The University of Chicago Library > The Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center > Finding Aids > Guide to the Fight for Freedom Committee Records 1941-1947
© 2006 University of Chicago Library
| Title: | Fight for Freedom Committee. Records |
|---|---|
| Dates: | 1941-1947 |
| Size: | 6 linear ft. (12 boxes) |
| Repository: |
Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center |
| Abstract: | The Fight for Freedom Committee Records include correspondence with local supporters and with national headquarters, as well as material dealing with the various activities of the committee, such as motorcades, rallies, speakers, the distribution of literature, press releases, radio scripts, lists of supporters and contributors, correspondence and literature of cooperating organizations, and numerous clippings. |
No restrictions.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Fight for Freedom Committee. Records, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
The national Fight for Freedom Committee, formed in New York City in April, 1941, favored the immediate entry of the United States into World War II to aid in the defeat of Hitler. The Committee's honorary chairmen were Henry W. Hobson, Protestant Episcopal Bishop for Southern Ohio, and Senator Carter Glass of Virginia. Included among its members and supporters were Marshall Field, Herbert Agar, Mrs. Calvin Coolidge, James B. Conant, Admiral William H. Stanley, Ethel Barrymore, William Clark, and other prominent persons from all political parties and all walks of life.
The Chicago headquarters of Fight for Freedom were opened on July 1, 1941, under the directorship of Courtenay Barber. Denison B, Hull accepted the chairmanship of the Chicago group in October. Among the Chicago sponsors were Mortimer J. Adler, Anita McCormick Blaine, Dorothy Bushnell Cole, William F. Edgerton, Edward R. Lewis, Bernadotte Schmitt, and Clifton Utley.
The principal activity of the Chicago organization was the distribution of interventionist literature in an obvious attempt to counter the influence of Col. Robert McCormick and the Chicago Tribune. Fight for Freedom was one of the major backers in a campaign to supplant the Chicago Tribune by a new morning newspaper. To accomplish this end, Fight for Freedom held rallies, distributed posters, buttons, car stickers, and other material. It publicized slogans such as "Billions for defense, not 2c for Tribune," and was successful in helping to convince Marshall Field and his associates that Chicago could and would support a new morning daily. The Chicago Sun was established in November 1941, with a vigorous pro-war stand. Fight for Freedom also organized motorcades, provided speakers to local organizations, held major rallies and street corner meetings in order to organize a pro-war attitude in Chicago and environs. The December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor ended the activities of the committee on both the national and local level.
The Fight for Freedom Committee records include correspondence with local supporters and with national headquarters, as well as material dealing with the various activities of the committee, such as motorcades, rallies, speakers, the distribution of literature, press releases, radio scripts, lists of supporters and contributors, correspondence and literature of cooperating organizations, and numerous clippings.
Also included in the collection is the correspondence of Courtenay Barber, Jr., after December 7, 1941. This material is mainly concerned with Friends of Democracy, Inc., an organization devoted to investigating anti-democratic and pro-fascist groups and individuals in the United States. These personal papers include extensive correspondence with L. M. Birkhead, director of Friends of Democracy, of which Barber was the unofficial representative in Chicago, and with Arthur Derounian, who as an undercover agent for Friends of Democracy infiltrated several of these anti-democratic groups and published the books Undercover and The Plotters under the pseudonym of John Roy Carlson. Barber was personally involved in many of Derounian's investigations in the mid-west, such as the placing infiltrators in anti-democratic committee offices in order to have ready access to the files. Among others with whom Barber corresponded there is extensive correspondence with Herbert Agar, president of Freedom House, and later an officer in the navy during the war.
The collection is comprised of seven series: Series I: Correspondence; Series II: Chicago Committee; Series III: National Headquarters; Series IV: Cooperating Organizations; Series V: Clippings; Series VI: Miscellaneous; and Series VII: Courtenay Barber, Jr., Personal Papers.
Series I: Correspondence |
| Box 1 Folder 1 | Barber, Courtenay, Jr. |
| Box 1 Folder 2 | Blaine, Anita McCormick |
| Box 1 Folder 3 | Clayton, Helena |
| Box 1 Folder 4 | Executive Committee |
| Box 1 Folder 5 | Hirsh, Katherine (Mrs. Herbert) |
| Box 1 Folder 6 | Hull, Denison B. |
| Box 1 Folder 7 | Labor leaders, unions |
| Box 1 Folder 8 | McMahon, Francis E. |
| Box 1 Folder 9 | Objectors (Anti-FFF) |
| Box 1 Folder 10 | Regional Chapters-Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania |
| Box 1 Folder 11 | Regional Chapters-Tennessee, Wisconsin |
| Box 1 Folder 12 | Religious groups |
| Box 1 Folder 13 | Ridgway, Hamlet C. |
| Box 1 Folder 14 | Sites, Henry W. |
| Box 1 Folder 15 | Telegrams (copies) |
| Box 1 Folder 16 | U.S. Congress (Form letters, lists) |
| Box 1 Folder 17 | U.S. Government-miscellaneous |
| Box 1 Folder 18 | A |
| Box 1 Folder 19 | Ba |
| Box 1 Folder 20 | Be-B1 |
| Box 1 Folder 21 | Bo-Brew |
| Box 1 Folder 22 | Bri-By |
| Box 2 Folder 1 | Ca-Cl |
| Box 2 Folder 2 | Co-Cu |
| Box 2 Folder 3 | D |
| Box 2 Folder 4 | E |
| Box 2 Folder 5 | Fa-Fo |
| Box 2 Folder 6 | Fr-Fu |
| Box 2 Folder 7 | Ga-Goo |
| Box 2 Folder 8 | Gor-Gu |
| Box 2 Folder 9 | H |
| Box 2 Folder 10 | I-J |
| Box 2 Folder 11 | Ka-Kl |
| Box 2 Folder 12 | Kn-Ky |
| Box 2 Folder 13 | La-Le |
| Box 3 Folder 1 | Li-Lu |
| Box 3 Folder 2 | Ma-McW |
| Box 3 Folder 3 | Me-Mu |
| Box 3 Folder 4 | N-O |
| Box 3 Folder 5 | P |
| Box 3 Folder 6 | R |
| Box 3 Folder 7 | Sa-Se |
| Box 3 Folder 8 | Sh-Sp |
| Box 3 Folder 9 | St-Sw |
| Box 3 Folder 10 | T |
| Box 3 Folder 11 | U-V |
| Box 3 Folder 12 | W |
| Box 3 Folder 13 | X-Z |
Series II: Chicago Committee |
| Box 4 Folder 1 | Chicago Committee; Organization, principles, purpose. |
| Box 4 Folder 2 | Chicago Committee, Executive Committee; Minutes, statements. |
| Box 4 Folder 3 | America First; Correspondence, press release. |
| Box 4 Folder 4 | American Legion, Veterans' groups; Survey, clippings. |
| Box 4 Folder 5 | Chicago Tribune, Boycott campaign; Correspondence, petitions, form letter, press releases |
| Box 4 Folder 6 | Civilian defense; Correspondence |
| Box 4 Folder 7 | Continental Congress (October 9-10, 1941, Washington, D.C.); Press releases, programs |
| Box 4 Folder 8 | Motorcades; Lists of interested members, itineraries, press releases, reports |
| Box 4 Folder 9 | Neighborhood distribution; Maps |
| Box 4 Folder 10 | Rally, Open Air (July 26, 1941); Correspondence, press releases |
| Box 4 Folder 11 | Rally, Loyalty Defense Rally (Sept. 10, 1941) and Civilian Defense drives; Correspondence, press releases, broadsides, programs |
| Box 4 Folder 12 | Rally, Orchestra Hall (July 29, 1941); Transcripts of speeches, press releases, lists of members, programs, broadsides, arrangements |
| Box 4 Folder 13 | Rally, Orchestra Hall (July 29, 1941); Correspondence |
| Box 4 Folder 14 | Rally, Orchestra Hall (Oct. 3, 1941); Resolutions, programs, transcripts of speeches, press releases, broadsides, advertisements |
| Box 4 Folder 15 | Rally, Orchestra Hall (Oct. 3, 1941); Correspondence |
| Box 4 Folder 16 | Rally, Herbert Agar talks (October 20-27, November 6, 1941); Correspondence, schedules, itineraries, lists of names |
| Box 4 Folder 17 | Rally, International Amphitheatre (Nov. 19, 1941); Correspondence, press releases, program, arrangements |
| Box 4 Folder 18 | Rally, Opera House (Jan. 14, 1942-Cancelled); Correspondence, arrangements, broadsides, clippings, advertisements |
| Box 5 Folder 1 | Rally, Miscellaneous; Lists of members, volunteers, arrangements |
| Box 5 Folder 2 | Rally, Miscellaneous; Correspondence; broadsides, arrangements |
| Box 5 Folder 3 | Rally and Motorcades; Photographs |
| Box 5 Folder 4 | St. Charles, Illinois, Festival (August 29-Sept. 1, 1941); Correspondence, broadsides, arrangements, lists of members and volunteers |
| Box 5 Folder 5 | "Repeal of Neutrality Act" Campaign; Petitions, press leases, form letters, correspondence |
| Box 5 Folder 6 | Speakers, prospective speakers; Correspondence, lists, broadsides, transcripts of speeches, |
| Box 5 Folder 7 | University of Chicago; Correspondence, statement by faculty members, press releases, clippings |
| Box 5 Folder 8 | Youth Division; Correspondence, brochure, informational material. |
| Box 5 Folder 9 | Literature; Broadsides, advertisements, reprints, copies of speeches. FFF Bulletin, posters, petitions, stickers, applications, etc |
| Box 5 Folder 10 | Literature; requests for; and requests for banners, pins, etc |
| Box 5 Folder 11 | Magazines; Correspondence |
| Box 5 Folder 12 | Movies; Correspondence, advertisements |
| Box 5 Folder 13 | Newspapers (Chicago); Correspondence |
| Box 5 Folder 14 | Newspapers (Midwest); Correspondence |
| Box 6 Folder 1 | Press releases; July-September, 1941 (Original manuscripts, typed) |
| Box 6 Folder 2 | Press releases; September-December, 1941 (Original' manuscripts, typed) |
| Box 6 Folder 3 | Press releases; June-September, 1941 |
| Box 6 Folder 4 | Press releases; October-December, 1941 |
| Box 6 Folder 5 | Radio; Correspondence |
| Box 6 Folder 6 | Radio; Copies of broadcasts and speeches |
| Box 6 Folder 7 | Radio; Article "Hearing is Believing," by Dixon Wecter (carbon) |
| Box 6 Folder 8 | Speeches; Miscellaneous manuscripts sent by members, poems, speeches, songs, correspondence |
| Box 6 Folder 9 | Applications for employment |
| Box 6 Folder 10 | Contributions to Chicago office; June-September, 1941 |
| Box 6 Folder 11 | Contributions to Chicago office; October, 1941-January, 1942 |
| Box 6 Folder 12 | Financial reports, budgets, receipts for rallies, etc |
| Box 6 Folder 13 | Fund-raising; Correspondence |
| Box 6 Folder 14 | Lists of members and prospective members |
| Box 6 Folder 15 | Lists of members and prospective members |
| Box 7 Folder 1 | Lists of members and prospective members |
| Box 7 Folder 2 | Lists of members and prospective members |
| Box 7 Folder 3 | Lists of members and prospective members |
| Box 7 Folder 4 | Lists of members and prospective members |
| Box 7 Folder 5 | Mailings, samples of |
| Box 7 Folder 6 | Office maintenance; telephone, furniture, internal revenue service, etc |
| Box 7 Folder 7 | Printing; orders, correspondence |
| Box 7 Folder 8 | Sponsors; Chicago Committee, lists |
Series III: National Headquarters |
| Box 7 Folder 9 | Bell, Ulric (Chr., Executive Committee) |
| Box 7 Folder 10 | Cusik, F. H. Peter (Executive Secretary) |
| Box 7 Folder 11 | Danner, Walter (Business Manager) |
| Box 7 Folder 12 | Field, Marshall (Board of Directors) |
| Box 7 Folder 13 | Graham, A. Liddon (Director of Organization) |
| Box 7 Folder 14 | Graham, A. Liddon |
| Box 7 Folder 15 | Havell, George F. (Speakers Division) |
| Box 7 Folder 16 | Hobson, Henry W. (Chairman) |
| Box 7 Folder 17 | Miller, Merle (Press Bureau) |
| Box 7 Folder 18 | Rosenfield, Abe (Labor Division) |
| Box 7 Folder 19 | Miscellaneous |
| Box 8 Folder 1 | Press releases, memos to chapter heads, memos to editors |
| Box 8 Folder 2 | Speeches, file copies of "Fight for Freedom" song, postcards, stickers, buttons, advertisements |
| Box 8 Folder 3 | Miscellaneous copies of The Freedom Press, clippings and mats of newspaper advertisements |
| Box 8 Folder 4 | Speeches, memos to chapter heads and editors, FFF songs, statements, advertisements |
Series IV: Cooperating Organizations |
| Box 8 Folder 5 | Appreciate America, Inc.; Literature |
| Box 8 Folder 6 | Committee for American-Irish Defense; Speeches, press releases, organizational memos, clippings, petitions |
| Box 8 Folder 7 | Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies; Correspondence, memos |
| Box 8 Folder 8 | CDAAA; Lists of local committees, chairmen, sponsors, etc. |
| Box 8 Folder 9 | CDAAA; Miscellaneous office data, samples of mailings, operating expenses, petitions |
| Box 8 Folder 10 | CDAAA; Memoranda, speeches, literature, advertisements, press releases, statements |
| Box 8 Folder 11 | CDAAA; Miscellaneous newsletters. |
| Box 8 Folder 12 | Czechoslovak National Council of America; Miscellaneous newsletters |
| Box 9 Folder 1 | Friends of Democracy; Literature |
| Box 9 Folder 2 | Labor unions; Miscellaneous newsletters, statements, literature |
| Box 9 Folder 3 | Little Businessmen's League; Literature |
| Box 9 Folder 4 | Miscellaneous literature |
| Box 9 Folder 5 | Miscellaneous literature |
| Box 9 Folder 6 | Miscellaneous literature |
Series V: Clippings |
| Box 9 Folder 7 | April-July 15, 1941 |
| Box 9 Folder 8 | July 16-July 31, 1941 |
| Box 9 Folder 9 | August 1-18, 1941 |
| Box 9 Folder 10 | August 19-31, 1941 |
| Box 9 Folder 11 | September 1-15, 1941 |
| Box 9 Folder 12 | September 16-30, 1941 |
| Box 10 Folder 1 | October 1-15, 1941 |
| Box 10 Folder 2 | October 16-30, 1941 |
| Box 10 Folder 3 | November 1-15, 1941 |
| Box 10 Folder 4 | November 16-30, 1941 |
| Box 10 Folder 5 | December, 1941-January, 1942 |
| Box 10 Folder 6 | Clippings concerning Paul Douglas, October-November, 1941 |
| Box 10 Folder 7 | Clippings concerning state and national politics, August, 1941-January, 1942 |
Series VI: Miscellaneous |
| Box 11 Folder 1 | Miscellaneous copies of Labor News Service, published by FFF |
| Box 11 Folder 2 | Miscellaneous copies of Labor News Service, published by FFF |
| Box 11 Folder 3 | Miscellaneous copies of Labor News Service, published by FFF |
| Box 11 Folder 4 | Scrapbook of literature, buttons, decals, pamphlets, advertisements, petitions, press releases |
Series VII: Courtenay Barber, Jr., Personal Papers |
| Box 12 Folder 1 | Agar, Herbert; 1942-1944 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 2 | Agar, Herbert; 1942-43 correspondence about speeches, pamphlets |
| Box 12 Folder 3 | Agar, William; 1942-44 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 4 | Balderston, John L.; 1942-43 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 5 | Bell, Laird; biographical sketch, speech |
| Box 12 Folder 6 | Birkhead, L.M.; 1944 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 7 | Birkhead, L.M.; 1944 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 8 | Birkhead, L.M.; 1945 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 9 | Birkhead, L.M.; 1945 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 10 | Davies, Ernest; 1943 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 11 | Derouian, Arthur; 1943-44 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 12 | Derounian, Arthur; 1945 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 13 | Derounian, Arthur; 1946-47 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 14 | Eichelberger, Clark M.; 1943 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 15 | Hull, Denison B.; 1942 correspondence |
| Box 12 Folder 16 | Newsletter, The Propaganda Battlefront (issued by the Friends of Democracy, Inc.); Miscellaneous issues, 1943-44 |
| Box 12 Folder 17 | Newsletter, The Propaganda Battlefront; 1945, complete |
| Box 12 Folder 18 | Newsletter, The Propaganda Battlefront; 1946, complete Miscellaneous issues, 1947 |