Biography
Joseph M. Coldwell, from Providence, Rhode Island, was convicted under the Espionage and Sedition Acts for publicly stating that "war is organized murder. " Coldwell served in Atlanta Penitentiary from October 27, 1919, until President Warren G. Harding commuted his sentence on December 25, 1921. Coldwell became active in labor and socialist politics in the 1890s. He rose to strike leader in Massachusetts, playing a major role in the Lawrence textile strike and the Hopedale strike (which he helped lead with Nicola Sacco). For strike-related activities he served a three-month sentence in the Worcester County (Massachusetts) Jail in 1912 (disorderly conduct) and a one-year sentence in the same jail for an alleged strike-related assault. While jailed in Atlanta, Coldwell shared his cell with Eugene Debs and refused a pardon of sentence while "Comrade Debs" was still imprisoned. For eight months after Coldwell's release his activities were monitored by the Department of Justice's Bureau of Investigations. The agents noted in their confidential report on Coldwell's activities that many of those who attended Coldwell's speeches were "Jews." Coldwell ran as the Socialist Party's candidate for governor and senator of Rhode Island in the 1930s and remained active in his party's activities until his death in 1949.
