AMERICANISM

"Americanism is an unfailing love of country: loyalty to its institutions and ideals; eagerness to defend it against all enemies; undivided allegiance to the flag; and a desire to secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves and posterity."

This was the definition adopted during the late 1920's or early 1930's by the Commanders-in-Chief of the VFW and national commanders of four other veteran's organizations. But long before these leaders agreed on this definition, the VFW had founded its own Americanism program based on the principles of its constitution.

The program got its start under Captain Walter I. Joyce on March 1, 1921. As Chairman of the Committee on Americanization, Joyce embarked on an aggressive campaign to stir up patriotism across the United States. His early efforts were aimed at furthering the goals of the VFW Creed he had developed himself. This creed, adopted by the National Council of Administration in January 1921, declared that the VFW would:

  • Do everything within its power to eliminate the hyphen in organizations composed of residents or citizens of the United States." [That is, that there should be no Irish-Americans, German-Americans, Italian-Americans, etc., only Americans.]
     

  • That this organization endeavor to bring about the speaking of the language of our country at all times and in all places within the boundaries of the United States.
     

  • That this organization emphatically favor publication of the newspapers of our country in the language of our country and positively discourage as an act of disloyalty the publication of our newspapers in the language of any other country or race.
     

  • That we use our utmost efforts through legislation and other means to insist that the alien population of this country prepare to become citizens or prepare to leave the country until they change their minds, and furthermore that all aliens who for cause have been refused citizenship be deported at once.

  1. Resolved, that the above declared principles be spread broadcast by the VFW in carrying out its principles of Americanism."

This creed was distributed to members throughout the country, as well as to other military, fraternal, and veteran's organizations. Eventually, 150,000 signatures were obtained on a petition urging the adoption of this program to "Americanize America."

During the early 1920's, a second Joyce campaign, to "Buy American," and a third, to take "Un-American Textbooks out of the schools," followed closely behind the first. Close to a million copies of Joyce's booklet, "Etiquette of the Stars and Stripes," were also distributed to schools, posts, and other organizations during this period.

Joyce's crowning achievement was to lead the VFW in the campaign to have the "Star-Spangled Banner" proclaimed our national anthem. For years, the "Star-Spangled Banner" had been our unofficial anthem, and in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson had declared that it was, indeed, our national anthem. But the song could not be our official anthem until Congress approved a bill declaring it so.

At Joyce's request, New York Congressman Hamilton Fish introduced a bill into the 69th Congress to make the "Star-Spangled Banner" our national anthem, but to no avail. Fish reintroduced the same bill into the 70th Congress. Again no action was taken. On January 30, 1930, representatives of the VFW and more than sixty veteran and patriotic groups met in a conference in Washington. They urged passage of the Star-Spangled Banner Bill, then pending in Congress. Hearings on this bill, which had been introduced by Congressman Charles Linthicum of Maryland, were to begin the next day. At this hearing, VFW petitions bearing more than 5 million signatures were presented to the House Judiciary Committee. In addition, the VFW presented favorable endorsements from organizations totaling over 15 million in membership. Still, there were objections to the bill. Pacifists complained that the words were too military. Others said the tune was too hard to sing. To help overcome these objections, Joyce arranged for the U.S. Navy Band and soprano Elsie Reilly, a member of the Auxiliary to Post 824 of Washington, D.C., to perform the song for the committee. Her rendition must have been particularly stirring because the bill made it out of committee and was approved by the House on April 21, 1930.

In the Senate, the bill was held up in the Library Committee until February of the following year. Joyce and other members of the VFW Legislative Committee called on the senators opposed to the bill and secured their agreement not to block passage. Finally, the Star-Spangled Banner Bill made it to the floor of the Senate on March 3, 1931. This time it fared well. Just hours before Congress adjourned it was passed unanimously and signed into law by President Hoover.

In the mid 1930's, Victor Devereaux followed Joyce as Director of the Americanism program. As Devereaux instilled his own beliefs into the program, it gradually became more right wing. The new director guided the program's efforts to expose radical elements and subversive organizations operating inside our country. These activities reached their peak in World War II. During the war, the Department of Americanism cooperated with the F.B.I. in reporting subversive groups and acts of sabotage.

Devereaux also began the VFW Youth Activity program in 1935. The following year, the National Encampment passed a resolution requiring that a national director of Youth Activities be appointed and instructing each department and post to appoint a director of these junior activities. Through this program, many Sons and Daughters of the VFW units were formed. These groups reached a membership peak of 50,000 to 65,000 before the outbreak of World War II. Later, many sons' units were disbanded when their members joined the service, and the Junior Girls units were absorbed into the Auxiliary. Other youth projects included a National Softball Tournament, rifle shooting tournaments, Bicycle Safety Clubs, sponsorship of Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops, and a model airplane building club with over 50,000 members. So successful would these youth activities become that in 1945 youth activities were made into a separate program with their own director.

Another of Devereaux's accomplishments was to found a speaker's club whose members presented prepared speeches about America, veterans, youth activities, and other topics to groups and social gatherings across the nation. Through this club, 300 to 400 speakers each gave about a dozen speeches a year.

Upon the resignation of Devereaux in 1945, Mark Kinsey, an Iowa newspaperman and radio writer, became Americanism director. His primary contribution to the program was to compile, evaluate, and distribute information on Americanism and to speak for the VFW on Americanism matters. Under his direction, the Americanism Department prepared scripts that were used by 500 radio stations across the country, as well as articles that were published in 120 magazines and newspapers. He also set up a section to answer requests from organizations and individuals for information concerning VFW policies and general patriotic subjects. In 1947, the Americanism Department mailed over 5,600 "Speak Up for Democracy" scripts and press releases, 4,300 sets of articles and speeches, and 3,500 personal letters.

In 1949, the Americanism Department began a long fight to have May 1st designated as "Loyalty Day." In doing so, it hoped to counteract the messages of hate which the Communists broadcast during their annual May Day celebrations. For many years, the VFW struggled to get Congress to consider the bill. Finally, in 1954, Congressman and three-time National Commander-in-Chief James E. Van Zandt of Pennsylvania introduced a House Joint Resolution calling for the declaration of Loyalty Day. His bill passed the House, but not the Senate. Undaunted, he reintroduced the bill in 1955. This time, Congress passed the bill, but designated only May 1st of that year as "Loyalty Day." Not satisfied, the VFW continued its push to have May 1st of each year proclaimed as "Loyalty Day." This date was finally given official recognition in 1958 when Congress adopted Public Law 529 designating May 1st as Loyalty Day. Although never recognized as a major national holiday, Loyalty Day is still celebrated by posts, county councils, and districts all across this nation. To demonstrate their loyalty to our nation, its ideals, and its flag these units sponsor parades, hold dinners to honor wartime and peacetime heroes, and donate and ceremoniously replace worn and tattered flags flying in their community.

Shortly after the campaign for Loyalty Day was concluded, the Americanism Department succeeded in achieving another long-standing goal. For twenty years, the VFW had been working for the admission of Hawaii into the union; in fact, it had been the first patriotic organization to propose admission. On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the fiftieth state.

Just as the VFW Creed had set the tone for the Americanism Department's activities in the 1920's, in the 1960's the Americanism Department was guided by a new manifesto. During the 1961 to 1962 year, the national Americanism committee approved the following Code of Ethics for The Veterans of Foreign Wars Fight Against Communism.

 

This was the definition adopted during the late 1920's or early 1930's by the Commanders-in-Chief of the VFW and national commanders of four other veteran's organizations. But long before these leaders agreed on this definition, the VFW had founded its own Americanism program based on the principles of its constitution.

The program got its start under Captain Walter I. Joyce on March 1, 1921. As Chairman of the Committee on Americanization, Joyce embarked on an aggressive campaign to stir up patriotism across the United States. His early efforts were aimed at furthering the goals of the VFW Creed he had developed himself. This creed, adopted by the National Council of Administration in January 1921, declared that the VFW would:

  • Do everything within its power to eliminate the hyphen in organizations composed of residents or citizens of the United States." [That is, that there should be no Irish-Americans, German-Americans, Italian-Americans, etc., only Americans.]
     

  • That this organization endeavor to bring about the speaking of the language of our country at all times and in all places within the boundaries of the United States.
     

  • That this organization emphatically favor publication of the newspapers of our country in the language of our country and positively discourage as an act of disloyalty the publication of our newspapers in the language of any other country or race.
     

  • That we use our utmost efforts through legislation and other means to insist that the alien population of this country prepare to become citizens or prepare to leave the country until they change their minds, and furthermore that all aliens who for cause have been refused citizenship be deported at once.

  1. Resolved, that the above declared principles be spread broadcast by the VFW in carrying out its principles of Americanism."

This creed was distributed to members throughout the country, as well as to other military, fraternal, and veteran's organizations. Eventually, 150,000 signatures were obtained on a petition urging the adoption of this program to "Americanize America."

During the early 1920's, a second Joyce campaign, to "Buy American," and a third, to take "Un-American Textbooks out of the schools," followed closely behind the first. Close to a million copies of Joyce's booklet, "Etiquette of the Stars and Stripes," were also distributed to schools, posts, and other organizations during this period.

Joyce's crowning achievement was to lead the VFW in the campaign to have the "Star-Spangled Banner" proclaimed our national anthem. For years, the "Star-Spangled Banner" had been our unofficial anthem, and in 1916 President Woodrow Wilson had declared that it was, indeed, our national anthem. But the song could not be our official anthem until Congress approved a bill declaring it so.

At Joyce's request, New York Congressman Hamilton Fish introduced a bill into the 69th Congress to make the "Star-Spangled Banner" our national anthem, but to no avail. Fish reintroduced the same bill into the 70th Congress. Again no action was taken. On January 30, 1930, representatives of the VFW and more than sixty veteran and patriotic groups met in a conference in Washington. They urged passage of the Star-Spangled Banner Bill, then pending in Congress. Hearings on this bill, which had been introduced by Congressman Charles Linthicum of Maryland, were to begin the next day. At this hearing, VFW petitions bearing more than 5 million signatures were presented to the House Judiciary Committee. In addition, the VFW presented favorable endorsements from organizations totaling over 15 million in membership. Still, there were objections to the bill. Pacifists complained that the words were too military. Others said the tune was too hard to sing. To help overcome these objections, Joyce arranged for the U.S. Navy Band and soprano Elsie Reilly, a member of the Auxiliary to Post 824 of Washington, D.C., to perform the song for the committee. Her rendition must have been particularly stirring because the bill made it out of committee and was approved by the House on April 21, 1930.

In the Senate, the bill was held up in the Library Committee until February of the following year. Joyce and other members of the VFW Legislative Committee called on the senators opposed to the bill and secured their agreement not to block passage. Finally, the Star-Spangled Banner Bill made it to the floor of the Senate on March 3, 1931. This time it fared well. Just hours before Congress adjourned it was passed unanimously and signed into law by President Hoover.

In the mid 1930's, Victor Devereaux followed Joyce as Director of the Americanism program. As Devereaux instilled his own beliefs into the program, it gradually became more right wing. The new director guided the program's efforts to expose radical elements and subversive organizations operating inside our country. These activities reached their peak in World War II. During the war, the Department of Americanism cooperated with the F.B.I. in reporting subversive groups and acts of sabotage.

Devereaux also began the VFW Youth Activity program in 1935. The following year, the National Encampment passed a resolution requiring that a national director of Youth Activities be appointed and instructing each department and post to appoint a director of these junior activities. Through this program, many Sons and Daughters of the VFW units were formed. These groups reached a membership peak of 50,000 to 65,000 before the outbreak of World War II. Later, many sons' units were disbanded when their members joined the service, and the Junior Girls units were absorbed into the Auxiliary. Other youth projects included a National Softball Tournament, rifle shooting tournaments, Bicycle Safety Clubs, sponsorship of Boy Scout and Cub Scout troops, and a model airplane building club with over 50,000 members. So successful would these youth activities become that in 1945 youth activities were made into a separate program with their own director.

Another of Devereaux's accomplishments was to found a speaker's club whose members presented prepared speeches about America, veterans, youth activities, and other topics to groups and social gatherings across the nation. Through this club, 300 to 400 speakers each gave about a dozen speeches a year.

Upon the resignation of Devereaux in 1945, Mark Kinsey, an Iowa newspaperman and radio writer, became Americanism director. His primary contribution to the program was to compile, evaluate, and distribute information on Americanism and to speak for the VFW on Americanism matters. Under his direction, the Americanism Department prepared scripts that were used by 500 radio stations across the country, as well as articles that were published in 120 magazines and newspapers. He also set up a section to answer requests from organizations and individuals for information concerning VFW policies and general patriotic subjects. In 1947, the Americanism Department mailed over 5,600 "Speak Up for Democracy" scripts and press releases, 4,300 sets of articles and speeches, and 3,500 personal letters.

In 1949, the Americanism Department began a long fight to have May 1st designated as "Loyalty Day." In doing so, it hoped to counteract the messages of hate which the Communists broadcast during their annual May Day celebrations. For many years, the VFW struggled to get Congress to consider the bill. Finally, in 1954, Congressman and three-time National Commander-in-Chief James E. Van Zandt of Pennsylvania introduced a House Joint Resolution calling for the declaration of Loyalty Day. His bill passed the House, but not the Senate. Undaunted, he reintroduced the bill in 1955. This time, Congress passed the bill, but designated only May 1st of that year as "Loyalty Day." Not satisfied, the VFW continued its push to have May 1st of each year proclaimed as "Loyalty Day." This date was finally given official recognition in 1958 when Congress adopted Public Law 529 designating May 1st as Loyalty Day. Although never recognized as a major national holiday, Loyalty Day is still celebrated by posts, county councils, and districts all across this nation. To demonstrate their loyalty to our nation, its ideals, and its flag these units sponsor parades, hold dinners to honor wartime and peacetime heroes, and donate and ceremoniously replace worn and tattered flags flying in their community.

Shortly after the campaign for Loyalty Day was concluded, the Americanism Department succeeded in achieving another long-standing goal. For twenty years, the VFW had been working for the admission of Hawaii into the union; in fact, it had been the first patriotic organization to propose admission. On August 21, 1959, Hawaii became the fiftieth state.

Just as the VFW Creed had set the tone for the Americanism Department's activities in the 1920's, in the 1960's the Americanism Department was guided by a new manifesto. During the 1961 to 1962 year, the national Americanism committee approved the following Code of Ethics for The Veterans of Foreign Wars Fight Against Communism.