(usually the record company), which then pays a contractually negotiated recording royalty to the performer. The owner of the recording separately pays the publisher of the recorded compositions a mechanical royalty for the right to record, copy, and distribute copies of the composition. These royalties are called mechani- cal royalties because the license is for mechanical recording and reproduction of the composition. Under U.S. copyright law a publisher is required to grant a mechanical license to anyone wishing to record a composition that has previously been recorded and released com- mercially. This is called a compulsory license, and the minimum rate that must be paid to the publisher for such a license is set by Congress at a few cents for each copy made of a recording of the composition. Normally, however, a record label that wishes to record a publisher’scom- position will negotiate a private license with the publisher rather than follow the strict account- ing and reporting rules that accompany record- ing under a compulsory license. The statutory compulsory license rate has become the effec- tive ceiling rate for recording a composition because no one need pay more than the rate set by law. A lucr ative part of music publishing involves performance royaltie s. Performance royalties are paid when a song is played on the radio or television, used by businesses for background music, or used by clubs for dance music or by bands performing at a club. A popular song can earn thousands and sometimes millions of dollars through the collection of performance royalties. Because it would be too demanding for a publisher to sign performance licenses with every club, radio station, and business office that might use a particular song, publishers and songwriters register with a performing rights organization (PRO) to collect fees on their behalf. The three PROs in the United States are the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI), and the Society of European State Authors and Composers (SESAC). The PROs negotiate blanket licenses with all who use music for profit. Such fees can range from less than one hundred dollars for a small business using music to enhance its business environ- ment, to hundreds of thousands of dollars or millions of dollars for large-scale broadcasting entities. The PROs then monitor radio and television broadcasts. Using a complex statistical model, they pay publishers and songwriters based on projected actual uses of a song. When a composition is registered with a PRO, the registrant informs the PRO what percentages of royalties are to be paid to the publisher and songwriter. The PRO issues separate payments to the publisher and to the songwriter (or songwriters). A particular songwriter may only be registered with one PRO at a given time to avoid confusion as to which PRO is responsible for collecting performance royalties on the songwriter’s behalf. The use of blanket licenses allows an artist to per form compositions written by another songwriter without first requesting the songwriter’s permission. As opposed to mechanical licenses, there is no statutory rate for the use of a song in films and television advertisements (synchronization licenses), in radio advertisements (transcrip- tion licenses), or for sale as sheet music (print licenses). These fees are negotiated separately between the user and the music publish er. The licensee pays the entire fee to the publisher, who then pays the songwriter’s share to the songwriter. Since the 1960s many popular musical performers have written their own musical compositions. Some of these artists choose to “self-publish,” forgoing relationships with pub- lishers and thus retaining full ownership and control of their copyrights. These artists are more often songwriters whose compositions are so unique that they are not likely to be recorded by other performers. This type of artist will receive little benefit from an outside publisher’s market- ing efforts. However, because the music indus- try’s royalty structure assumes that publishing income will be paid to a publisher, a self- published artist often will set up her own publishing company under an assumed name to receive publishing income. A self-published artist will frequently hire an accounting firm to handle specific administrative functions such as royalty collection, for a much smaller fee than a full-service music publisher would demand. Recording artists who feel that the publish- ers have cheated them out of part of their royalties often take the publishers to court. High-profile artists have sued, claiming that their celebrity and marketability has not given them leverage against the music industry. The GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 158 MUSIC PUBLISHING pop star Michael Jackson, who was wildly successful in the 1980s, launched a lawsuit against Universal Music Group (UMG) in 2003 claiming that UMG owed him millions of dollars in royalties from music he recorded (alone and with his brothers) that was released after 1980. In September a judge in Los Angeles threw out part of Jackson’s lawsuit. Jackson had given up his rights to all songs released before 1979 in a deal with the music publisher Motown (which was later bought by UMG). Jackson attempted to cancel the 1980 agreement with Motown as part of his suit, but the judge ruled that there was no justific ation to cancel the agreement; consequently, all pre-1980 tunes were removed from the suit. Musicians also sue each other for copyright INFRINGEMENT. In the case of Three Boys Music Corporation v. Bolton, 212 F.3d 477 (9th Cir. 2000), a jury awarded rhythm-and-blues group the Isley Brothers $5.4 million in a lawsuit against the singer-songwriter Michael Bolton and his co-writer. The Isley Brothers main- tained that Bolton and Goldmark’s 1991 song Love is a Wonderful Thing was substantially similar to their song of the same name, released in 1966. While Bolton and Goldmark con- tended that they had not deliberately copied the song, the jury felt they were similar enough to prove the Isleys’ case. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the verdict. Music and the Internet Songwriters and recording artists faced new challenges in the 1990s as Internet access and usage grew at a breakneck pace around the world. The Internet quickly became a favorite medium for people to communicate with each other via their personal computers. In addition to communicating email messages, recipes, directions, and digital photos over the World Wide Web, people began sharing digital files containing songs they had downloaded. Soon entire websites were dedicated to sharing digital music files, also known as music PIRACY. Many of these sites charged nothing for the music they were sharing, and thus the recording artists and songwriters received nothing when their music was shared, which was a violation of copyright law. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) responded by filing a series of lawsuits alleging copyright infringement. Indi- vidual artists, including the rapper Dr. Dre and the heavy metal band Metallica, followed suit. Although some creators of file-sharing software made efforts to comply with copyright laws, many lawsuits went forward. By the summer of 2003, more than 250 la wsuits had been brought against alleged copyright violators who had shared digital music files on the Int ernet. Because some of the defendants named were children and others were adults who claimed their grandchildren had downloaded the music, it was widely believed that the move was more to make a point than to go after ordinary citizens. The RIAA also went after COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES , a huge market for file sharing. The first important legal decision was made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in A & M Records, Inc. v. Napster, Inc., 239 F.3d 1004 (9th Cir. 2001). Napster had gained notoriety by inventing and making available its “MusicShare” software that enabled Internet users to duplicate or distribute copyrighted songs in mp3 format without paying any fees. Almost all of the songs were copyrighted by someone other than Napster, and Napster never asked for or received permission to copy the songs. However, the songs were stored on centralized Napster servers, and it was only via Napster software that Napster users could download copies of the songs to their own personal computers or distribute co pies to other users. The ease of the system resulted in the rapid and widespread use of Napster by the public. The ninth circuit concluded that individual Napster users were directly infringing (by dupli- cating and distributing copyright-protected music and recordings) and were not engaging in fair use, and that Napster, Inc. was thus liable. “Napster has actual knowledge that specific infringing material is available using its system, [Napster] could block access to the system by suppliers of the infringing material, and [Napster] failed to remove the material.” Napster also provided the “site and facilities” to assist distributing and downloading the record- ings, the court stressed. Additionally, the court noted that Napster derived ever-increasing advertising revenues as more users were drawn to its website through the appeal of free music. Although Napster lost its case, new technol- ogy forced copyright owners back to court. Unlike the music-sharing software at issue in Napster, which required users to log in to Napster servers where the mp3 files were stored, GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION MUSIC PUBLISHING 159 the new music-sha ring software enabled users to share songs directly with each other without the need for assistance from a third-party intermediary. Known as peer-to-peer (p2p) software, this software was also free. The software makers made money by inserting ads inside the software. This music-sharing technology was chal- lenged in Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. v. Grokster, Ltd., 125 S. Ct. 2764, 162 L. Ed. 2d 781 (U.S. 2005). The defendant software maker attempted to defend its business mod el by arguing that its software was capable of substantial noninfringing uses, for example, the swapping of uncopyrighted material. But the Supreme Court rejected this argument, holding that “one who distributes a device with the object of promoting its use to infringe copyright, as shown by clear expression or other affirmative steps taken to foster infringement, is liable for the resulting acts of infringement by third parties.” Not only was the defendant aware of its customers’ infringing uses, the court continued, but the defendant’s business plan and advertising were explicitly designed to encourage unlawful private copying, particularly by those who had been forced to leave Napster as a result of the adverse judgment against it in the ninth circuit. The court also rejected the defendant’s contention that a finding of liabilit y would significantly interfere with the develop- ment of new electronic technologies. The court said its holding in Grokster “premises liability on purposeful, CULPABLE expression and conduct, and thus does nothing to compromise legiti- mate commerce or discourage innovation having a lawful promise.” FURTHER READINGS “Judge Rejects Part of Michael Jackson’s Lawsuit against Music Giant.” 2003. Reuters September 20. Krasilovsky, M. William, and Sidney Shemel. 1995. This Business of Music: A Practical Guide to the Music Industry for Publishers, Writers, Record Companies, Producers, Artists, Agents. New York: Watson-Guptill. Liggett, Mark, and Cathy Liggett. 1993. The Complete Handbook of Songwriting: An Insider’s Guide to Making It in the Music Industry. New York: Dutton/Plume. Lubell, Sam. 2003. “Campuses Move to Block Music Sharing.” New York Times October 2. Sanders, Rob. 2000. “The Second Circuit Denies Music Publishers the Benefits of the Derivative Works Exception.” Southwestern University Law Review 29 (spring): 655–79. Satorius, Daniel M., ed. 1993. The Practical Musician. St. Paul: Minnesota Continuing Legal Education. Sobel, Lionel S. 2000. “The Nuts, Bolts, and Politics of the Evolution of Music Law.” Sedona Conference Journal 1 (July): 235–43. Veiga, Alex. 2003. “Recording Industry Suing Hundreds of Music Swappers.” Charlotte Observer September 8. Whitsett, Tim. 2000. Music Publishing: The Real Road to Music Business Success. 5th ed. Vallejo, CA: MixBooks. CROSS REFERENCES Broadcasting; Entertainment Law; Intellectual Property; License; Royalty. v MUSSEY, ELLEN SPENCER At a time when women in the United States were often excluded from higher education, Ellen Spencer Mussey helped found a coeduca- tional law school to promote the social and economic advancement of women. In 1896 Mussey and colleague EMMA M. GILLETT sponsored a seriesof lectures in Washington, D.C., aimed at attracting and training female lawyers. The lectures were primarily for local women whose professional goals were frustrated by the Ellen Spencer Mussey 1850–1936 ❖ 1850 Born, Geneva, Ohio 1869 Moved to Washington, D.C. 1914–18 World War I 1936 Died, Washington, D.C. 1861–65 U.S. Civil War 1939–45 World War II ▼▼ ▼▼ 19001900 19251925 1950 1950 18501850 18751875 ❖ ◆◆ 1913 Suffered a stroke; Gillett took over as dean of law school 1922 Cable Act gave women the right to retain U.S. citizenship after marriage ◆ ◆ 1898 Established the Washington College of Law with Emma Gillett; became school's first dean ◆ ◆ 1920 Nineteenth Amendment ratified, gave women the right to vote 1896 Briefly attended Cornell Law School; admitted to Supreme Court bar; began legal lecture series with Emma Gillett ◆ ◆ 1893 Admitted to District of Columbia bar 1949 Washington College of Law became affiliated with American University GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 160 MUSSEY, ELLEN SPENCER men-only admission policies of most law schools in the District. After two years of well-received lectures, Mussey and Gillett expanded their curriculum and formally established Washington College of Law, a coeducational institution that later became part of American University. Mussey was the law school’s first dean; she was succeeded by Gillett in 1913. Mussey was born May 13, 1850, in Geneva, Ohio, to Platt Rogers Spencer and Persis Duty Spencer. After attending Lake Erie Seminary, in Painesville, Ohio, and Rockford Seminary, in Rockford, Illinois, Mussey moved to Washing- ton, D.C., where she worked as a principal for the Spencerian Business College. She married lawyer Reuben Delavan Mussey in 1871 and had two children, Spencer Mussey and William Hitz Mussey. Under her husband’s tutelage, Mussey read law and eventually attended the Law School of Cornell University in the summer of 1896. When Mussey ’s husband became seriously ill, she took over the daily operation of his law office. After his death in 1892, Mussey was admitted to the D.C. bar. (At that time, a law degree was not required for bar admission.) She became one of very few women from her generation to be admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and the U.S. Court of Claims. In private practice, Mussey specialized in international and real estate law. At the request of American Red Cross founder Clara Barton, she became the Red Cross’s first staff attorney. A social reformer, Mussey was a major force behind new legislation giving women the same rights as men over children, property, and e arn- ings. She also pushed f or la ws allowing wo men to keep their U.S. c itizensh ip after marrying foreign citizens. Mussey served as editor of American Monthly magazine, committee chair for the National Council of Women, and delegate to the 1911 International Council of Women held in Stock- holm. She also helped organize the National Association of Women Lawyers and the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia. Mussey died April 21, 1936, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 85. She had overcome long-standing societal barriers to pursue her professional interests and social agenda. Washington College of Law was the crowning achievement of her illustrious career. MUSSOLINI, BENITO Benito Mussolini ruled as dictator of Italy from 1922 to 1943. His political philosophy, which he called fascism, was based on the total domina- tion of the government in all spheres of political, social, economic, and cultural life. Initially seen by the Italian people as a hero, Mussolini was driven from government before the end of WORLD WAR II. Mussolini was born in Dovia di Predappio, Italy, on July 29, 1883, the son of a socialist blacksmith. He embraced SOCIALISM as a teenager and as a young man became a school teacher and socialist journalist in northern Italy. In 1902 he moved to Switzerland and earned a living as a laborer. He returned to Italy in 1904 to perform his required military service and then resumed his teaching. His wanderlust, however, resumed. He went to Trent, Austria, in 1909 and worked for a socialist newspaper. He was expelled from Austria after he publicly urged the return of Trent to Italy. In 1912 he became editor of Avanti!, the most important Italian socialist newspaper, with headquarters in Milan. When WORLD WAR I broke out in August 1914, Mussolini proved unwilling to toe the socialist line. Socialists argued that disputes between nations were not their concern and that Italy should stay Benito Mussolini. THE GALE GROUP, A PART OF CENGAGE LEARNING GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION MUSSOLINI, BENITO 161 out of the conflict. Mussolini disagreed, where- upon the socialists expelled him from the party. This expulsion radically changed Mussolini’s political outlook. He founded Il Popol d’Italia (The People of Italy), a strident newspaper that argued that Italy should enter the war against Germany. When Italy did join the war, Musso- lini enlisted in the army and served from 1915 to 1917, when he was wounded. After the war Mussolini started his own political movement. In 1919 he formed the Fascist party, called the Fasci di Combatti- mento. The name fascism is derived from the Latin fascis, meaning bundle. The fasces is a bundle of rods strapped together around an axe. A symbol of authority in ancient Rome, it repre- sented absolute, unbreakable power. Mussolini promised to recreate the glories of the Roman Empire in a movement that was nationalistic, antiliberal, and antisocialist. Mussolini’s movement struck a chord with lower-middle-class people. Supporters wore black shirts and formed private militias. In 1922 Mussolini threatened a march on Rome to take over the government. King Victor Emmanuel capitulated to this threat and asked Mussolini to form a government. Once in power Mussolini abolished all other political parties and set out to transform Italy into a fascist state. Initially Italians and foreign observers saw Mussolini as a strong leader who brought needed discipline to the economy and social structure of Italy. He poured money into building the infrastructure of a modern coun- try. In a country known for disorganization, it was said that Mussolini made the trains run on time. He also, however, abolished trade unions and closed newspapers that did not follow the party line. He used the police to enforce his rule and imprisoned thousands of people for their political views. In the 1930s Mussolini sought to make Italy an international power. In 1935 Italy invaded the East African country of Ethiopia. Mussolini ignored the League of Nations’ demand that he withdraw and proceeded to conquer the country. In 1936 he sent Italian troops to support General Francisco Franco’s Loyalist Army in the Spanish Civil War. By the end of the 1930s, Mussolini also moved closer to ADOLF HITLER and Nazi Germany. In 1939 he invaded nearby Albania. Mussolini did no t enter World War II until June 1940, when he invaded the south of France. At first his alliance with Hitler appeared propitious. However, the Italian army suffered defeat in North Africa, and the Allies invaded Sicily in 1943. Mussolini’s regime crumbled. King Victor Emmanuel dismissed Mussolini as the head of state on July 25, 1943. Mussolini was briefly imprisoned, but German troops rescued him. Hitler directed Mussolini to head an Italian puppet state in northern Italy, then under the control of German forces. As the Allies moved north in 1945 , Mussolini tried to escape to Switzerland. He was captured by Italian partisans and shot on April 28, 1945. The bodies of Mussolini and his mistress, Clara Petacci, were displayed to jeering crowds on the streets of Milan. FURTHER READINGS Axelrod, Alan. 2001. The Life and Work of Benito Mussolini. Indianapolis, Ind.: Alpha. Bosworth, R.J.B. 2002. Mussolini. London: Arnold; New York: Oxford Univ. Press. “MUST CARRY” LAW See MASS COMMUNICATIONS LAW (Sidebar). MUTILATION In CRIMINAL LAW, the crime of violently, maliciously, and intentionally giving someone a serious perma- nent wound. MUTINY A rising against lawful or constituted authority, particularly in the naval or ARMED SERVICES. In the context of CRIMINAL LAW, mutiny refers to an insurrection of soldiers or crew members against the authority of their commanders. The offense is similar to the crime of SEDITION, which is a revolt or an incitement to revolt against established authority, punishable by both state and federal laws. MUTUAL COMPANY A corporation in which members are the exclusive shareholders and the recipients of profits distrib- uted as dividends in proportion to the business that such members did with the company. The most common kind of mutual com- pany is a mutual insurance company. In this type of organization, which is a cooperative GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 162 “ MUST CARRY” LAW association, the members are both the insurers and the insured. Such companies exist for the purpose of satisfying the insurance needs of their members at a minimal cost. The members contribute through a system of premiums or assessments, forming a fund from which all losses and liabilities are paid. Any profits are divided among the members of the company in amounts proportionate to their individual interests. The members of a mutual company choose the ma nagement. Professional associations that offer their members insurance coverage often form mutual insurance companies. MUTUAL FUND A fund, in the form of an investment company, in which shareholders combine their money to invest in a variety of stocks, bonds, and money-market investments such as U.S. Treasury bills and bank certificates of deposit. Mutual funds provide a form of investment that is both relatively safe and relatively lucrative. Mutual funds offer investors the advantages of professional management of invested money and diversification of that investment. Mutual fund managers assume the responsibility of investigating and researching financial markets and selecting the combination of stocks, bonds, and other investment vehicles to be bought and sold. Thus, consumers purchase shares in a mutual fund and rely on the expertise of the mutual fund manager, whose job is to provide them with the highest possible return on their investments. Investing in a mutual fund is not as safe as investing in a bank or a SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION . The federal government normally insures money deposited in banks or savings and loan associations; if one of those institu- tions fails, each of its deposits of up to $100,000 generally is guaranteed. This is not true of other investment vehicles such as stocks and bonds, which by their nature rise and fall in value and offer no guarantees. But investing in a mutual fund usually is considered to be safer than investing in individual stocks and bonds. Mutual fund managers observe the financial markets and take advantage of trends that affect the fund by buying and selling various compo- nents of the fund. And because a mutual fund is diverse—comprised perhaps of a hundred or more different kin ds of stocks, bonds, or other investments—even the complete failure of one stock will make a relatively small impact on the fund’s overall success. There are two general types of mutual funds. An investor in an open-end fund may request at any time that the fund buy back, or redeem, that investor’s shares. The price of shares in an open-end fund is based on the market value of the fund’s portfolio of invest- ments. Investors in open-end funds may be charged additional fees known as loads. Front- end loads are charged when the investor pur- chases shares in a mutual fund; back-end loads are subtracted from the redemption price. Open-end funds are sold by SECURITIES dealers and brokers and financial planners, or they are sold directly to the investor by the fund’ssalesstaff. Closed-end funds are traded on stock exchanges or the over-the-counter market. Unlike open-end funds, closed-end funds usually have a fixed number of shares, which are purchased and redeemed at their market price plus a commission. Mutual funds are broadly classified accord- ing to three types of investment objectives: growth of capital, stability of capital, or current income. Most funds are geared toward one or two of these objectives. For example, money- market funds invest in instruments like U.S. Treasury bills, which are relatively safe and generally stable. Therefore many investors view money-market funds as a good alternative to a bank account. Other funds seek stability of capital by investing in blue-chip stocks and high-quality bonds. Some funds are potentially more lucrative, but far riskier. Growth funds are somewhat aggressive, investing in speculative securities that show promise over time for slow but steady long-term return. Income funds also tend to be speculative, often investing in high- risk, high-yield securities with the goal of greater short-term return. Within the three broad categories of mutual funds are numerous subcategories. Funds that seek both growth and income are known as balanced funds. Sector funds invest in certain types of businesses, such as the computer industry. Some funds strive to fulfill a political agenda, such as investing in environmentally responsible companies or companies that actively promote women and minorities. Pre- cious metals funds, municipal bond funds, and international stock funds are other examples of GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION MUTUAL FUND 163 mutual fund categories. Other funds are far less specialized and allow the fund manager free reign to compile and alter the fund’s portfolio. Mutual fund shareholders receive periodic investment income, or dividends, which comes from dividends and interest earned by the various securities that make up the fund’s portfolio. Shareholders often elect to have these dividends reinvested into the mu tual fund. Investors in mutual funds may choose to make monthly payments into the fund or have a specified amount automatically withdrawn from a bank account or savings and loan association account each month. Some companies offer a variety of open-end mutual funds with different investment objectives and allow investors a simple way to switch their money from one fund to another as their savings goals change. Securities laws, both state and federal, govern mutual funds. Some statutes regulate the organization of investment companies and the sale of securities by brokers and dealers. Federal securities laws that regulate mutual funds include the Securities Act of 1933 (15 U.S. C.A. § 77a et seq.), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (15 U.S.C.A. § 78a et seq.), and the Investment Company Act of 1940 (15 U.S.C.A. § 80a–1 et seq.). FURTHER READINGS Baer, Gregory, and Gary Gensler. 2002. The Great Mutual Fund Trap: An Investment Recovery Plan. New York: Broadway. Blake, Erica. 2000. “A Review and Analysis of the Monitoring of Personal Investment Transactions and the Implementation of Codes of Ethics.” Annual Review of Banking Law 19 (annual). United States General Accounting Office. 2003. Report to Congressional Requesters: Mutual Funds, Greater Trans- parency Needed in Disclosures to Investors. Washington, D.C.: General Accounting Office. MUTUAL MISTAKE An error of both parties to a contract, whereby each operates under the identical misconception concerning a past or existing material fact. For example, a customer goes to the sample room of an interior decorator to select a carpet and asks the clerk to show him a navy carpet, which he subsequently purchases and takes with him. The sales slip notes that the carpet purchased is navy. When, upon examining the carpet in daylight, the customer discovers that it is black, not navy as he thought when he bought it, a mutual mistake would have occurred, since both the seller and buyer were in error concerning the correct color of the carpet sold. Because there had never been a true and complete meeting of the minds, no mutual assent was actually arrived at, and the buyer would be entitled to return the carpet and obtain a full refund. MUTUALITY OF OBLIGATION The legal principle that provides that unless both parties to a contract are bound to perform, neither party is bound. MY LAI MASSACRE The event known as the “My Lai Massacre” was one of the darkest moments of the VIETNAM WAR, and further fueled the already growing anti-war movement in the United States. On March 16, 1968, U.S. Army troops murdered more than 300 unarmed Vietnamese women, children, and elderly persons. When the facts of the massacre became known, war crime charges were brought against 30 soldiers, and there was a marked increase in both domestic and foreign pressure to end the war. The Vietnam War began in the 1940s as a war of liberation between Vietnamese nationalists called the Vi et Minh and the French who controlled Vietnam. The Viet Minh sought help from Communist China in the mid-1950s, bringing the conflict to the attention of the United States. In 1954 the Fre nch were decisively defeated, and the country was temporarily divided into North Vietnam and South Vietnam. Most of the Viet Minh and their supporters relocated to North Vietnam. When the provi- sional head of South Vietnam refused to hold reunification elections, hostilities resumed. Fearing a communist takeover if the North Vietnamese won, the United States provided economic and military aid, and by 1967 the United States had almost 400,000 troops in the country. Viet Cong, Vietnamese soldiers who had trained in the North and moved back to the South to conduct guerilla warfare, were especially feared. Dressed to blend in with the peasants who populated South Vietnamese villages, the Viet Cong carried on a stealthy campaign of sabotage and murde r. American soldiers, who did not speak Vietnamese and were unable to distinguish between Viet Cong combatants and the general population, were GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 164 MUTUAL MISTAKE anxious and wary when ever they traveled into the rural countryside. Knowing that many villagers were sympathetic to the Viet Cong added to their stress. My Lai was part of the Song My village located in South Vietnam’s Quang Ngai Prov- ince. The area had been heavily mined by the Viet Cong, and in the weeks preceding the massacre, numerous members of “Charlie Company,” a unit of the U.S. Army’s American Division, had been injured or killed by the mines. Under the direction of Captain Ernest Medina, a group of about 120 anxious and angry soldiers from Charlie Company entered My Lai on a mission to “search [out] and destroy” enemy soldiers. According to later EYEWITNESS reports, the soldiers, under orders from their platoon leader Lieutenant William L. Calley, used rifles, machine guns, bayonets, and grenad es to kill the villagers. Old men, women who begged and prayed for mercy, children, and babies were murdered by the soldiers. Several young girls were raped and killed. Estimates of the number of villagers massacred at My Lai ranged from 300 to 500; the final army estimate was 347. Of the 100 soldiers who entered My Lai about 30 participated in the killing. Most of the other soldiers did not participate, but they did not try to stop the killing. Some testified later that they thought their lives would be in danger if they tried to stop their fellow soldiers. Informed of the incident by Captain Hugh C. Thompson, an army helicopter pilot who had managed to save a few of the villagers, the U.S. Army did nothing. Ron Ridenhour, an army helicopter gunner, was told about the massacre shortly after it took place. After leaving the service, Ridenhour wrot e detailed letters to the Pentagon, Congress, and the White House asking for an investigation. In November 1969 the army appointed General William R. Peers to look into Ridenhour’s charges. After a four-month army investigation that included listening to 398 witnesses and collect- ing thousands of pages of testimony, charges were initially brought against 30 of the partici- pants; that number was subsequently reduced to 13. Nine enlisted men and four officers faced charges ranging from murder to dereliction of duty for covering up the incident. In November 1969 Seymour Hersh’s news- paper story about the events of My Lai and subsequent follow-up reports shocked and horrified people around the world. The stories ignited waves of controversy over U.S. presence in Vietnam and increased pressure to bring an end to the war. In 1971 five members of Charlie Company including Captain Medina and Lt. Calley were subjected to courts-martial. Captain Medina was represented by prominent defense attorney F. LEE BAILEY and was acquitted of all charges. Lt. Calley was the only soldier convicted. He was found guilty of the premeditated murder of more than 20 Vietnamese civilians and sen- tenced to life imprisonment. His sentence was later reduced to 10 years and he was paroled in September 1975. In May 1998 three former U.S. soldiers who had placed themselves at risk to save some of the civilians at My Lai were awarded (one posthumously) the army’s prestigious Soldier’s Medal. FURTHER READINGS Bilton, Michael, and Kevin Sim. 1993. Four Hours in My Lai. New York: Penguin. Karnow, Stanley. 1997. Vietnam: A History. New York: Penguin. Sheehan, Neil. 2009. A Bright and Shining Lie. New York: Modern. CROSS REFERENCE Vietnam War. GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION MY LAI MASSACRE 165 NAACP Founded in 1909, the organization formerly known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and now called simply NAACP is the oldest and largest CIVIL RIGHTS organization in the United States. Head- quartered in Baltimore, Maryland, with a staff of more than 220, the interracial NAACP works for the elimination of racial DISCRIMINATION through LOBBYING, legal action, and education. With its victories in landmark Supreme Court cases such as BROWN V. BOARD OF EDUCATION (347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873 [1954]), as well as its sponsorship of grassroots social programs, the NAACP has been a lead er in the effort to guarantee that African Amer- icans and members of other racial minorities receive EQUAL PROTECTION under U.S. law. The National Association for the Advance- ment of Colored People (NAACP) grew out of race riots that occurred in Springfield, Illinois, in August 1908. Shocked at the violence directed against African Americans by white mobs in Abraham Lincoln’s hometown, William English Walling, a white socialist, wrote a magazine article that called for the formation of a group to come to the aid of African Americans. The following year, Walling met with two young white social workers, Mary White Ovington and Henry Moskowitz, and began planning a course of action. They enlisted the aid of Oswald Garrison Villard, grandson of the abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison, to publicize the Conference on the Status of the Negro, to be held that May. The conference drew several hundred people, many of whom would unite a year later as the NAACP. Although originally the NAACP leadership was largely white, since the 1920s it has been primarily African American. The organization drew many of its original white members from progressive and socialist ranks, and most of its first African American members through the leadership of the historian and sociologist W. E. B. DU BOIS (1868–1963). Du Bois and BOOKER T. WASHINGTON (1856–1915) were the two principal African American leaders of the day. Du Bois had led the Niagara Movement, an African American protest organization, since 1905, and he brought the membership of that organization into the NAACP. He was named director of publicity and research for the NAACP in 1910, and he edited the organization’shighly respected journal, The Crisis, until 1934. From the beginning, the NAACP made legal action on behalf of African Americans a top priority. It won early Supreme Court victories in Guinn v. United States (238 U.S. 347, 35 S. Ct. 926, 59 L. Ed. 1340 [1915]), which overturned the GRANDFATHER CLAUSE as a means of disfran- chising black voters, and in Buchanan v. Warley (245 U.S. 60, 38 S. Ct. 16, 62 L. Ed. 149 [1917]), which barred municipal ordinances requiring racial SEGREGATION in housing. The grandfather clause imposed a literacy test on persons who were not entitled to vote prior to 1866. N 167 . Gillett ◆ ◆ 1893 Admitted to District of Columbia bar 1949 Washington College of Law became affiliated with American University GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 160 MUSSEY, ELLEN SPENCER men-only. Italy should stay Benito Mussolini. THE GALE GROUP, A PART OF CENGAGE LEARNING GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3 RD E DITION MUSSOLINI, BENITO 161 out of the conflict. Mussolini disagreed, where- upon. is a mutual insurance company. In this type of organization, which is a cooperative GALE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN LAW, 3RD E DITION 162 “ MUST CARRY” LAW association, the members are both the insurers and