The American Peace Mobilization (APM) was a peace group established in 1940 to oppose American aid to the Allies in World War II before the United States entered the war. It was officially cited in 1947 by United States Attorney General

Tom C. Clark Thomas Campbell Clark (September 23, 1899June 13, 1977) was an American lawyer who served as the 59th United States Attorney General from 1945 to 1949 and as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1949 to 1967. Clark ...

on the Attorney General's List of Subversive Organizations for 1948, as directed by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

's Executive Order 9835.

Organizational history

Establishment

The American Peace Movement (APM) was launched as the "Emergency Peace Mobilization" at a Chicago convention during

Labor Day Labor Day is a federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday in September to honor and recognize the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United St ...

weekend in September 1940, a gathering attended by about 6,000 delegates."The Story of APM," in Committee on Un-American Activities, House of Representatives, ''Investigation of Un-America Propaganda Activities in the United States: Appendix — Part IX.'' Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, 1944; pg. 434. The group was formed from remnants of the American League for Peace and Democracy, an anti-war organization funded by the Communist International and controlled by the Communist Party, USA which attempted to build an American–Soviet defense alliance against potential aggression in Europe by Nazi Germany. The League dissolved with the signing in 1939 of the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, in which the Soviet Union and Germany pledged not to engage in military action against each other. With the Soviets seemingly protected from Nazi Germany by the non-aggression treaty, the Soviet Union's focus turned from overt anti-

Fascist Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...

militancy to "peace;" the members of the various national groups affiliated with the Comintern followed suit. The Chicago convention adopted a platform called "Five Planks to Defend America,". Its demands included: # Keep Out of War # Defeat Militarism and Regimentation # Restore the Bill of Rights # Stop War Profiteering; and # Guaranteed a Decent Living Standard for All In conjunction with these goals, the APM was particularly active in attempting to halt military conscription, and sought to serve as a Communist-led " mass organization" that sought to bring together trade unions, student groups, women's organizations, and anti-war church organizations under one umbrella. In the midst of the London Blitz and the Battle of Britain, APM also agitated for the end of "warmonger" President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

Lend-Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

program, and any other U.S. aid to the United Kingdom. The group conducted a 1,029-hour non-stop peace demonstration in front of the White House, a protest which ironically ended on June 21, 1941—one day before the Nazis invaded the Soviet Union.

Policy reversal

With the

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invasion of the Soviet Union, the pro-Soviet activists within the APM again reversed their previous agenda almost overnight, now demanding immediate U.S. entry into the war. APM changed its name yet again, to the American Peoples' Mobilization.American Peoples Mobilization Collected Records, 1940-1941
''Peace Collection,

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the earliest coeduca ...

''. While the Communist Party and its various "pro-peace" front organizations completely reversed their position on the war the moment the pact was violated, the non-interventionists of America First continued their opposition until the U.S. was attacked on December 7.

National Committee to Win the Peace

During the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, the group shifted its political stance towards pacifism and rebranded itself the National Committee to Win the Peace. The organization campaigned for issues such as nuclear disarmament and the withdrawal of American involvement in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, the Philippines and the civil war in Greece.

Personnel

The Executive Secretary of the APM was

Frederick V. Field Frederick Vanderbilt Field (April 13, 1905 – February 1, 2000) was an American leftist political activist, political writer and a great-great-grandson of railroad tycoon Cornelius "Commodore" Vanderbilt, disinherited by his wealthy relatives for ...

, formerly the head of the Communist-sponsored

American Council of the Institute of Pacific Relations. American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Field was the author of two book-length treatments of American investment and financial exploitation in the Far East and was editor of the monthly magazine '' Amerasia.''"APM National Officers," in ''Investigation of Un-America Propaganda Activities in the United States: Appendix — Part IX,'' pp. 434-435. Field was joined in the national office in Washington, DC by Administrative Secretary Marion Briggs and the following group of formal officials: * John B. Thompson, Chairman * Theodore Dreiser, Vice Chairman *

Jack McMichael Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, i ...

, Vice Chairman * Vito Marcantonio, Vice Chairman * Reid Robinson, Vice Chairman *

Katherine Terrill Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, Vice Chairman *

Max Yergan Max Yergan (July 19, 1892 – April 11, 1975) was an African-American activist notable for being a Baptist missionary for the YMCA, then a Communist working with Paul Robeson, and finally a staunch anti-Communist who complimented the government ...

, Vice Chairman

Footnotes