American League for Peace and Democracy Collected Records

In September 1933, the American League Against War and Fascism was organized at a United States Congress Against War and Fascism. It was a coalition of liberal and left-wing organizations united to oppose war and the fascist governments in Europe that threatened peace. It had a paper membership of several million, but because it included such disparate groups as the American Communist Party and pacifist groups (as well as individual pacifists such as Devere Allen, A.J. Muste and Ray Newton), it was difficult to secure cooperation within the organization. Within a year of its founding, members of the American Communist Party broke up a Socialist demonstration at a League meeting in New York City. After that, several important groups left the League, including the Socialist groups, most pacifists, the League for Industrial Democracy, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Nevertheless, the League remained fairly vigorous through the 1930s, periodically sponsoring huge demonstrations, and sending out newsletters to both farm and labor groups. It changed its name to the American League for Peace and Democracy in November 1937 and adopted the slogan "Keep America Out of the War by Keeping War Out of the World." It promoted collective security until the German-Russian nonaggression pact of 1939, after which it was disbanded.