The Constitutional Educational League was an American anti-communist organization.

History

Founded in 1919 during America's

First Red Scare The First Red Scare was a period during History of the United States (1918–1945), the early 20th-century history of the United States marked by a widespread fear of Far-left politics, far-left movements, including Bolshevik, Bolshevism and ...

, the group gained major influence during the aftermath of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. In the 1930s, they were known for printing an anti-communist newspaper entitled "Headlines and What's Behind Them." In 1942, the organization was listed as one of 28 organizations indicted by a special grand jury as having conspired against the United States Army and Navy, being an instrument of the

Axis Powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...

. In the 1944 presidential campaign, the organization published a brochure, ''Vote CIO and Get A Soviet America''. A congressional investigation into the 1944 campaign expenditures sought to find out who the financial backers were of the League, as it deemed this brochure to be political. However, Joseph P. Kamp, vice-president of the League refused to hand over this information. Because Kamp refused to act on a

subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...

, he was tried for

Contempt of Congress Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. senator or U.S. representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of Co ...

. In 1950, he was convicted, and sentenced to four months in prison. Kamp was tried another time for congressional defiance in 1952, when he failed to produce records for the House Lobby Investigating Committee. This time, Kamp was acquitted of the charge, as the House Committee failed to orderly disclose why Kamp was in default.

Publications

The League's vice president, Joseph P. Kamp, authored most or all pamphlets published: * ''Hell of Herrin Rages Again'' (1937) * ''Stop

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

and Smash Communism! Program of the Constitutional Educational League'' (1939) * ''Fifth Column in Washington!'' (1940) * ''Fifth Column in the South'' (1940) * ''Fifth Column vs. the Dies Committee'' (1941) * ''How to Win the War and Lose What We're Fighting For!'' (1942) * ''Famine in America'' (1943) * ''With Lotions of Love...'' (1944) * ''Vote CIO and Get a Soviet America'' (1944) * ''The Hell with G. I. Joe!'' (1944) * ''Open Letter to Congress. Gentlemen: Are You Mice or Men? An Underworld Secret-Police Terror Menaces America'' (1948) * ''America Betrayed: The Tragic Consequences of Reds on the Government Payroll!'' (1950) * ''It Isn't Safe to be an American'' (1950) * ''We Must Abolish the United States: The Hidden Facts Behind the Crusade for World Government'' (1950)

References

External links

''Vote CIO and Get A Soviet America''''Strikes and the communists behind them''
another CEL pamphlet {{Authority control Organizations established in 1919 Anti-communist organizations in the United States Far-right organizations in the United States

History

Publications

See also

References

External links