During the First World War the United States invested millions of dollars to persuade Americans to support the mobilization of men and resources. The government orchestrated a propaganda campaign and enlisted thousands of informants who sought to prosecute citizens who were thought to be less than loyal. This biography explores the life of one of those who was prosecuted.  Originally from Nebraska, where he had thousands of acres of farmland, Thomas Kerl was a resident of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. He was a farmer, developer, educator, philanthropist, state legislator and an attorney. His story reminds us of how the media can manipulate public opinion and how easily the truth can be overlooked.

His scandalous divorce was reported throughout the state.

After the war in Europe commenced, he made no anti-war speeches, wrote no editorials. But privately he expressed doubts to acquaintances. Government efforts to sway public opinion had incited anti-German behavior to the extent that anyone who expressed anti-war sentiments was considered to be disloyal. His words were alleged by authorities to be violations of the Espionage Act of 1917, and resulted in his trial in Federal Court in Nebraska.

This recounting of one man’s life demonstrates how easily an individual’s rights can be suppressed by the government. It gives insight into the reasons the United States became involved in the war and how federal propaganda efforts permeated all levels of society in the early twentieth century.