chattanooga-daily-times-kasper-reports-t/142009238/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |work=Chattanooga Daily Times |pages=10}} His request to not serve his sentence at a workhouse was granted, after he complained that "racial conflict" could occur among inmates of the "integrated" workhouse if he was forced to serve his sentence there. The jail and workhouse technically had whites and blacks living in separate quarters, albeit it was harder to maintain complete segregation in the workhouse.{{Cite news |date=1960-01-16 |title=Kasper workhouse |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/nashville-banner-kasper-workhouse/142009099/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |work=Nashville Banner |pages=1}} Kasper was released from jail on July 15, 1960.{{Cite journal |last=Dawidowicz |first=Lucy S. |date=1961 |title=Religion in the 1960 Presidential Campaign |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23603233 |journal=The American Jewish Year Book |volume=62 |pages=111–128 |jstor=23603233 |issn=0065-8987}} Upon his release, Kasper called for a return to [Constitutionalism](/source/Constitutionalism), and the creation of a [third party](/source/Third_party_(United_States)) to oppose the integration which he said was now supported by both the [Democrats](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) and [Republicans](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)). He became associated with the [National States' Rights Party](/source/National_States'_Rights_Party) and ran in the [1964 Presidential election](/source/1964_United_States_presidential_election) with [J.B. Stoner](/source/J._B._Stoner) as his running mate. Kasper attracted negligible support: just 6,434 votes in just two states, [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky) and [Arkansas](/source/Arkansas).{{Cite web |url=http://www.statemaster.com/graph/pre_1964_pop_vot_for_joh_kas-1964-popular-votes-john-kasper |title='Popular Votes for John Kasper (most recent) by state' |access-date=2008-02-05 |archive-date=2008-08-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821201140/http://www.statemaster.com/graph/pre_1964_pop_vot_for_joh_kas-1964-popular-votes-john-kasper |url-status=dead }} ==Later life and death== Kasper returned to his northern roots in 1967 and effectively left politics, settling down to family life and a series of clerical jobs, the last being as an auditor for TTX. He died on April 7, 1998, at the age of 68 when his boat capsized. He was survived by his wife and three children.[https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=4498 Our Campaigns: John Kasper]{{Cite web| title=John Kasper obituary | url=https://publiclibrary.cc/digitalcollections/files/original/4/243/burger0239-Kasper-John-Death.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240514114643/https://publiclibrary.cc/digitalcollections/files/original/4/243/burger0239-Kasper-John-Death.pdf | archive-date=2024-05-14}} ==References== {{Reflist|2}} ==External links== John Kasper's FBI files obtained through the [FOIA](/source/Freedom_of_Information_Act_(United_States)) and hosted at the [Internet Archive](/source/Internet_Archive) {{div col|colwidth=20em}} *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-1 FBI headquarters files part 1] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-1-1 FBI headquarters files part 1-1] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-2 FBI headquarters files part 2] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-2-2 FBI headquarters files part 2-2] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-3 FBI headquarters files part 3] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-3-3 FBI headquarters files part 3-3] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-4 FBI headquarters files part 4] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-4-4 FBI headquarters files part 4-4] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-5 FBI headquarters files part 5] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-6 FBI headquarters files part 6] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-7 FBI headquarters files part 7] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-8 FBI headquarters files part 8] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-9 FBI headquarters files part 9] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-10 FBI headquarters files part 10] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-11 FBI headquarters files part 11] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-12 FBI headquarters files part 12] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-13 FBI headquarters files part 13] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-14 FBI headquarters files part 14] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-15 FBI headquarters files part 15] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-16 FBI headquarters files part 16] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-17 FBI headquarters files part 17] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-EBF18 FBI headquarters files EBF18] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-EBF49 FBI headquarters files EBF49] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-HQ-EBF321 FBI headquarters files EBF321] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-Knoxville-1 Knoxville office files part 1] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-Knoxville-2 Knoxville office files part 2] *[https://archive.org/details/foia_Kasper_John-NYC-1 NYC office files part 1] {{div col end}} {{s-start}} {{succession box | before = [Orval Faubus](/source/Orval_Faubus) | title = [National States' Rights Party](/source/National_States'_Rights_Party) [Presidential](/source/President_of_the_United_States) candidate | years = [1964](/source/1964_United_States_presidential_election) (lost) | after = none }} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Kasper, John}} Category:1929 births Category:1998 deaths Category:American booksellers Category:American fascists Category:American Ku Klux Klan members Category:American prisoners and detainees Category:Candidates in the 1964 United States presidential election Category:Citizens' Councils members Category:Columbia University alumni Category:National States' Rights Party politicians Category:People acquitted of crimes Category:People from Greenwich Village Category:Tennessee politicians convicted of crimes Category:Activists from New York City Category:Activists from Washington, D.C. Category:People from Merchantville, New Jersey Category:Prisoners and detainees of Tennessee Category:Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Category:Businesspeople from Camden County, New Jersey Category:20th-century American publishers (people) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [John Kasper](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kasper) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Kasper?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.