Moral Crusaders Attack Gay Culture
Gay culture had existed long before the onset of the First World War. Men had flocked to urban areas seeking autonomy and the chance to live their lives away from prying eyes of neighbors and family members. By 1910, gay culture had woven itself into the public sphere allowing male sexual identity to manifest in numerous ways. Drag shows were very popular forms of entertainment with the “female impersonator” as a sort of link between a gay subculture and mainstream America. Effeminate men self-identified as queers or fairies. They provided activist information on what to do when a drag show or saloon was raided by local police at the urging of moral crusaders.
Any type of sex outside of marriage was simply unacceptable by moral crusaders. As war mobilization efforts ramped up, these crusaders attacked all aspects of gay culture whether in the private or public sphere. Rambles, public places where men “cruised” each other for a quick tryst, were targeted for immoral activities and patrolled by police. Drag shows suddenly turned chaotic and horrifying when police arrived with knight sticks drawn. At the urging of moral crusaders, doctors, police, and private investigators labeled these men as “sick,” “perverts,” “inverts,” or “degenerates.”
It seemed like “immoral conduct” and “lack of moral perspective” was sweeping the nation. Protecting young enlistees from “unnatural” behavior was paramount to moral crusaders and the US Military. Ervin Arnold felt it was his moral obligation to report the accounts conveyed to him by Thomas Brunelle. After reporting the conversation to his superiors, the Navy began a preliminary investigation to determine if a widespread investigation was warranted. In March 1919, the Navy determined an investigation could commence.
A sexual misconduct investigation fell under the jurisdiction of the US Attorney General. When Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer refused to open an investigation, the Navy took matters into their own hands. Reportedly on March 19, 1919, the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, signed off on opening an investigation into the “immoral conduct” reportedly happening at the Army and Navy YMCA in Newport. The Navy assigned Ervin Arnold, a former investigator, to lead the inquiry.