Arthur Preuss (1871–1934) was a German-American journalist, editor and writer. He is noted for editing the ''Fortnightly Review'' and for opposing

Freemasonry Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

Marxism Marxism is a political philosophy and method of socioeconomic analysis. It uses a dialectical and materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to analyse class relations, social conflict, ...

, and

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

. He was a conservative intellectual whose father, Eduard Friedrich Reinhold Preuss, had also edited a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

newspaper. Preuss was a layman in St Louis. His ''Fortnightly Review'' was a major conservative voice in English and read closely by church leaders and intellectuals from 1894 to 1934. He also edited ''Amerika'', a Catholic newspaper in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

, serving also as managing editor. ''Amerika'' was published without interruption in St. Louis, in German, from 1872 until 1921; at the time of closing, it had a circulation of 25,000 copies. Preuss had succeeded his father Edward as editor. Intensely loyal to the Vatican, Preuss upheld the German Catholic community, denounced the heresy of Americanism, promoted the

Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily a ...

, and anguished over

anti-German sentiment Anti-German sentiment (also known as anti-Germanism, Germanophobia or Teutophobia) is fear or dislike of Germany, its Germans, people, and its Culture of Germany, culture. Its opposite is Germanophile, Germanophilia. Anti-German sentiment main ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He provided lengthy commentary regarding the National Catholic Welfare Conference, the

anti-Catholic Anti-Catholicism is hostility towards Catholics and opposition to the Catholic Church, its clergy, and its adherents. Scholars have identified four categories of anti-Catholicism: constitutional-national, theological, popular and socio-cul ...

factor in the presidential campaign of 1928, the hardships of the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, and the

liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...

of the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

.Rory T. Conley, ''Arthur Preuss: Journalist and Voice of German and Conservative Catholics in America, 1871-1934'' (1998).

Works

*
A Dictionary of Secret and Other Societies
', St. Louis, Mo. / London: B. Herder Book Co., 1924. *''Freemasonry and the Human Soul'', Kessinger Publishing. *''Masonic Morality and Benevolence'', Kessinger Publishing. *'The Fundamental Fallacy of Socialism an Exposition of the Question of Landownership'.

References

External links

* * 1871 births 1934 deaths American male journalists American editors American Roman Catholic writers American people of German descent American anti-communists Critics of Freemasonry {{US-journalist-19thC-stub