“Liberty or Death”: Violence and the Rhetoric of Revolution in the American Militia Movement

Abstract

This article examines the role of violent, revolutionary-style rhetoric within the ideology of the American militia movement. It argues that the willingness of militia members to embrace a language of violence is based, in part, on their understanding of mainstream American patriotism, and that it is therefore problematic to simply dismiss it as the work of ''typical extremists.'' The article also compares the militias' use of violent rhetoric to that employed by black radicals such as Malcolm X and the Black Panthers during the 1960s, and places both within the context of recurrent debates about the limits of free speech within American society. It argues that the use of violent language should not always be read literally—as a direct incitement to commit violent acts—but that in some circumstances it might be better understood as one of the few strategies available to those who regard themselves as politically powerless to capture public attention, dramatize an issue, and build a new political movement.