Maggie's Farm

In May 1941, the Almanac Singers, which included Pete Seeger, published "Songs For John Doe," which were against intervention in WW2.

According to Wiki, There is a posting from Solomonia, which supports the Wiki quote about taking the "Songs From John Doe" album off the market. As Zinn did not deny the statement that he and Pete Seeger tried to get copes of the "Songs for John Doe" albums out of circulation this would indicate to me that yes, he and Pete Seeger did try to take the "Songs for John Doe" albums out of circulation. It would also support the Wiki quote about Keynote destroying the albums.
There is a timely footnote [14] in the Wiki article which leads to a review by Time Magazine for "Talking Union," an album which the Almanac Singers released in September, 1941.
Did the Almanac Singers/Pete Seeger change their views after June 22,1941, when Hitler invaded the Soviet Union, and before December 7,1941, when Japan bombed Pearl Harbor? This documentation points towards yes.

he was a great musician and a political dissenter
He was a "political dissenter" who, back in the day, changed his "dissenting" views in in accordance with what Uncle Joe and the Cominterm would have deemed appropriate at the time. Before June 22 1941: against US involvement in WW2. After June 22 1941: for US involvement in WW2. "Dissent," my foot.

You see him as a "dissenter." I see him as a Stalinist toady ,changing his views in accordance with what Uncle Joe and the Cominterm would have deemed appropriate at the time. That over a half century after Stalin's death, Pete Seeger admitted that Uncle Joe wasn't the greatest thing since sliced bread is an admission that came way too late.

he... was a victim of McCarthyism which I also suspect many here approve of.
Some people refer to "McCarthyism" as falsely accusing someone of being a Communist. I find such false accusations reprehensible. Others refer to "McCarthyism" as publicizing someone's truthful Communist affiliations. As Pete Seeger was not only a Communist, but also actively supported the Soviet Union, this is apparently the "McCarthyism" you refer to. I, for one, support this kind of "McCarthyism." My hometown had too many people who had fled the Iron Curtain for me to have a benign view of those Americans who were Communists and actively supported and defended the Soviet Union- as Pete Seeger did. [No, I am not referring to his service time in WW2.]

Recall that many of those who denounced "McCarthyism" back in the 1950s also believed Alger Hiss was innocent. Which he wasn't, as the courts decided and as Weinstein's book showed several decades later. Which shows that those who cried proclaimed Hiss to be innocent were either liars or damned fools.

so he was a commie. so what? at a time when it was also chic to support national socialism and hitler's support of franco.
So what? I refer you to "Gulag Archipelago." If YOU had known any refugees from the Iron Curtain, as I did growing up, I doubt that you would have had such a casual "so what" attitude. Growing up, I also knew refugees from Hitler.

what did he do you you or anyone? murder someone? steal atomic secrets? sabotage the war effort? dodge the draft?...this is not a rhetorical question.
Pete Seeger didn't "dodge the draft," but he did write a song against the draft, which certainly would have encouraged "dodging the draft." I refer you to "C For Conscription." Pete Seeger certainly didn't advocate dodging the draft after June,22 1941. He could change his beliefs on a dime, which is why I have contempt for him.

I am reminded of the commie Dalton Trumbo, who wrote two anti-war books before the invasion of the Soviet Union: Johnny Got His Gun and The Remarkable Andrew. After the invasion of the Soviet Union, Trumbo suspended publishing Johnny Got His Gun and when he received letters from conscientious objectors seeking his support, turned the letters into the FBI. As I was a 1-O during the Vietnam War, I have contempt for someone who can so quickly shed pacifist views. I did change my views on pacifism, but it took nearly a decade.

I would suggest that you define more carefully what you mean by "McCarthyism." See my above posting.

the iron curtain is a cold war term. the conditions in the USSR and in nazi germany were not well understood by Americans in '35 the way they would be in '50.
For those who were interested, there was a fair amount of contemporary coverage of the 1938 Moscow show trials in the US. Dewey Commission and all that. Those who wanted to become informed could have informed themselves- especially those from an intellectual background, such as Pete Seeger. Many did inform themselves about the show trials- Pete's father included. [see link @ "In Pete Seeger's own words."]

regardless -- what, exactly, did this anti-draft song do to harm the US?
You asked for evidence about Pete Seeger's "dodging the draft." I accordingly provided evidence that Pete Seeger wrote and sang a song that was against the draft, and therefore implicitly was advocating dodging the draft. You have a problem with my providing evidence you asked for? Most likely the only harm done was to Pete Seeger's integrity.

if all we're talking about is your person sense of disgust at his change of opinion, that's cool, but there's nothing to discuss, its your opinion.
The point is that like Dalton Trumbo in his anti-war books, Seeger took a stance that didn't reflect what he thought was right, but what the current party line was. That reflects a lack of personal integrity. This accusation is much more strongly directed at Dalton Trumbo than at Pete Seeger, but it still stands.
In Pete Seeger's words: By Pete Seeger's own admission, he changed his opinion to fit the party line. You have no problem with that?

and I wouldn't be quick to trash COs, either.
I don't understand where that is coming from. After all, I wrote "I have contempt for someone who can so quickly shed pacifist view," which doesn't trash pacifists but those who quickly shed their pacifism. As I pointed out, I was a CO [in draft status terms: 1-O]. My disgust was with a "pacifist" like Dalton Trumbo [read comments], who quickly changed his opinions on pacifism in tandem with what would fit the current party line.

mccarthyism ... I'm using this in this sense:
the FBI investigations "crushed" (according to the billboard article cited) the Almanac Singers and the FBI and the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee investigations got the Weavers blacklisted.
When Pete Seeger was a member of the Almanac Singers, he was earning money while advocating publicly on behalf of an organization -the CPUSA-that was a tool of a foreign power, the Soviet Union. [See the above quote.] By advocating what the CPUSA told him to- which he admitted to in the above quote- Pete Seeger was advocating on behalf of a foreign power. As I see it, that is why he ran into problems. Not to mention his being a member.



so let me ask again, what crimes did he commit?
I don't understand why you are asking that question. For a substantial part of his life, Pete Seeger's principles were whatever the CPUSA told him they were. That is what disgusts me about Pete Seeger. Lack of integrity may not be a crime, but it is good reason for disgust.

I'm asking this because this is the reverse of the coin I see here every single day. the IRS is targeting conservatives, the NSA/FEMA/Justice Department is destroying people for political dissent .... if you're not utterly disgusted about all of this abuse of political power, from both sides, then this country is doomed.
One difference is that conservatives are not advocating on behalf of a foreign power, as Pete Seeger did. But yes, it is a problem.

In Pete Seeger's words: wrong footnote

note 31
^ He later commented "Innocently I became a member of the Communist Party, and when they said fight for peace, I did, and when they said fight Hitler, I did. I got out in ’49, though.... I should have left much earlier. It was stupid of me not to. My father had got out in ’38, when he read the testimony of the trials in Moscow, and he could tell they were forced confessions. We never talked about it, though, and I didn’t examine closely enough what was going on.... I thought Stalin was the brave secretary Stalin, and had no idea how cruel a leader he was." Wilkinson, "The Protest Singer" (2006), p. 52; see also The Protest Singer: An Intimate Portrait (2009), p. 114.

Bird Dog: Grew up middle class, went to prep school and Harvard.
Pete Seeger's middle class is not my middle class.