America First Committee
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The America First Committee (AFC) was an American isolationist
pressure group Advocacy groups, also known as lobby groups, interest groups, special interest groups, pressure groups, or public associations, use various forms of advocacy or lobbying to influence public opinion and ultimately public policy. They play an impor ...
against the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
' entry into
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Launched in September 1940, it surpassed 800,000 members in 450 chapters at its peak. The AFC principally supported
isolationism Isolationism is a term used to refer to a political philosophy advocating a foreign policy that opposes involvement in the political affairs, and especially the wars, of other countries. Thus, isolationism fundamentally advocates neutrality an ...
for its own sake, and its varied coalition included Republicans, Democrats, Progressives, farmers, industrialists,
communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
,
anti-communists Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...
, students, and journalists – however, it was controversial for the
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
and pro-
fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...
views of some of its most prominent speakers, leaders, and members.Dunn p 57 The AFC was dissolved on December 11, 1941, four days after the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
and three days after Roosevelt declared war on Japan alone. It as the day of Hitler's Nazi
German declaration of war against the United States On 11 December 1941, four days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and three days after the United States declaration of war against Imperial Japan, Nazi Germany declared war against the United States, in response to what was claimed t ...
as well as the Fascist Mussolini's Italian declaration of war on the United States on December 11, 1941. Their declarations of war on the United States brought it into the wider European theatre of
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. This resulted in United States joining Britain and all the British Commonwealth countries that had been standing alone at war with Germany since shortly after its outbreak in early September 1939 after the German
Invasion of Poland The invasion of Poland, also known as the September Campaign, Polish Campaign, and Polish Defensive War of 1939 (1 September – 6 October 1939), was a joint attack on the Second Polish Republic, Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany, the Slovak R ...
when Hitler had broken the terms of the
Munich Agreement The Munich Agreement was reached in Munich on 30 September 1938, by Nazi Germany, the United Kingdom, the French Third Republic, French Republic, and the Kingdom of Italy. The agreement provided for the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–194 ...
(France, Belgium, Holland, Norway along with the other European nations had been overrun and occupied by German forces shortly afterwards). The AFC argued that no foreign power could successfully attack a strongly defended United States, that a
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
defeat by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
would not imperil American national security, and that giving military aid to Britain would risk dragging the United States into the war. The group fervently opposed measures for the British advanced by President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
such as the destroyers-for-bases deal and the Lend-Lease bill, but failed in its efforts to block them. The AFC was founded by
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
student R. Douglas Stuart Jr., a Princeton graduate who was heir to the
Quaker Oats Company The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and ...
fortune, and headed by
Robert E. Wood Robert Elkington Wood (June 13, 1879 – November 6, 1969) was an American military officer and business executive. After retiring from the U.S. Army as a brigadier general, Wood had a successful career as a corporate executive, most notably ...
, a retired U.S. Army general who was chairman of Sears, Roebuck and Co. Its highest-profile early official member was
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...
, the automotive pioneer and notorious anti-Semite, who resigned in controversy. Halfway through the committee's 15-month existence, aviator
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...
, who had already delivered 13 speeches on the group's behalf, officially joined it and became the most prominent speaker at its rallies. Lindbergh's presence resulted in increased criticism that America First embraced overt anti-Semitism and fascist sympathies. Historian Susan Dunn has concluded that, "Though most of its members were probably patriotic, well-meaning, and honest in their efforts, the AFC would never be able to purge itself of the taint of anti-Semitism."


Background and origins

American isolationism of the late 1930s had many adherents, and as historian Susan Dunn has written, "isolationists and anti-interventionists came in all stripes and colors—ideological, economic, ethnic, geographical. Making up this eclectic coalition were farmers, union leaders, wealthy industrialists, college students, newspaper publishers, wealthy patricians, and newly arrived immigrants. There were a potpourri of affiliations and beliefs: Democrats, Republicans, Progressives, liberals,
conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
,
socialists Socialism is an economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes the economic, political, and socia ...
,
communists Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, d ...
,
anti-communists Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism, communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global ...
, radicals,
pacifists Pacifism is the opposition to war or violence. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaigner Émile Arnaud and adopted by other peace activists at the tenth Universal Peace Congress in Glasgow in 1901. A related term is ''a ...
, and simple F.D.R.-haters." One of the most famous incidents occurred in February
1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...
with a German American Bund organization's Nazi-sympathizing rally, held at the famous sports arena
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, which attracted thousands. Much of the impetus for this isolationism came from college students, with
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
being a particularly strong outpost of such sentiments.Dunn p 65 The America First Committee was established on September 4, 1940, by
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
student R. Douglas Stuart, Jr. (son of R. Douglas Stuart, co-founder of
Quaker Oats The Quaker Oats Company, known as Quaker, is an American food conglomerate based in Chicago, Illinois. As Quaker Mill Company, the company was founded in 1877 in Ravenna, Ohio. In 1881, Henry Crowell bought the company and launched a national ad ...
).Cole 1974, p 115 Stuart had been part of an earlier anti-interventionist student organization at Yale Law School, one that began in Spring 1940 and included future president
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
, future U.S. Supreme Court justice
Potter Stewart Potter Stewart (January 23, 1915 – December 7, 1985) was an American lawyer and judge who was an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court from 1958 to 1981. During his tenure, he made major contributions to criminal justice reform ...
, and future diplomat Eugene Locke as signatories to an initial organizing letter. Other Yale students who became involved were future
Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an Independent agency of the U.S. government, independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to communities in partner countries around the world. It was established in Marc ...
director during the Kennedy presidential administration (and brother-in-law) Sargent Shriver, and Kingman Brewster Jr., who would later become
president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...
of
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
. Stuart dropped out of Yale to focus on the anti-intervention cause, and during Summer 1940, he and Brewster found support for the cause among politicians in Washington and party conventions, and among corporate figures in Stuart's home area of
Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. On September 5, the committee was publicly launched in a national radio broadcast by retired General Hugh S. Johnson, who had headed the
National Recovery Administration The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was a prime agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in 1933. The goal of the administration was to eliminate "cut throat competition" by bringing industry, labor, and governmen ...
(N.R.A.) during the early
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
as part of the
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
programs combating the bad economic conditions for a while before President Roosevelt discharged him in 1934.Dunn p 66


Organization and membership

America First chose retired Brigadier General
Robert E. Wood Robert Elkington Wood (June 13, 1879 – November 6, 1969) was an American military officer and business executive. After retiring from the U.S. Army as a brigadier general, Wood had a successful career as a corporate executive, most notably ...
, the 61-year-old chairman of Sears, Roebuck and Co., to preside over the committee. Wood remained in his post until the AFC was disbanded in the days after
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
's attack on Pearl Harbor. Organizationally, America First had an executive committee of about seven people, which took the lead in forming America First policies.Cole 1974, p 116 Its initial members included Wood, Stuart, and several businessmen from the Midwest. There was also a larger national committee, which was composed of prominent individuals who supported America First's aims. Over the course of the organization's existence, some fifty people were part of the national committee. Finally, there were local chapters organized in cities and towns of various size wherever a sizeable anti-interventionist feeling existed. The existence of chapters permitted a more decentralized fundraising structure, with the chapters typically relying more on small contributions than the national entity. Serious organization and recruitment efforts took place from Chicago, the national headquarters of the committee, not long after the AFC's September 1940 establishment. These included the taking out of full-page advertisements in leading newspapers in various cities and paying for radio broadcasts. Fundraising drives produced about $370,000 from some 25,000 contributors. Nearly half came from a few millionaires such as William H. Regnery, H. Smith Richardson of the Vick Chemical Company, General Robert E. Wood of Sears-Roebuck, publisher Joseph M. Patterson (New York ''Daily News'') and his cousin, publisher Robert R. McCormick (''
Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
''). Other funding came from executives of
Montgomery Ward Montgomery Ward is the name of two successive U.S. retail corporations. The original Montgomery Ward & Co. was a mail-order business and later a department store chain that operated between 1872 and 2001; its common nickname was "Monkey Wards". ...
, Hormel Foods, and the Inland Steel Company. At its peak, America First claimed 800,000–850,000 members in 450 chapters, making the AFC one of the largest anti-war organizations in the history of the United States. Two-thirds of members were located within a 300-mile radius of Chicago,Cole 1953, p 30 and 135,000 members in 60 chapters throughout Illinois, its strongest state. There were almost no AFC chapters in the
American South The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is census regions United States Census Bureau. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the ...
, where traditions of involvement in the military and ancestral ties to the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
(
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
) were both strong. The AFC was never able to draw sufficient funding to conducting its own public opinion polling. The New York chapter received slightly more than $190,000, most of it coming from its 47,000 contributors. As the AFC never had a national membership form or national dues, and local chapters were quite autonomous, historians point out that the organization's leaders had no idea how many "members" it had. The America First Committee attracted the sympathies of political figures, including: Democratic senators Burton K. Wheeler of Montana and David I. Walsh of Massachusetts, and Republican senators Gerald P. Nye of North Dakota and Henrik Shipstead of Minnesota.
Philip La Follette Philip Fox La Follette (May 8, 1897August 18, 1965) was an American politician who served during the 1930s as the 27th and 29th governor of Wisconsin. La Follette first served as a Republican from 1931 until 1933, where he lost renomination in ...
, former Governor of Wisconsin and a founder of the Wisconsin Progressive Party, was another prominent member. Overall, support from politicians was strongest in the Midwest. Wheeler and Nye were especially active as speakers at America First rallies. Other celebrities supporting America First were actress
Lillian Gish Lillian Diana Gish (October 14, 1893 – February 27, 1993) was an American actress best known for her work in movies of the silent era. Her film-acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912, in silent film shorts, to 1987. Gish was dubbed the "F ...
and architect
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
. Following his resignation as ambassador to the Court of St. James's in late 1940, the increasingly isolationist, anti-British, and defeatist Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. was offered the chance to head the America First Committee. Members of the national committee included: advertising executive
Chester Bowles Chester Bliss Bowles (April 5, 1901 – May 25, 1986) was an American diplomat and ambassador, List of governors of Connecticut, governor of Connecticut, congressman and co-founder of a major advertising agency, Benton & Bowles, now part of Publi ...
, diplomat William Richards Castle Jr., journalist
John T. Flynn John Thomas Flynn (October 25, 1882 – April 13, 1964) was an American journalist best known for his opposition to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and to American entry into World War II. In September 1940, Flynn helped establish the America Fi ...
, writer and socialite
Alice Roosevelt Longworth Alice Lee Roosevelt Longworth (February 12, 1884 – February 20, 1980) was an American writer and socialite. She was the eldest child of U.S. president Theodore Roosevelt and his only child with his first wife, Alice Hathaway Lee Roosevelt. Lo ...
, military officer and politician Hanford MacNider, novelist Kathleen Norris,
New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...
administrator George Peek, and
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
flying ace and later aviation executive Eddie Rickenbacker. The aforementioned Gerald Ford was one of the first members of the AFC when a chapter formed at Yale University (however he resigned from the AFC shortly afterward, lest he endanger his position as an assistant coach for
Yale Bulldogs football The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Yale's football program, founded in 1872, is one of the oldest in the world. Since ...
);Dunn p 338n52 Potter Stewart also served on the original committee of the AFC. Author a Scottish journalist. Another future president, and son of the former and recently resigned American ambassador to Britain ( Joseph P. Kennedy), John F. Kennedy contributed $100 with an attached note, "What you are doing is vital."


Issues

When the war began in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
(
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's invasion of
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
) in September 1939, most Americans, including politicians, demanded neutrality regarding Europe. Although most Americans supported strong measures against Japan, Europe was the focus of the America First Committee. The public mood was changing, however, especially after the
fall of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Net ...
in the spring of 1940. Still, while a majority of the public favored sending material assistance to Great Britain in its fight against Nazi Germany, a majority also wanted the United States to stay out of direct participation in the war. There were various uncoordinated isolationist groups active during 1939–40, but the public disclosure by President Roosevelt of the destroyers-for-bases deal led to the announcement the following day, September 4, 1940, of the America First Committee, which would become the strongest such group. In its announcement, the AFC advocated four basic principles: * The United States must build an impregnable defense for America. * No foreign power, nor group of powers, can successfully attack a ''prepared'' America. * American democracy can be preserved only by keeping out of the European war. * "Aid short of war" weakens national defense at home and threatens to involve America in war abroad.Cole 1974, p 117 The America First Committee launched a petition aimed at enforcing the 1939 Neutrality Act and forcing President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
to keep his pledge to keep America out of the war. The committee profoundly distrusted Roosevelt, and argued that he was lying to the American people. On January 11, 1941, the day after Roosevelt's Lend-Lease bill was submitted to the
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature, legislative branch of the federal government of the United States. It is a Bicameralism, bicameral legislature, including a Lower house, lower body, the United States House of Representatives, ...
, Wood promised AFC opposition "with all the vigor it can exert." America First staunchly opposed the convoying of ships involving the U.S. Navy, believing that any exchange of fire with German forces would likely pull the United States into the war. It also opposed the
Atlantic Charter The Atlantic Charter was a statement issued on 14 August 1941 that set out American and British goals for the world after the end of World War II, months before the US officially entered the war. The joint statement, later dubbed the Atlantic C ...
and the placing of economic pressure on Japan. Consequently, America First objected to any material assistance to Britain, such as in destroyers-for-bases, that might drag the United States into the war and remained firm in its belief that Nazi Germany posed no military threat to the United States itself. The America First Committee was not a pacifist organization, however, and it based its beliefs around the aim that the United States would embody preparedness with a modern, mechanized army and a navy that would be strong in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The principal pressure group opposing America First was the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, which argued that a German defeat of Britain would in fact endanger American security, and which argued that aiding the British would reduce, not increase, the likelihood of the United States being pulled into the war. The Lend-Lease bill was debated fiercely in Congress for two months, and the America First Committee devoted its strength towards defeating it, but with the addition of a few amendments it was passed with solid margins in both houses of Congress and signed into law in March 1941. In the end, America First failed in all its efforts to prevent Roosevelt's increasingly close relationship with Britain and failed in its efforts to legislatively block Roosevelt's actions.


Antisemitism, Lindbergh, and other extremists

"Seeking to brand itself as a mainstream organization, America First struggled with the problem of anti-Semitism of some of its leaders and many of its members", according to the historian Dunn. The group had some Jewish members at the outset: Sears heir and philanthropist Lessing J. Rosenwald was on the national committee; former California congresswoman Florence Prag Kahn was a member; and the first publicity director for the New York chapter was Jewish. However, the automotive pioneer and infamous anti-Semite
Henry Ford Henry Ford (July 30, 1863 – April 7, 1947) was an American Technological and industrial history of the United States, industrialist and business magnate. As the founder of the Ford Motor Company, he is credited as a pioneer in making automob ...
had joined the national committee at the same time as Rosenwald, which soon led to Rosenwald resigning.Cole 1953, pp 132–133 In response, America First removed Ford from the national committee and also removed from it
Avery Brundage Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee, serving from 1952 to 1972, the only American and first non-European to attain that position. Brundage is remembered as a z ...
, whose actions at the 1936 Berlin Olympics were associated with anti-Semitism. Attempts by America First to recruit other Jewish people to the national committee found no takers. As Dunn writes, "the problem of anti-Semitism remained; some chapter leaders spewed anti-Semitic accusations, while others invited anti-Semitic speakers to address their members." America First tried to keep some distance between itself and the popular radio priest and fascist sympathizer Father Coughlin. The world-famous American aviator
Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...
was admired in Germany and was allowed to see the buildup of the German air force, the
Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...
, in 1937. He was impressed by its strength and secretly reported his findings to the General Staff of the
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
, warning them that the U.S. had fallen behind and that it must urgently build up its aviation. Lindbergh, who had feuded with the Roosevelt administration for years, delivered his first radio speech on September 15, 1939, through all three major radio networks. Voicing his belief that people of Northern and Western European descent were the safeguards of civilization against Asia (which included the Soviet Union), his speech argued that instead of fighting, all of Europe and the United States should "defend the white race against foreign invasion". For the first half of America First's 15 months of existence, the group and Lindbergh kept at arm's length from each other, as Stuart was leery of being too closely associated with some of the extreme views of Lindbergh's circle, while for his part the aviator preferred to act independently. Wood, however, wanted to bring Lindbergh on, and on April 10, 1941, it was agreed that Lindbergh would join the national committee, with the aviator's first rally appearance taking place on April 17 at the Chicago Arena. Once he did join, Lindbergh became America First's most prominent speaker. His involvement significantly increased rally attendance and organization membership, but it also greatly increased the level of criticism that America First faced from interventionists and from the Roosevelt administration. On June 20, 1941, Lindbergh spoke to 30,000 people in Los Angeles and billed it as a "Peace and Preparedness Mass Meeting". Lindbergh criticized the movements that he perceived were leading America into the war and proclaimed that the U.S. was in a position that made it virtually impregnable. He also claimed that the interventionists and the British who called for "the defense of England" really meant "the defeat of Germany." A speech that Lindbergh delivered to a rally in
Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
, on September 11, 1941, may have significantly raised tensions. He identified the forces pulling America into the war as the British, the Roosevelt administration, and
American Jews American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are American citizens who are Jewish, whether by culture, ethnicity, or religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of American Jews identify as Ashkenazi, 3% id ...
. While he expressed sympathy for the plight of the Jews in Germany, he argued that America's entry into the war would serve them little better: Many condemned the speech as
antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...
. Journalist
Dorothy Thompson Dorothy Celene Thompson (July 9, 1893 – January 30, 1961) was an American journalist and radio broadcaster. She was the first American journalist to be expelled from Nazi Germany, in 1934, and was one of the few women news commentators broadc ...
wrote for the ''
New York Herald Tribune The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
'' an opinion that many shared: "I am absolutely certain that Lindbergh is pro-Nazi." Republican presidential candidate
Wendell Willkie Wendell Lewis Willkie (born Lewis Wendell Willkie; February 18, 1892 – October 8, 1944) was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 History of the Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee for president. Willkie appeale ...
criticized the speech as "the most un-American talk made in my time by any person of national reputation." In the end, Lindbergh's remarks hurt the cause of the isolationists. During the period after Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union had signed the Molotov–Ribbentrop non-aggression pact, most American Communists were opposed to the United States entering World War II, and they tried to infiltrate or take over America First. After June 1941, when
Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...
launched
Operation Barbarossa Operation Barbarossa was the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany and several of its European Axis allies starting on Sunday, 22 June 1941, during World War II. More than 3.8 million Axis troops invaded the western Soviet Union along ...
, the invasion of the Soviet Union, they reversed positions and denounced the AFC as a Nazi front, a group infiltrated by German agents. Nazis also tried to use the committee. The aviator and orator Laura Ingalls' pro-Nazi rhetoric and straight-armed Nazi salutes on her America First speaking tour worried the group's leadership, but they allowed her to continue because of praise from local chapters where she had spoken. When Ingalls was arrested in December 1941 and put on trial for being an unregistered Nazi agent, the prosecution revealed that her handler, German diplomat Ulrich Freiherr von Gienanth, had encouraged her to participate in AFC activities. In addition to Ingalls, who was convicted, another America First speaker would be convicted for failing to register as a Japanese agent.Dunn, p 237 Various historians have described attempts to keep Nazi and fascist sympathizers out of its chapters as not always successful. Historian Alexander DeConde wrote, "Most of the America First supporters were middlewestern Republicans who distrusted the President for various reasons, but it was not a purely sectional organization or partisan political movement. Thousands of sincere Americans of varied background and from both political parties joined and contributed to it. It also attracted support from a number of fringe hate organizations, from anti-Semites, and from Nazi sympathizers. This minority support tarnished its reputation." Author Max Wallace argues that by the summer of 1941, "extremist elements had successfully hijacked the movement".


After Pearl Harbor

After the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...
on December 7, AFC canceled a rally with Lindbergh at Boston Garden "in view of recent critical developments," and the organization's leaders announced their support of the war effort. Lindbergh gave this rationale: With the formal declaration of war against Japan, the organization chose to disband. On December 11, the committee leaders met and voted for dissolution, the same day upon which
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
and
Fascist Italy Fascist Italy () is a term which is used in historiography to describe the Kingdom of Italy between 1922 and 1943, when Benito Mussolini and the National Fascist Party controlled the country, transforming it into a totalitarian dictatorship. Th ...
declared war on the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. In a statement released to the press, the AFC wrote: Once war was declared, the national leaders of the America First Committee supported the United States war effort, with many serving in some capacity. Similarly, many of the leaders of local chapters volunteered for service in the U.S. armed forces; a few continued to involve themselves in anti-war actions.Cole 1953, p 196


Legacy

In 1983, after his time as president of Yale had concluded, Brewster said he was glad that he and the other isolationists had failed. He also acknowledged that, consciously or not, there was anti-Semitism among the elites at Yale during that period. Asked in a 2000 interview whether the leading members of the America First Committee had ever staged a reunion after the war, founder Stuart said, "No, we did not. We may be a little sensitive to the fact that the world still thinks we're the bad guys." Paleoconservative commentator
Pat Buchanan Patrick Joseph Buchanan ( ; born November 2, 1938) is an American paleoconservative author, political commentator, and politician. He was an assistant and special consultant to U.S. presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, and Ronald Reagan. He ...
has praised America First and used its name as a slogan. "The achievements of that organization are monumental," wrote Buchanan in 2004. "By keeping America out of World War II until Hitler attacked Stalin in June 1941, Soviet Russia, not America, bore the brunt of the fighting, bleeding and dying to defeat Nazi Germany." Historian Wayne S. Cole concludes that while the America First Committee did not actually defeat any Roosevelt administration proposal in Congress, it made the margins of several such actions smaller than they would have been otherwise; and that throughout 1941, Roosevelt was constrained in his actions in support of Britain due to isolationist pressures in public opinion that America First did the most to mobilize.Cole 1953, pp 196–199 The re-use of the "America First" phrase by
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
in the
2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...
led to a look back at the America First Committee through the filter of contemporary events. This included views on the level of extremism found in the 1940–41 movement as well as analysis of whether the new Trump administration was isolationist in the same sense.


See also

* America First Party (1943) * List of anti-war organizations


References


Further reading

* Berg, A. Scott (1999) '' Lindbergh'' pp .84–432 * Cole, Wayne S. (1974
''Charles A. Lindbergh and the Battle against American Intervention in World War II''
* Cole, Wayne S. (1953
''America First: The Battle against Intervention, 1940-41''
* Doenecke, Justus D. ed. (1990) ''In Danger Undaunted: The Anti-Interventionist Movement of 1940–1941 as revealed in the Papers of the America First Committee'' * Doenecke, Justus D. (2000) ''Storm on the Horizon: The Challenge to American Intervention, 1939-1941'' * Doenecke, Justus D. (Summer/Fall 1982
"American Isolationism, 1939-1941"
'' Journal of Libertarian Studies'' 6(3), pp. 201–216 * Doenecke, Justus D. (Summer 1987
"Anti-Interventionism of Herbert Hoover"
'' Journal of Libertarian Studies'' 8(2), pp. 311–340. * * Gleason, S. Everett and Langer, William L. (1953) ''The Undeclared War, 1940-1941'' **semi-official government history * Goodman, David (2007) "Loving and Hating Britain: Rereading the Isolationist Debate in the USA" in Darian-Smith, Kate; Grimshaw, Patricia; and Macintyre, Stuart eds. ''Britishness Abroad: Transnational Movements and Imperial Cultures,'' Carlton: Melbourne University Press. pp187–204. * Gordon, David (2003
''America First: the Anti-War Movement, Charles Lindbergh and the Second World War, 1940-1941''
** presentation to the
New York Military Affairs Symposium The New York Military Affairs Symposium (NYMAS), is an independent, not for profit, not-for-profit educational body dedicated to the preservation and furthering of military history in New York City. The membership includes scholars, active and ...
* Jonas, Manfred (1966) ''Isolationism in America, 1935-1941'' * Kauffman, Bill (1995) ''America First!: Its History, Culture, and Politics'' * Parmet, Herbert S. and Hechy, Marie B. (1968) ''Never Again: A President Runs for a Third Term'' * Schneider, James C. (1989
''Should America Go to War? The Debate over Foreign Policy in Chicago, 1939-1941''


Primary sources

* * Doenecke, Justus D. ed. ''In Danger Undaunted: The Anti-Interventionist Movement of 1940–1941 as Revealed in the Papers of the America First Committee'' (1990
excerpt


Historiography

* Doenecke, Justus D. (Spring 1983
"Literature of Isolationism, 1972–1983: A Bibliographic Guide"
'' Journal of Libertarian Studies'' 7(1), pp. 157–184 * Doenecke, Justus D. (Winter 1986
"Explaining the Antiwar Movement, 1939–1941: The Next Assignment"
'' Journal of Libertarian Studies'' 8(1), pp. 139–162. *


External links


America First Committee Records, 1940-1942
at the Hoover Institution Archives {{Authority control History of Chicago Non-interventionism Old Right (United States) Opposition to World War II Peace organizations based in the United States Organizations established in 1940 Organizations disestablished in 1941 Antisemitism in Illinois Anti-communism in the United States American nationalism Political history of the United States History of United States isolationism