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{{Short description|Nationalist American political group}}
[[File:ADS-leaflet-1917.jpg|thumb|right|300px|This leaflet of the American Defense Society from the time of World War I lists the organization's dues structure and general aims.]]
[[File:ADS-leaflet-1917.jpg|thumb|right|300px|This leaflet of the American Defense Society from the time of World War I lists the organization's dues structure and general aims.]]


The '''American Defense Society''' was a [[nationalism|nationalist]] American political group founded in 1915. It advocated American intervention against [[Germany]] during [[World War I]] and opposition to the [[Bolsheviks]] when they came to power in Russia after the [[October Revolution]] of 1917.
The '''American Defense Society''' ('''ADS''') was a [[nationalism|nationalist]] American political group founded in 1915. The ADS was formed to advocate for American intervention in [[World War I]] against the [[German Empire]]. The group later stood in opposition to the [[Bolsheviks]], who came to power in [[Russian Empire|Russia]] after the [[October Revolution]] of 1917, and the proposed American participation in the [[League of Nations]].


In domestic politics, the ADS launched a campaign to eliminate instruction of the [[German language]] in the United States.<ref name=":0" /> As a nationalist outfit, the ADS demanded "100 percent Americanism" amid fears over the loyalties of "[[Hyphenated American|hyphenated Americans]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Wüstenbecker |first=Katja |title=German-Americans during World War I |url=https://www.immigrantentrepreneurship.org/entries/german-americans-during-world-war-i/ |access-date=2022-05-01 |website=Immigrant Entrepreneurship |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Organizational history==
⚫
===Formation===
⚫
[[Clarence Smedley Thomas]], [[Cushing Stetson]], and [[John F. Hubbard]] formed the ADS in August 1915 as a splinter group from the [[National Security League]] (NSL). They objected to the NSL for being uncritical in support of the [[Woodrow Wilson|Wilson]] administration. Like the NSL, the ADS favored [[progressivism]] and its reform programs, but it was much more militarist and nationalistic than the NSL. Its first honorary president was former U.S. President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref name=nytoct27>''New York Times'': [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10E13F73F5C167B93C5AB178BD95F478485F9& "Theodore Roosevelt to be Honored Today," October 27, 1943], accessed March 30, 2010</ref> The Chairman was [[Richard Melancthon Hurd]].


The organization's first honorary president was former President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref name="nytoct27" /> After declining post-World War I, the ADS made a brief resurgence prior to [[World War II]], where the group fought President [[Franklin Roosevelt|Franklin Delano Roosevelt]]'s effort to expand the [[US Supreme Court|Supreme Court]].<ref name="FindingAid" />
⚫
Among the political positions of the ADS were:

⚫
==Formation==
⚫
Clarence Smedley Thomas, Cushing Stetson, and John F. Hubbard formed the ADS in August 1915 as a splinter group from the [[National Security League]] (NSL).{{citation needed|date = August 2023}} They objected to the NSL for being uncritical in support of the [[Wilson administration]]. Like the NSL, the ADS favored [[progressivism]] and its reform programs, but the ADS was much more militarist and nationalistic than the NSL.{{citation needed|date = August 2023}}

=== Leadership ===
The ADS's first honorary president was former U.S. President [[Theodore Roosevelt]].<ref name="nytoct27">''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/1943/10/27/archives/theodore-roosevelt-to-be-honored-today-american-defense-society-to.html "Theodore Roosevelt to be Honored Today," October 27, 1943], accessed March 30, 2010</ref> The chairman of the ADS was [[Richard Melancthon Hurd]], a close friend of Roosevelt and a career real estate economist.{{citation needed|date = August 2023}}

== Goals ==
⚫
Among the political positions of the ADS were:{{citation needed|date = August 2023}}
* Total victory against Germany in World War I, with no discussion of peace terms
* Total victory against Germany in World War I, with no discussion of peace terms
* Centralized organization of national industry, as accomplished temporarily under the [[War Industries Board]]
* Centralized organization of national industry, as accomplished temporarily under the [[War Industries Board]]
* Expulsion of [[Socialist|socialists]] from U.S. politics
* Expulsion of [[socialist]]s from US politics
* Suppression of [[sedition]]
* Suppression of [[sedition]]
* One hundred percent Americanism
* One hundred percent Americanism


In February 1918, the Society called on Congress to take action on a series of measures required by U.S. entry into World War I. It wanted an "overwhelming force" sent to France: "the quicker we put our full strength into the war the sooner it will be over."<ref name=nytfeb25 /> It called for the internment of enemy aliens and sympathizers, to prevent sabotage because "if enough munition factories are blown up here we shall lose the war."<ref name=nytfeb25 /> (A reference to Imperial Germany's [[Black Tom explosion]] sabatoge operation in New York City in 1916) It claimed that England saw an end to foreign plots and propaganda after interning 70,000. On the educational and cultural front, the Society was uncompromising:
In February 1918, the Society called on Congress to take action on a series of measures required by US entry into World War I. It wanted an "overwhelming force" sent to France: "the quicker we put our full strength into the war the sooner it will be over."<ref name=nytfeb25 /> It called for the internment of enemy aliens and sympathizers to prevent sabotage because "if enough munition factories are blown up here we shall lose the war."<ref name=nytfeb25 /><ref>The reference was probably to the [[Black Tom explosion|sabotage of a New York harbor munitions depot]] in 1916.</ref> It claimed that England saw an end to foreign plots and propaganda after interning 70,000. On the educational and cultural front, the Society was uncompromising:


<blockquote>
<blockquote>
"The appalling and complete breakdown of German ''Kultur'' compels a sweeping revision of the attitude of civilized nations and individuals toward the German language, literature, and science. The close scrutiny of German thought induced by "Hun" frightfulness in this war has revealed abhorrent qualities hitherto unknown, and to most people unsuspected. Hereafter, throughout every English-speaking country on the globe, the German language will be a dead language. Out with it forever!"<ref name=nytfeb25 /></blockquote>
"The appalling and complete breakdown of German ''Kultur'' compels a sweeping revision of the attitude of civilized nations and individuals toward the [[German language]], literature, and science. The close scrutiny of German thought induced by 'Hun' frightfulness in this war has revealed abhorrent qualities hitherto unknown, and to most people unsuspected. Hereafter, throughout every English-speaking country on the globe, the German language will be a dead language. Out with it forever!"<ref name=nytfeb25 /></blockquote>


The ADS also called for compulsory military training for all men between the ages of 18 and 21<ref name=nytfeb25>''New York Times'': [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02EEDC113FE433A25756C2A9649C946996D6CF "Calls for Strict Ban on German Language," February 25, 1918], accessed January 7, 2010</ref>
The ADS also called for compulsory military training for all men between the ages of 18 and 21<ref name=nytfeb25>''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/1918/02/25/archives/calls-far-strict-ban-on-german-language-american-defense-society.html "Calls for Strict Ban on German Language," February 25, 1918], accessed January 7, 2010</ref> In late 1918, it launched a campaign to eliminate instruction in [[German language|German]] nationwide.<ref name=":0">''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/1918/12/31/archives/to-fight-german-teaching-american-defense-society-starts-propaganda.html "To Fight German Teaching," December 31, 1918], accessed January 7, 2010</ref>


==Interwar period==
At the end of 1918 it launched a campaign to eliminate instruction in German nationwide.<ref>''New York Times'': [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9406E7D71339E13ABC4950DFB4678383609EDE "To Fight German Teaching," December 31, 1918], accessed January 7, 2010</ref>
⚫
After World War I, the ADS joined the campaign against American participation in the [[League of Nations]]. It described the League as a surrender of national sovereignty "obnoxious to the Constitution of the United States." It denounced "the impossible doctrines of the [[self-determination]] of races which is contrary to our fundamental doctrines as a nation."<ref>''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/1919/09/01/archives/files-10-objections-to-nations-league-american-defense-society-urge.html "Files 10 Objections to Nations' League," September 1, 1919], accessed March 30, 2010. Signing the organization's letter sent to each US senator were Charles Stewart Davison, [[John R. Rathom]], George B. Agnew, [[Richard Washburn Child]], Dr. [[William Temple Hornaday|William T. Hornaday]], [[Newton W. Gilbert]], [[Lee de Forest]], William Guggenheim, Robert Appleton, Dr. L.L. Seaman, C[larence].S[medley]. Thompson, Raymond L. Tiffany, J.P. Harris, and Charles Larned Robinson.</ref>


⚫
The ADS was officially nonpartisan, but in 1920, Charles Stewart Davison, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, wrote an open letter to its officers, members, and contributors to urging them to support the Republican presidential ticket of [[Warren Harding]] and [[Calvin Coolidge]].<ref>''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/1918/02/25/archives/calls-far-strict-ban-on-german-language-american-defense-society.html "Makes Plea for Harding," August 28, 1920], accessed March 30, 2010</ref>
⚫
Following World War I, the ADS joined the campaign against American participation in the [[League of Nations]]. It described the League as a surrender of national sovereignty "obnoxious to the Constitution of the United States." It denounced "the impossible doctrines of the self-determination of races which is contrary to our fundamental doctrines as a nation."<ref>''New York Times'': [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9D07E3D6143AE03ABC4953DFBF668382609EDE "Files 10 Objections to Nations' League," September 1, 1919], accessed March 30, 2010. Signing the organization's letter sent to each U.S. senator were: Charles Stewart Davison, [[John R. Rathom]], George B. Agnew, [[Richard Washburn Child]], Dr. [[William Temple Hornaday|William T. Hornaday]], [[Newton W. Gilbert]], [[Lee de Forest]], William Guggenheim, Robert Appleton, Dr. L.L. Seaman, C[larence}.S[medley]. Thompson, Raymond L. Tiffany, J.P. Harris, and Charles Larned Robinson.</ref>


⚫
The manager of the ADS's Washington Bureau in the 1920s was Richard Merrill Whitney, the author of an exposé of radical activity, ''The Reds in America''.<ref>''New York Times'': [https://www.nytimes.com/1924/08/17/archives/r-m-whitney-dies-suddenly-in-hotel-american-defense-society.html "R.M. Whitney Dies Suddenly in Hotel," August 17, 1924], accessed March 30, 2010. Whitney was a Harvard graduate and a witness for the prosecution at the trial of [[William Z. Foster]].</ref>
⚫
The Society was officially non-partisan, but in 1920 [[Charles Steward Davison]], Charirman of the Board of Trustees, wrote an open letter to ADS officers, members, and contributors urging them to support the Republican presidential ticket, [[Warren G. Harding|Harding]] and [[Calvin Coolidge|Coolidge]].<ref>''New York Times'': [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9A02EEDC113FE433A25756C2A9649C946996D6CF "Makes Plea for Harding," August 28, 1920], accessed March 30, 2010</ref>


The ADS made a brief resurgence during the years immediately before [[World War II]]. The group conducted a campaign against the attempt of President [[Franklin Roosevelt]] to "pack" the [[US Supreme Court]] by expanding its number of members.<ref name="FindingAid">Melissa Haley, [http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/americandefsoc.html "Guide to the Records of the American Defense Society, 1915-1942.] [[New-York Historical Society]].</ref>
⚫
The manager of the ADS' Washington Bureau in the 1920s was Richard Merrill Whitney, the author of an expose of radical activity called ''The Reds in America''.<ref>''New York Times'': [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30A16F93D5B12738DDDAE0994D0405B848EF1D3& "R.M. Whitney Dies Suddenly in Hotel," August 17, 1924], accessed March 30, 2010. Whitney was a Harvard graduate and a witness for the prosecution at the trial of [[William Z. Foster]].</ref>


==Final years==
===The ADS and the Second World War===
The ADS made a brief resurgence during the years immediately preceding [[World War II]]. The group conducted a campaign against the attempt of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] to "pack" the [[U.S. Supreme Court|Supreme Court]] by expanding the number of members in that body.<ref name="FindingAid">Melissa Haley, [http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/americandefsoc.html "Guide to the Records of the American Defense Society, 1915-1942.] New-York Historical Society.</ref> Later, the group was hamstrung by the death of two of its principals: Chairman of the Board of Trustees Davison in 1942 and Board Chairman [[Elon Huntington Hooker]] in 1948.<ref name="FindingAid" />
Later, the group was hamstrung by the death of two of its principals: Board Chairman Davison in 1942 and Board Chairman [[Elon Huntington Hooker]] in 1948.<ref name="FindingAid" />


In its later years, it maintained its public profile by giving awards. In 1939, it presented awards called the Atlantic Fleet Silver Cup for excellence in gunnery and the Distinguished Service Gold Medal for work on behalf of national defense and preparedness.<ref>''New York Times'': [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0F12FA395A177A93C4AB178AD95F4D8385F9& "To Get Defense Awards," November 26, 1939], accessed March 30, 2010</ref> In 1943, it honored [[Theodore Roosevelt]] on the eighty-fifth anniversary of his birth.<ref name=nytoct27 />
In its final years, it maintained its public profile by giving awards. In 1939, it presented awards called the Atlantic Fleet Silver Cup for excellence in gunnery and the Distinguished Service Gold Medal for work on behalf of national defense and preparedness.<ref>''New York Times'': [https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0F12FA395A177A93C4AB178AD95F4D8385F9& "To Get Defense Awards," November 26, 1939], accessed March 30, 2010</ref> In 1943, it honored Theodore Roosevelt on the 85th anniversary of his birth.<ref name=nytoct27 />


The Society seems to have essentially been terminated with Davison's death, finally disappearing from New York City directories in 1956.<ref name="FindingAid" />
The ADS seems to have disappeared from New York City directories in 1956.<ref name="FindingAid" />


==Footnotes==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist|2}}


==Further reading==
==Sources==
* [https://archive.org/details/handbookamer00amer ''Hand Book of the American Defense Society,''] New York: National Headquarters, February 1918.
* Franz, Manuel. "Preparedness Revisited: Civilian Societies and the Campaign for American Defense, 1914-1920," in ''Journal of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era'' 17:4 (2018): 663–676.
* [[John Higham (historian)|John Higham]], ''Strangers in the Land.'' New York: Atheneum, 1981.
* [[John Higham (historian)|John Higham]], ''Strangers in the Land.'' New York: Atheneum, 1981.
* William Temple Hornaday, [http://www.archive.org/details/searchlightonger00hornrich ''A Searchlight on Germany: Germany's Blunders, Crime and Punishment.''] New York: American Defense Society, 1917.
* William Temple Hornaday, [https://archive.org/details/searchlightonger00hornrich ''A Searchlight on Germany: Germany's Blunders, Crime and Punishment.''] New York: American Defense Society, 1917.
* William Temple Hornaday, [http://www.archive.org/details/lyinglureofbolsh00hornrich ''The Lying Lure of Bolshevism.''] New York: American Defense Society, 1919.
* William Temple Hornaday, [https://archive.org/details/lyinglureofbolsh00hornrich ''The Lying Lure of Bolshevism.''] New York: American Defense Society, 1919.


==External links==
==External links==
*[http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/americandefsoc.html Guide to the Records of the American Defense Society, 1915-1942,] New-York Historical Society. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
*[http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/nyhs/americandefsoc/index.html The Records of the American Defense Society at the New York Historical Society]
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States]]
[[Category:Political advocacy groups in the United States]]
[[Category:Antisemitism]]
[[Category:Anti-German sentiment in the United States]]
[[Category:World War I propaganda]]
[[Category:United States home front during World War I]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1915]]
[[Category:1915 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:Anti-communist organizations in the United States]]
[[Category:Nationalism in the United States]]
[[Category:Xenophobia in North America]]
[[Category:Old Right (United States)]]

Latest revision as of 03:24, 21 September 2023

This leaflet of the American Defense Society from the time of World War I lists the organization's dues structure and general aims.

The American Defense Society (ADS) was a nationalist American political group founded in 1915. The ADS was formed to advocate for American intervention in World War I against the German Empire. The group later stood in opposition to the Bolsheviks, who came to power in Russia after the October Revolution of 1917, and the proposed American participation in the League of Nations.

In domestic politics, the ADS launched a campaign to eliminate instruction of the German language in the United States.[1] As a nationalist outfit, the ADS demanded "100 percent Americanism" amid fears over the loyalties of "hyphenated Americans".[2]

The organization's first honorary president was former President Theodore Roosevelt.[3] After declining post-World War I, the ADS made a brief resurgence prior to World War II, where the group fought President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's effort to expand the Supreme Court.[4]

Formation[edit]

Clarence Smedley Thomas, Cushing Stetson, and John F. Hubbard formed the ADS in August 1915 as a splinter group from the National Security League (NSL).[citation needed] They objected to the NSL for being uncritical in support of the Wilson administration. Like the NSL, the ADS favored progressivism and its reform programs, but the ADS was much more militarist and nationalistic than the NSL.[citation needed]

Leadership[edit]

The ADS's first honorary president was former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt.[3] The chairman of the ADS was Richard Melancthon Hurd, a close friend of Roosevelt and a career real estate economist.[citation needed]

Goals[edit]

Among the political positions of the ADS were:[citation needed]

  • Total victory against Germany in World War I, with no discussion of peace terms
  • Centralized organization of national industry, as accomplished temporarily under the War Industries Board
  • Expulsion of socialists from US politics
  • Suppression of sedition
  • One hundred percent Americanism

In February 1918, the Society called on Congress to take action on a series of measures required by US entry into World War I. It wanted an "overwhelming force" sent to France: "the quicker we put our full strength into the war the sooner it will be over."[5] It called for the internment of enemy aliens and sympathizers to prevent sabotage because "if enough munition factories are blown up here we shall lose the war."[5][6] It claimed that England saw an end to foreign plots and propaganda after interning 70,000. On the educational and cultural front, the Society was uncompromising:

"The appalling and complete breakdown of German Kultur compels a sweeping revision of the attitude of civilized nations and individuals toward the German language, literature, and science. The close scrutiny of German thought induced by 'Hun' frightfulness in this war has revealed abhorrent qualities hitherto unknown, and to most people unsuspected. Hereafter, throughout every English-speaking country on the globe, the German language will be a dead language. Out with it forever!"[5]

The ADS also called for compulsory military training for all men between the ages of 18 and 21[5] In late 1918, it launched a campaign to eliminate instruction in German nationwide.[1]

Interwar period[edit]

After World War I, the ADS joined the campaign against American participation in the League of Nations. It described the League as a surrender of national sovereignty "obnoxious to the Constitution of the United States." It denounced "the impossible doctrines of the self-determination of races which is contrary to our fundamental doctrines as a nation."[7]

The ADS was officially nonpartisan, but in 1920, Charles Stewart Davison, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, wrote an open letter to its officers, members, and contributors to urging them to support the Republican presidential ticket of Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge.[8]

The manager of the ADS's Washington Bureau in the 1920s was Richard Merrill Whitney, the author of an exposé of radical activity, The Reds in America.[9]

The ADS made a brief resurgence during the years immediately before World War II. The group conducted a campaign against the attempt of President Franklin Roosevelt to "pack" the US Supreme Court by expanding its number of members.[4]

Final years[edit]

Later, the group was hamstrung by the death of two of its principals: Board Chairman Davison in 1942 and Board Chairman Elon Huntington Hooker in 1948.[4]

In its final years, it maintained its public profile by giving awards. In 1939, it presented awards called the Atlantic Fleet Silver Cup for excellence in gunnery and the Distinguished Service Gold Medal for work on behalf of national defense and preparedness.[10] In 1943, it honored Theodore Roosevelt on the 85th anniversary of his birth.[3]

The ADS seems to have disappeared from New York City directories in 1956.[4]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b New York Times: "To Fight German Teaching," December 31, 1918, accessed January 7, 2010
  2. ^ Wüstenbecker, Katja. "German-Americans during World War I". Immigrant Entrepreneurship. Retrieved 2022-05-01.
  3. ^ a b c New York Times: "Theodore Roosevelt to be Honored Today," October 27, 1943, accessed March 30, 2010
  4. ^ a b c d Melissa Haley, "Guide to the Records of the American Defense Society, 1915-1942. New-York Historical Society.
  5. ^ a b c d New York Times: "Calls for Strict Ban on German Language," February 25, 1918, accessed January 7, 2010
  6. ^ The reference was probably to the sabotage of a New York harbor munitions depot in 1916.
  7. ^ New York Times: "Files 10 Objections to Nations' League," September 1, 1919, accessed March 30, 2010. Signing the organization's letter sent to each US senator were Charles Stewart Davison, John R. Rathom, George B. Agnew, Richard Washburn Child, Dr. William T. Hornaday, Newton W. Gilbert, Lee de Forest, William Guggenheim, Robert Appleton, Dr. L.L. Seaman, C[larence].S[medley]. Thompson, Raymond L. Tiffany, J.P. Harris, and Charles Larned Robinson.
  8. ^ New York Times: "Makes Plea for Harding," August 28, 1920, accessed March 30, 2010
  9. ^ New York Times: "R.M. Whitney Dies Suddenly in Hotel," August 17, 1924, accessed March 30, 2010. Whitney was a Harvard graduate and a witness for the prosecution at the trial of William Z. Foster.
  10. ^ New York Times: "To Get Defense Awards," November 26, 1939, accessed March 30, 2010

Sources[edit]

External links[edit]

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=American_Defense_Society&oldid=1176347376"