Editing Charles Coughlin (section)

=== 1938 ===
[[File:Couple-with-radio-and-Social-Justice-Michigan-1939.jpg|thumb|Couple listening to ''Golden Hour'' and reading ''Social Justice'' magazine]]
By 1938, the ''Golden Hour'' was being broadcast to a peak of 58 affiliates.<ref name="50Affilates" /><ref name="SlateCoughlin">{{cite news |last=Doherty |first=Thomas |date=January 21, 2021 |title=The Deplatforming of Father Coughlin |url=https://slate.com/technology/2021/01/father-coughlin-deplatforming-radio-social-media.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220420064348/https://slate.com/technology/2021/01/father-coughlin-deplatforming-radio-social-media.html |archive-date=April 20, 2022 |access-date=January 25, 2021 |work=Slate}}</ref> In May 1938, Coughlin called for a "crusade against the anti-Christian forces of the [[October Revolution|Red Revolution]]" in ''[[Social Justice (periodical)|Social Justice]]''. That led him to found a new organization, the [[Christian Front (United States)|Christian Front]].<ref>[[Leonard Dinnerstein]], ''Antisemitism in America'' (Oxford University Press, 1994), 120</ref> Its membership numbered several thousand. Unlike the NUSJ, the Christian Front membership was mainly of Irish-American men in New York City and other eastern cities.

On November 9 and 10, 1938, Nazi organizations and sympathizers attacked Jewish businesses and synagogues throughout Germany in what became known as the [[Kristallnacht]].  When the owner of [[WMCA (AM)|WMCA]] in New York, [[Donald Jason Flamm|Donald Flamm]], saw the preliminary script for the November 20 broadcast of ''Golden Hour,'' he immediately demanded that Coughin change inflammatory references to Jews. However, Flamm did not get to view the final script.

On the November 20 broadcast, Coughlin deflected blame from the Nazis for Kristallnacht. He referred to 'millions' of Christians who had allegedly been murdered in the [[Soviet Union]] by its government.  Speaking of Germany, Coughlin said, "Jewish persecution only followed after Christians first were persecuted."{{sfn|Dollinger|2000|p=66}} After the broadcast finished, the WMCA booth announcer said, "Unfortunately, Father Coughlin has uttered many misstatements of fact".{{r|3StationsRefuse}}

After the broadcast, WMCA, WIND and WJJD all demanded advance copies of the script for the November 27 program. When Coughlin failed to deliver them, all three stations canceled it.  Flamm remarked that the show "was calculated to stir up religious and racial hatred and dissension in this country".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4" />{{efn|[[WEPN (AM)|WHN]], also in New York City, had dropped the program several weeks earlier; as a result, Coughlin's programs were only broadcast on part-time [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] station WHBI.}} Coughlin then pulled all the future broadcasts from the three stations, accusing them of being under "Jewish ownership".<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":4">{{Cite magazine |date=December 1, 1938 |title=Flamm Explains Refusal to Broadcast Coughlin |url=https://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1938/1938-12-01-BC.pdf |url-status=live |magazine=Broadcasting |volume=15 |issue=11 |page=79 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210102195012/https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-BC/BC-1938/1938-12-01-BC.pdf |archive-date=January 2, 2021 |access-date=August 11, 2019}}</ref>{{efn|[[WEPN (AM)|WHN]], also in New York City, had dropped the program several weeks earlier; as a result, Coughlin's programs were only broadcast on part-time [[Newark, New Jersey|Newark]] station WHBI.}}{{r|3StationsRefuse}} In the December 5th issue of ''Social Justice,'' Coughlin wrote a column that plagiarized portions of a 1935 speech by the German Propaganda Minister [[Joseph Goebbels]], a rabid antisemite.<ref name=":6" />

On December 14, Cardinal [[George Mundelein]], archbishop of Chicago, issued the first formal condemnation of Coughlin by the Catholic hierarchy. Mundelein said that Coughlin was: "...not authorized to speak for the Catholic Church, nor does he represent the doctrine or sentiments of the Church."{{r|SlateCoughlin}}

Four days later, thousands of Coughlin's followers, many associated with the Christian Front, picketed WMCA's studios in protest. Some of them yelled antisemitic statements, such as "Send Jews back where they came from in leaky boats!" and "Wait until Hitler comes over here!" The protests at WMCA continued for 38 weeks.<ref name=":0" />{{sfn|Warren|1996|pp=165–169}} Coughlin attended some of the protests.<ref name=":0" />

Coughlin increasingly attacked Roosevelt's policies. The administration decided that, although the [[First Amendment to the United States Constitution|First Amendment]] protected [[freedom of speech|free speech]], it did not necessarily apply to broadcasting because the radio spectrum was a "limited national resource" and as a result was regulated as a publicly owned [[commons]].{{citation needed|date=April 2023}} The authorities imposed new regulations and restrictions on radio stations for the specific purpose of forcing Coughlin off the air. For the first time, the authorities required regular radio broadcasters to seek operating permits.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

When Coughlin's operating permit was denied, he was temporarily silenced. Coughlin worked around the new restrictions by purchasing air time and playing his speeches via transcription. However, having to buy the weekly air time on individual stations severely reduced his reach and also strained his financial resources.{{efn|During this period, ''The Golden Hour'' typically ran in intervals of 13 to 17 weeks per contract with occasional hiatuses in between.{{r|50Affilates}}}}