© The contents of this finding aid are the copyright of the University of Chicago Library
© 2008 University of Chicago Library
The collection is open for research.
When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: World Republic. Records, [Box #, Folder #], Hanna Holborn Gray Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library
The organization known as World Republic was formed on February 3, 1947 as an outgrowth of a Northwestern University student group called Students for Federal World Government, formed May 15, 1946. The World Republic maintained a platform of achieving a world federal government that was different from many other such groups of the same time. They advocated a world government with the authority to establish, maintain, and enforce world law. This would require, in the group’s opinion, the direct control of nuclear energy and all weapons of mass destruction by the World Federal Government itself. This new structure was to be achieved at an international constitutional convention, to accomplish “multilateral transfer of national war sovereignty with world federal sovereignty” (quoted from the organization’s statement objectives). World Republic based its program on the organization of seminars, distribution of relevant literatures to its members, and general education of the public at large on issues concerning world government. By 1951, due to lack of membership and financial support, World Republic was forced to merge with the then newly formed organization, The World, effectively ending its activities as an independent group.
The World Republic papers documents the group’s organization in 1947 to its dissolution in 1951. The papers provide a record of personal and professional correspondence, conference plans and notes, general organizational proceedings, publications, speeches, and the evolution of its purpose. There is a particularly extensive record of the World Republic’s primary weekly publication, The Planet, as well as articles on and about the World Republic from major national magazine and newspaper publications.
The collection has been processed and divided into four series: I. Correspondence, II. Subject Files, III. Print and Public Materials, IV. Oversize. The series divisions reflects the general original order of the collection but are reoriented towards a more linear chronology.
Series I, Correspondence, contains primarily business correspondence between various members of the World Republic. Most of these pertain to organizational, financial, and membership matters. There are also some personal correspondence, though all generally relate to the World Republic.
Series II, Subject Files, contains an assortment of materials such as records of general group proceedings. There is extensive material documenting particularly significant group meetings such as annual director conferences and member recruitment meetings. There are also legal documents and financial records collected here. In addition, there are documents pertaining to World Republic affiliate groups, such as World Movement for a World Federal Government, and specific World Republic projects, such as the Illinois Federalist Campaign.
Series III, Public and Print Materials, contains pamphlets, flyers, and brochures produced by the group and distributed to the public. There is an extensive collection of the World Republic’s primary weekly publication—The Planet. There are also extensive newspaper and magazine clippings from major national publications reporting on the World Republic. There are public speeches and articles composed by members of the World Republic as well as photographic documentation of affiliated individuals, events, and buildings.
Series IV, Oversize Materials, contains photographs and newspaper clippings collected and preserved in large-sized scrapbooks.
The following related resources are located in the Department of Special Collections: