Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/j9602061n
George Field Collection of Freedom House Files, 1933-1990 (bulk 1941-1969): Finding Aid
MC048
65 Olden Street
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA
Phone: 609-258-6345
Fax: 609-258-3385
mudd@princeton.edu
http://www.princeton.edu/~mudd
Published in 1998
©2006 Princeton University Library
Summary Information
- Creator:
- Field, George, 1904-
- Title and dates:
- George Field Collection of Freedom House Files, 1933-1990 (bulk 1941-1969)
- Abstract:
- This collection contains George Field's files of the organization Freedom House (1933-1990; Bulk Dates 1941-1969). Freedom House was formed in October 1941 as an organization dedicated to the defense of freedom throughout the world--a cause perceived to be in great danger. Founding members included George Field, Dorothy Thompson, Wendell L. Willkie, Herbert Agar, Herbert Bayard Swope, and Rex Stout. These and other members had been involved in both Fight For Freedom and in the New York Chapter of the Committee to Defend America By Aiding the Allies. Freedom House carried on the spirit of these two organizations by acting as a clearing house of information. Its first agenda was to work, during World War II, to prepare the country for peace, and then after the war to continue to defend peace and freedom throughout the world. Throughout the period from 1941 to 1967 George Field was the Executive Director of Freedom House and was in charge of the day-to-day activities as well as the long-range planning for the organization. These records reflect Field's position in Freedom House during this time. The collection contains only the records that George Field retained from Freedom House, not the official records of the organization. Included in these records are Field's copies of Freedom House meeting minutes, correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications and writings, financial files, legal files, and photographs.
- Size:
- 3.70 linear feet
- Call number:
- MC048
- Location:
- Princeton University Library. Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.
Public Policy Papers.
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA - Language(s) of material:
- English.
History of the Freedom House
“The vital test of freedom…is the degree to which the individual may differ from society and still be protected by it in the right to make his own decisions.” [Levenstein, Freedom's Advocate: A Twenty-Five Year Chronicle, p.x.]
This statement characterizes the philosophy of freedom as practiced by the organization Freedom House, which was founded in October, 1941 just before the entry of the United States into World War II. Among its founding members figured George Field, Dorothy Thompson, Wendell L. Willkie, Herbert Agar, Herbert Bayard Swope, Ralph Bunche, Father George B. Ford, Roscoe Drummond, and Rex Stout. It was an organization that took as its goal the defense of freedom, and its founders saw Freedom House as “both a physical structure in New York and a social force in America.” [Levenstein, p.x] An outgrowth of the groups, Fight For Freedom, Inc., and the New York City Chapter of the Committee to Defend America By Aiding the Allies (under the direction of George Field), Freedom House carried on the momentum that had been built by these two pre-war organizations through their efforts to create an awareness of the concept of freedom as practiced by many individuals in a democracy. In order to house the organization and to serve as a memorial to Wendell L. Willkie, the Willkie Memorial Building was bought in 1945. In addition, the Willkie Memorial Building housed many other non-profit agencies that reflected similar philosophies as Freedom House and Wendell Willkie's vision. These agencies were invited by Freedom House to work in the building.
During its existence under the direction of George Field, Freedom House sponsored Annual Freedom Awards. These awards were presented to individuals or groups of individuals who had significantly aided the cause of freedom and had done so in a way that was sympathetic with the views of Freedom House. Freedom House also hosted conferences, sponsored research projects, lectures series and other educational programs, and published policy statements, pamphlets, and other written materials relating to issues of freedom of individuals and geographical regions.
In 1967 George Field retired as director of Freedom House, and in 1970 he left his position on the board as Secretary, permanently severing all ties with Freedom House. Disagreements in matters of ideology and administration had cause great resentment between George Field and his successor, Leonard Sussman. Perhaps the greatest disagreements centered around the handling of financial matters of Freedom House. George Field and Leonard Sussman had very different ways of approaching the budgetary concerns of Freedom House, especially in relation to the philosophy of Freedom House and the Willkie Memorial Building. In 1985 George Field entered into the life of Freedom House once more for a short time when the Willkie Building was sold to the Republic National Bank and all organizations were ordered to vacate the building, and the non-profit agencies sued Freedom House and the Willkie Memorial for protection from this order. The eleven agencies were awarded $700,000 to help in their relocation. Freedom House retained the balance of the amount for which the Willkie Building was sold, approximately $2,000,000. The legal files for the case are in the collection, as well as many letters and other materials relating to the case. In George Field's mind, the settlement of this case was extremely unsatisfactory. The entire case revolved around issues of “restricted” funds and other financial concerns, which he felt jeopardized the ideological bases of Freedom House, and represented a great degree of secrecy and misrepresentation--all for quick profit. George Field writes that “President Reagan's rationalizations and the rationalizations of Freedom House spring from the same polluted wells. In place of the future I had once envisioned, I now see complacency and poverty of spirit….If we are to recapture our democratic values, the pendulum must swing again, and an inspiring leader devoted to the goals of a free society must come forth before it is too late” (George Field, 1988).
Description
Consists of records assembled by George Field relating to Freedom House, a clearinghouse for major organizations dedicated to promoting the principles of freedom and democracy. Included are correspondence with world leaders, educators, journalists, authors, and others, such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Fiorello LaGuardia (mayor of New York City), Charles Poletti (New York State Supreme Court justice), Herbert Morrison (secretary of the London Labour Party), and author Hendrik Willem van Loon; reports on the Patterson Memorial Conference (1958) concerning race relations; photographs; Freedom House printed matter; meeting minutes of the board of directors (1941-1969); and financial reports (1949-1968).
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- SERIES I: BY-LAWS, (1941-1966)
- SERIES II: MINUTES, (1941-1966)
- SERIES III: CORRESPONDENCE, (1934-1985)
- SERIES IV: SUBJECT FILES, (1942-1969)
- SERIES V: ANNUAL REPORTS, (1943-1966)
- SERIES VI: FINANCIAL FILES, (1949-1969)
- SERIES VII: PATTERSON MEMORIAL CONFERENCE, (1958)
- SERIES VIII: ANNUAL FREEDOM AWARD, (1942-1969)
- SERIES IX: PUBLICATIONS, (1938-1969)
- SERIES X: WRITINGS, (1962-1990)
- SERIES XI: “OUR SECRET WEAPON”, (1942-1943)
- SERIES XII: LEGAL FILES, (1985)
- SERIES XIII: PHOTOGRAPHS, (1941-1969)
Access and Use
Access
Collection is open for research use.
Restrictions on Use and Copyright Information
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Curator of the Public Policy Papers. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Acquisition and Appraisal
Provenance and Acquisition
The papers were given to Princeton University Library by George Field in March of 1977; additional papers were given in December of 1990.
Processing and Other Information
Conservation
Originally there were three scrapbooks containing correspondence, publications, and photographs. Because of the high acid content and extreme brittleness the scrapbooks were disbound and the materials interfiled within the appropriate series.
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Melissa Johnson in January 1993. Finding aid written by Melissa Johnson in January 1993.
Descriptive Rules Used
Finding aid content adheres to that prescribed by Describing Archives: A Content Standard.
Encoding
Machine-readable finding aid encoded in EAD 2002 by Techbooks and Cristela García-Spitz on October 13, 2006.
Finding aid written in English.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); George Field Collection of Freedom House Files, Box and Folder Number; Public Policy Papers, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
Subject Headings
These materials have been indexed in the Princeton University Library online catalog using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms.
- Freedom House (U.S.)
- Patterson Memorial Conference (1958 : Harriman, N.Y.)
- Nonprofit organizations -- United States -- 20th century.
- Civil rights -- United States -- 20th century.
- Congresses and conventions -- New York (State) -- Harriman -- 20th century.
- Liberty.
- Patriotism -- United States -- 20th century.
- Segregation -- United States -- 20th century.
- World politics -- 20th century.
- Annual reports.
- Correspondence.
- Files.
- Minutes.
Browse other finding aids related to the following terms:
Contents List
SERIES I: BY-LAWS, (1941-1966)
Series Description
SERIES I: BY-LAWS (1941-1966) consists of the by-laws of Freedom House dating from 1941 through 1966, as well as the by-laws and certificate of incorporation of the Willkie Memorial of Freedom House, Inc. from 1945-1946.
Freedom House By-Laws, 1941, 1966
Box 1 Willkie Memorial of Freedom House, Inc. Certificate of Incorporation and By-Laws, 1945-1946
Box 1 SERIES II: MINUTES, (1941-1966)
Series Description
SERIES II: MINUTES (1941-1966) includes the minutes of the Trustees Meeting of Freedom House on May 10, 1966 in which the trustees discussed Freedom House's views on the Vietnam War. These are the only Trustee Meeting minutes. Also included are the minutes of the Board of Directors, dating from 1941 to 1969; this run is complete. The minutes are arranged chronologically. Additional copies of meeting minutes can be found in Series XII: Legal Files, where they have been kept as legal documents supporting the court case against Freedom House.
Trustees Meeting, 1966 May 10
Box 1 Board of Directors, 1941-1969
[8 folders]
Box 1 SERIES III: CORRESPONDENCE, (1934-1985)
Series Description
SERIES III: CORRESPONDENCE (1934-1985) consists of correspondence files, arranged chronologically. The majority of the correspondence is incoming only to George Field, although there are a few letters from him. There is both business and personal correspondence, however the majority is business. Correspondents include individuals such as Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, Charles Poletti (Justice, Supreme Court, New York State), Herbert Morrison (Secretary of the London Labour Party), Hendrik Willem Van Loon, and many others. There is quite a bit of correspondence that is substantial in nature, rather than simply an exchange of pleasantries. The correspondence of Herbert Morrison and Hendrik Willem Van Loon is especially substantial.
Correspondence, 1934-1985
[18 folders]
Box 2 SERIES IV: SUBJECT FILES, (1942-1969)
Series Description
SERIES IV: SUBJECT FILES (1942-1969) consist of folders, arranged alphabetically by subject, that were put together by Field. Often the folders only include newspaper clippings and other printed materials.
Civil Rights, 1949, 1966
Box 2 Churchill, Winston, 1942
Box 2 Cousins, Norman, 1962
Box 2 Cuba, 1963
Box 2 Ford, Father George B., 1958, 1961, 1969
Box 2 John Birch Society, 1961
Box 2 Khrushchev, Nikita, 1955, 1956, 1961
Box 2 McCarthy, Joseph, 1954
Box 2 Thompson, Dorothy, 1944
Box 2 Vietnam, 1966-1968
Box 2 SERIES V: ANNUAL REPORTS, (1943-1966)
Series Description
SERIES V: ANNUAL REPORTS (1943, 1950, 1961-63, 1966) contains an incomplete run of reports written by the Public Affairs Committee of Freedom House. The report dating from 1943 is a typical annual report that lists the activities of the organization during its second year of existence. The other reports are titled as a “Balance Sheet of Freedom” and list national and international major events effecting freedom, thus providing an summary of the views of Freedom House on these events. There is also an annual report to the President of the United States in 1950 stating Freedom House's support of the Korean War, specifically the events of June 25, 1950 and after.
Annual Reports, 1943, 1961-63, 1966
Box 2 Report to the President of the United States, 1950
Box 2 SERIES VI: FINANCIAL FILES, (1949-1969)
Series Description
SERIES VI: FINANCIAL FILES (1949-1969) consist of accountants' reports prepared by Harry Lefker & Company (1949-1951) and Louis J. Lifshey & Co. (1952-1969) for the finances of Freedom House, and the accountants' reports prepared by Harry Lefker & Company (1948-1951) and Louis J. Lifshey & Co. (1952-1969) for the Willkie Memorial of Freedom House, Inc. Also included is a list of the major contributors to Freedom House for the years 1965 to 1966.
Freedom House Financial Reports, 1949-1969
[5 folders]
Box 2 Willkie Memorial of Freedom House Financial Reports, 1953-1969
[2 folders]
Box 3 Freedom House Contributors, 1965-1966
Box 3 SERIES VII: PATTERSON MEMORIAL CONFERENCE (1958)
Series Description
SERIES VII: PATTERSON MEMORIAL CONFERENCE (1958) consists of the transcripts of the panel proceedings of a conference in which twenty Southern and twenty Northern leaders met to engage in a discussion of race relations. On the flyleaf of one of the notebooks George Field wrote that this conference would be a time when these individuals would be “free from personal public identification until after the report [was] completed and each of them indicate a willingness to endorse the report of the conference.”
Panel I and Joint Session Panels I & II, 1958 Jan
[2 folders]
Box 3 Panel II, 1958 Jan
Box 3 SERIES VIII: ANNUAL FREEDOM AWARD, (1942-1969)
Series Description
SERIES VIII: ANNUAL FREEDOM AWARDS (1942-1969) contains information on the awards ceremonies and individuals presented with the Freedom Awards each year. The amount of material varies with each year, but in most cases there is always a program for the ceremony. Correspondence with the recipients can be found in the correspondence series, and photographs can be found in the photographs series.
Inaugural Dinner, 1942
Box 3 Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1945 Oct 7
Box 3 Wendell Willkie Birthday Dinner, 1946 Feb 18
Box 3 George C. Marshall, 1947 Oct 19
Box 3 Sen. Arthur H. Vandenberg, 1948 Oct 10
Box 3 Lucius D. Clay & David E. Lilienthal, 1949 Oct 13
Box 3 James B. Conant & Matthew B. Ridgway, 1952 Oct 5
Box 3 United Nations Soldiers in Korea, 1953 Nov 22
Box 3 Winston Churchill, 1955 Oct 9
Box 3 Arkansas Gazette, 1958 Oct 14
Box 3 Dr. Paul-Henri Spaak, 1959 Nov 16
Box 3 Alan Paton, 1960 Oct 5
Box 3 Mayor Willy Brandt, 1961 Oct 6
Box 3 Jean Monnet, 1963 Jan 23
Box 3 Mrs. Medgar Evers, 1964 Nov 26
Box 3 Rev. George Barry Ford, 1964 Dec 1
Box 3 Hon. Harry S Truman, 1965 Apr 13
Box 3 President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966 Feb 23
Box 3 Pablo Casals, 1968 Apr 8
Box 3 Hon. Earl Warren, 1969 Oct 14
Box 3 SERIES IX: PUBLICATIONS, (1938-1969)
Series Description
SERIES IX: PUBLICATIONS (1938-1949) consist of the various publications put out by Freedom House including programs, pamphlets, letter to the editor by Field, newsletters, and newspaper clippings.
Programs, 1944-1949
Box 3 Pamphlets, undated
Box 3 Pamphlets, 1938, 1945
Box 3 Pamphlets (scattered dates), 1951-1969
[10 folders]
Box 4 Letters to the Editor, 1946-1970
Box 4 Newsletter, 1940-1967
Box 4 Newspaper Clippings, undated
Box 4 Newspaper Clippings, 1933-1970
[21 folders]
Box 4 SERIES X: WRITINGS, (1962-1990)
Series Description
SERIES X: WRITINGS (1962-1990) contains writings by George Field related to Freedom House. “To Complete the Record” and “The End of a Dream. A Freedom House Memoir” both relate, in Field's words, the disappointment and frustration he felt at the end of Freedom House's existence and tell his story of events.
Outline for City College Gov't and Law Society, 1962
Box 4 To Complete the Record, 1970
Box 4 To Complete the Record: Part II, 1985
Box 4 The End of a Dream. A Freedom House Memoir, 1990
Box 4 SERIES XI: OUR SECRET WEAPON, (1942-1943)
Series Description
SERIES XI: “OUR SECRET WEAPON” (1942-1943) consists mostly of samples of letters written in by listeners to the CBS radio program produced by Freedom House and hosted by Rex Stout that debunked Axis propaganda. The program reach millions of Americans in the United States, and was sent via shortwave to the Armed Forces, to Latin America and was reprinted for use in army camps. People wrote in to compliment Rex Stout and Freedom House for the show, as well as to complain, ask questions, and most often, to ask that they be sent a transcript of a show. Also included are letters from soldiers in the Army, sailors in the Navy, and publicity materials. Photographs of Rex Stout and other people affiliated with “Our Secret Weapon” can be found in the photographs series. Some later correspondence from Rex Stout to George Field can be found in the correspondence series.
Listener Responses
1942 Aug 9 - Aug 16
[2 folders]
Box 4 1942 Aug - 1943 Aug
[54 folders]
Box 5 Army Letters, 1942 Sep - 1943 May
Box 5 Navy Letters, 1942 Aug - 1943 Apr
Box 5 Press Letters, 1942 Sep - 1942 Dec
Box 5 Newspaper Clippings, 1942-1943
Box 6 Publicity, 1942 Aug - 1942 Oct
Box 6 General, 1943 Jan - 1943 Jun
Box 6 SERIES XII: LEGAL FILES, (1985)
Series Description
SERIES XII: LEGAL FILES (1985) consist of the court transcripts and affidavits produced during the legal case that ensued after the Willkie Memorial Building was sold in 1985 to the Republic National Bank. All of the non-profit organizations that had existed in the building were ordered to leave, but refused, and sued Freedom House and the Willkie Memorial for protection from the effects of the order. The case files contain the affidavits, and also contain copies of letters, newspaper clippings, and meeting minutes that were used as evidence in the hearing. Because many of these items are not found in appropriate series in this collection these legal files constitute an important source for the George Field Collection of Freedom House Files.
Willkie Memorial Building Lawsuit, 1985
[4 folders]
Box 6 SERIES XIII: PHOTOGRAPHS, (1941-1969)
Series Description
SERIES XIII: PHOTOGRAPHS (1941-1969) contains photographs taken throughout the existence of Freedom House, although some photographs predate Freedom House and are from the period during 1941 when the New York City Chapter of the Committee to Defend America By Aiding the Allies and Fight For Freedom were working together. The photographs from the Freedom Rally in Madison Square Garden (May 7, 1941) all pre-date Freedom House, but a majority of the individuals were closely involved with Freedom House. Most are publicity shots taken at events sponsored by Freedom House.
Freedom House
Box 7 “Our Secret Weapon”
Box 7
Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/j9602061n