Max Sandin
Max Sandin was an anti-war activist who was persecuted by the United States government during both World Wars for refusal to cooperate with military conscription. He also refused federal income taxes for the same reason, beginning in 1943. A resident of Cleveland, Sandin worked as a house painter and paperhanger.
Early life and draft refusal
Born in Czarist Russia, Sandin fled to the United States in 1910 to avoid forced conscription. When Sandin was drafted into the U.S. military during World War I, he declared himself a conscientious objector. United States law did not afford him an exemption, as his objection was political, not religious. At Camp Funston, he and other resisters were subjected to brutality. In 1918, for refusing to obey an order to perform military duties in wartime, Sandin was sentenced to be executed by firing squad. President Wilson commuted that sentence to a maximum of 15 years' imprisonment at Fort Leavenworth. Sandin was paroled on June 24, 1919, after the war ended.In 1943, Sandin was again imprisoned for refusing to register for the World War II draft.
War tax resistance
In 1943, Sandin began to refuse to pay taxes that would be destined for military spending. He continued to refuse for the rest of his life. In 1949, he joined the war tax resistance pledge of Peacemakers, the first non-sectarian organized war tax resistance movement in the United States.In 1961, the government began to seize Sandin's Social Security benefits and small pension for back taxes, leaving him destitute. In response, he began a sit-down protest and hunger strike at the U.S. Treasury building. The United States Secret Service responded by arresting him and seeking a psychiatric evaluation. Sandin was judged sane and released in a few days.