179:. Between 1931 and 1933, it organized one of the largest tax strikes in American history. The chief demand of ARET was that local and state governments obey a long-ignored provision of the Illinois Constitution of 1870 requiring uniform taxation for all forms of property, Pratt charged that the failure to assess such personal property as furniture, cars, and stocks and bonds was not only illegal but left owners of real estate with excessive burdens. ARET's program also included support for sweeping rate reductions in the general property tax and retrenchment in local governmental spending.
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time, it had a budget of over $ 600,000 and a radio show in
Chicago. But it suffered a demoralizing blow in October 1932 when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a case it had brought. Buffeted by political coercion and legal defeats, and torn by internal factionalism, the strike collapsed in early 1933.
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ARET functioned primarily as a cooperative legal service. Each member paid annual dues of $ 15 to fund lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of real-estate assessments. The radical side of the movement became apparent by early 1931 when ARET called for taxpayers to withhold real-estate taxes (or
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and other politicians desperately tried to break the strike by threatening criminal prosecution of Pratt and other ARET leaders and revocation of city services. ARET's influence peaked in late 1932, with a membership approaching 30,000 (largely skilled workers and small-business owners). By this
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In the two decades after the collapse of ARET, Pratt continued to be active in various organizations on the Old Right. To Pratt, participation in these organizations bespoke a deep suspicion of government paternalism. In 1940, for example, Pratt organized the
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120:, where he studied to be a teacher. In this period, the family lost most of its money because the cannery business failed. As a result, he permanently shelved a teaching career and moved to homestead farmland in northern
204:'s plan for governmentally subsidized insurance. He also organization a group called the Heritage Foundation (different from the current group of the same name) which published and distributed the books of
128:, a rural municipality, elected him as their secretary treasurer. One of his duties was tax collection. The irony was not lost on Pratt who often joked about it during his stint as a tax rebel in Chicago.
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141:, which spoke for the nascent cooperative movement in Canada. Pratt's views on taxation as reflected in his columns reflected an affinity for theories of
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145:. Like George, he supported the replacement of the predominant local tax on acreage with a "system of taxing the unimproved values of land."
124:. Eventually, it became one of the largest farms in the immediate area. In 1913, Pratt began a long political career when the counselors of
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Pratt was born into a background of wealth. His father owned a tomato cannery and extensive farmland in the
Sharpsville area. He attended
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in the city. In addition to his other duties, he organized public relations for the Hearst-sponsored tour of Queen
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183:"strike") pending a final ruling by the Illinois Supreme Court, and later the U.S. Supreme Court. Mayor
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152:, a national newspaper syndicate. From there, he went on to become advertising manager of the
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113:, he led what was probably the largest tax strike since the Era of the American Revolution.
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In 1930, Pratt quit his newspaper job to take the helm as executive director of the
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In 1921, Pratt moved permanently to
Chicago, where he took a job with the
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212:, then a young radio commentator. Pratt was the father of set designer,
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National
Physicians Committee for the Extension of Medical Service
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Taxpayers in Revolt: Tax
Resistance during the Great Depression
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The life of a tax collector did not suit Pratt who moved to
233:(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1989).
171:(ARET), an organization of real-estate taxpayers in
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in 1917 to accept a position as municipal editor of
200:. It played a major role in defeating President
196:. The Committee received funding from publisher,
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43:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
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150:Universal Feature and Specialty Company
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208:, a key figure in the Old Right, and
169:Association of Real Estate Taxpayers
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252:Indiana Wesleyan University alumni
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156:, one of the two newspapers of
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272:American expatriates in Canada
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154:Chicago Herald and Examiner
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101:leader, activist in the
216:, the husband of dancer
29:This article includes a
158:William Randolph Hearst
138:The Grain Growers Guide
93:– June 15, 1954,
58:more precise citations.
267:Activists from Chicago
247:American tax resisters
91:Sharpsville, Indiana
31:list of references
95:Chicago, Illinois
89:(March 23, 1886,
87:John Morgan Pratt
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229:David T. Beito,
218:Katherine Dunham
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