ABSTRACT
Letters directed by the Newport Ministers’ Union to President Wilson and Senator Page, as well as their testimony before the Dunn Court, were interpreted by naval defenders as the parochial protests of self-interested, small-town preachers. Thus the Dunn hearings changed significantly when Rhode Island’s most prominent citizens added their voices to protest the government’s crusade against homosexuals. With their influence and prestige added to the denunciations of the ministers who had testified previously, the investigation generated increased attention.
