Abstract:

This article seeks to remedy a neglected portion of Christian Abraham Sorensen's biography by focusing on his younger years during and after World War I. In doing so, this work will also add to the history of progressivism in Nebraska. As a lifelong progressive Republican—an oxymoron in today's political idiom—Sorensen, father of Ted Sorensen of the Kennedy administration, was the oldest of ten children in a family of strict Danish religious pacifists. After his expulsion from Grand Island Baptist College for not amending his speech in an oratory contest, he transferred to the University of Nebraska where he was editor of the Daily Nebraskan and fought to keep the US out of World War I. He was a member of Henry Ford's peace ship, friends with peace advocates Rebecca Shelley (or Shelly) and Lella Faye Secor, as well as a member of the last national pacifist organization, the People's Council of America. Although he amended his pacifist views near the end of the war, he continued to fight against the repression of civil liberties carried out by the Nebraska State Council of Defense and acted as attorney for the persecuted agrarian Nonpartisan League in Nebraska. After organizing the farmer-labor convention in 1920 and the Progressive Party of Nebraska in 1921, he was instrumental in electing two progressive Republicans to the US Senate: Robert B. Howell and George W. Norris. Later, he served as attorney general of Nebraska (1928–1932) for two terms.

摘要：

本文试图通过关注他在第一次世界大战期间和之后的年轻岁月来弥补克里斯蒂安·亚伯拉罕·索伦森传记中被忽视的部分。这样做，这项工作也将增加内布拉斯加州进步主义的历史。肯尼迪政府的泰德·索伦森 (Ted Sorensen) 的父亲索伦森 (Sorensen) 作为终生的进步共和党人——这在当今的政治习语中是一个矛盾修辞法——是一个严格的丹麦宗教和平主义者家庭中十个孩子中的老大。因未在演讲比赛中修改演讲稿而被格兰德岛浸会学院开除后，他转到内布拉斯加大学，担任《内布拉斯加日报》的编辑并努力使美国远离第一次世界大战。他是亨利·福特的和平船的成员，是和平倡导者丽贝卡·雪莱（或雪莉）和莱拉·费伊·塞科的朋友，也是最后一个国家和平组织的成员美国人民委员会。尽管他在战争快结束时修正了他的和平主义观点，但他继续反对内布拉斯加州国防委员会对公民自由的镇压，并担任内布拉斯加州受迫害的农业无党派联盟的代理人。在组织了 1920 年的农民工大会和 1921 年的内布拉斯加州进步党之后，他在选举两位进步的共和党人进入美国参议院方面发挥了重要作用：罗伯特·B·豪威尔和乔治·W·诺里斯。后来，他担任了两届内布拉斯加州司法部长 (1928–1932)。