The Lincoln's Birthday Committee for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom (LBCDIF) was an antifascist organization of scientists founded by

Franz Boas Franz Uri Boas (July 9, 1858 – December 21, 1942) was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology". His work is associated with the movements known as historical ...

in 1938 to discredit the theories of race being forwarded by the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...

in Germany. In the 1930s Franz Boas was one of the first scientists to become aware of the immense prestige and influence of scientists in that era. Even at his advanced age Boas wanted to find a way to use the influence of scientists to promote human welfare. At Columbia University he collaborated with Ruth Benedict, Leslie Dunn, Robert Lynd,

Walter Rautenstrauch Walter Rautenstrauch (1880–1951) was an American mechanical and consulting engineer, and Professor at Columbia University's Department of Industrial Engineering in the 1930s. He coined the term break-even point, and developing the break-even cha ...

, Harold Urey and other members of the University Federation for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom to find a unifying political position that would bring scientists of all disciplines together on a common front. He decided antifascism was such a position, and based on his collaborations wrote the Manifesto on Freedom in Science. In 1938 the Manifesto was released with 1,284 signatures of prominent scientists, including Roger Adams, Robert Oppenheimer and Albert Einsteinbr>(see: Einstein Letter to LBCDIF)
Boas used the excitement generated by the Manifesto to launch the LBCDIF. Twenty-six meetings were organized to uphold the principles of the Manifesto, and the success of these meetings encouraged the organizers to expand the Birthday Committee to an ongoing group called the

American Committee for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom 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 ...

(ACDIF).

References

* * * {{cite book, last=Hoddeson, first=Lillian, title=No Boundaries, publisher=University of Illinois Press, year=2004, isbn=0-252-02957-7, url-access=registration, url=https://archive.org/details/noboundariesuniv0000unse Science in society Anti-racist organizations in Europe Anti-fascist organizations in the United States Organizations established in 1938