Fight For Freedom, Inc.

Today Dina had me searching through Herman B Wells' correspondence files for some information a researcher had requested. As per usual, some interesting items were discovered that had nothing to do with the initial request. I found some documents asking for President Wells' participation in Fight For Freedom. I found a great write up about the Fight For Freedom from the Princeton University Mudd Manuscript Library. They currently house 38 linear feet relating the to Fight For Freedom movement.

"Fight for Freedom, Inc. (FFF), a national citizen’s organization established in April 1941, was a leading proponent of full American participation in World War II. Believing that the war was a threat to American freedom and security, FFF boldly and vehemently championed the interventionist cause, advocating that all necessary measures must be taken to insure the defeat of Adolf Hitler and the German Army. In addition, FFF worked to preserve fundamental American freedoms at home. An offshoot of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies, FFF was supported by average citizens, as well as prominent educators, labor leaders, authors and playwrights, clergy, stage and screen actors, newspaper men, and politicians. Acting as a clearinghouse for information related to American intervention in World War II, FFF monitored the activities of the leading isolationist organization, the America First Committee, and many of its key individuals such as Charles A. Lindbergh, Burton Wheeler, and Gerald Nye. From its headquarters in New York City, FFF spread its message through an extensive network of state and local branches, as well as through heavy reliance on local newspaper editors supportive of the interventionist cause. Pearl Harbor effectively ended the isolationist-interventionist debate, and by early 1942 FFF had disbanded."

Here are the materials the Fight for Freedom movement sent President Wells.

The letter included a membership card, a propaganda poster, and a petition to post on campus to encourage students to join. I could find no response from IU indicating their support. Still an interesting pre-WWII piece of history.

Check out the Princeton University Mudd Manuscripts Library finding aid for their holdings of Fight For Freedom, Inc. materials, click here!