In 1917, Minnesota Governor Joseph A.A. Burnquist appointed members of the Commission of Public Safety, a powerful committee that policed loyalty in the state. The Minnesota Legislature created the CPS to keep an eye on the large immigrant population -- particularly German Americans -- and other groups that they feared might be disloyal, such as the Non Partisan League and labor unions. CPS used spies and a militia to threaten, harrass, and suspend the civil liberties of people considered unpatriotic.

The extreme measures of the CPS alarmed the federal government, including President Woodrow Wilson. This image was taken during Wilson's September 1919 tour of Midwest and western states, hoping to convince Americans of the importance of the League of Nations. A few weeks later, the president suffered a massive stroke.