| rdfs:comment | - Anthony "Tony" Dresser founded the Freedom Party in Richmond, Virginia after the Confederate States lost the Great War in 1917, and was its first chairman. In its early days, the party consisted only of a few people, and functioned on limited resources. If not for the fact that one of their members was a printer, Dresser's group would not have even been able to display flyers. The early poster put out by the party displayed the picture of George Washington, with the slogan "We need a new revolution". Jake Featherston, who disliked the slogan because Washington had been a President of the hated United States, nevertheless joined the party and was one of its first members.
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| abstract | - Anthony "Tony" Dresser founded the Freedom Party in Richmond, Virginia after the Confederate States lost the Great War in 1917, and was its first chairman. In its early days, the party consisted only of a few people, and functioned on limited resources. If not for the fact that one of their members was a printer, Dresser's group would not have even been able to display flyers. The early poster put out by the party displayed the picture of George Washington, with the slogan "We need a new revolution". Jake Featherston, who disliked the slogan because Washington had been a President of the hated United States, nevertheless joined the party and was one of its first members. Dresser's worldview was ultimately similar to that of Featherston's, though with a less pronounced hatred of Blacks. Dresser insisted that the Confederate government was run by traitors to the country, thus excusing the country's defeat in the late war. However, Dresser was not an articulate or interesting speaker. When he tried giving a speech at a campaign for the Confederate Congress, he was nearly laughed off the stage until Featherston stepped up. Featherston began blaming the Blacks and the War Department for the CSA's loss in the war. While his message was not that different from Dresser's, he spoke with conviction and charisma, while Dresser harangued, and even accused the audience of being as treacherous as the government. Thus, Featherston became the head of propaganda for the party. But Dresser could see how quickly Featherston's support within the party was building. Dresser became afraid for his position in the party, and, in August 1918, with vice chairman Bert McWilliams and Party treasurer Ernie London, forced a vote to remove Featherston as propaganda head, stating Featherston had turned the party's message into one saying "Hang the generals and hang the niggers" and was giving people the wrong idea about the party. Though Dresser found some support amongst the rank-and-file Party members, Featherston pointed out that he raised more than half of the party's funding and without him, the party would go back to being nothing. The motion to remove Featherston failed, and Featherston himself raised the question as to whether or not party should remove Dresser. Ferdinand Koenig, party secretary, moved it for a vote. The motion was carried out by a landslide and Featherston became head of the Freedom Party while Dresser faded into obscurity.
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