Planes Were Leaving the Scene of Their Destruction, a with the Rise of Hitler

BY JAMES A . K E H L

ON SUNDAY,DECEMBER 7, 1941, AS THE BOMBS The America First Committee was the last fell at Pearl Harbor, some 2,500 Pittsburghers were gasp of a national isolationist movement that had taking their seats at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial begun after World War I.Disillusioned with fallout Hall in the city's Oakland district, where a rally from treaties signed at Versailles to end WWI, the sponsored by the America First Committee (AFC) was American public demanded that the nation take a

scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. Fifteen minutes before hard-line attitude of non-alliance with other i the program, at about the time the last Japanese countries. That posture, which became U.S. policy, planes were leaving the scene of their destruction, a was maintained without significant challenge into journalist informed the rally's organizers that Japan the mid-1930s. had attacked Hawaii and the Philippines. With the rise of Hitler, Mussolini, and Japanese America First organizers, hoping to discourage warlords, however, many Americans and U.S. pol- ' public support for U.S. involvement in the war al- icymakers began to question the wisdom of ready raging in Europe, would later say that they continued isolationism. High officials in the believed the report was a hoax. That's why, or- Roosevelt administration considered a non-inter- ganizers insisted, they elected to proceed with the ventionist stance imprudent. By 1941, the issue was a event. Whatever the truth, those gathered in the hall hot topic, with organizations on both sides of the became an unusual captive audience for the next two debate actively seeking support in Congress and and a half hours: as speaker after speaker demanded among the public. America First was one such American neutrality, denouncing President Franklin organization. Understanding the currents of the Roosevelt as a war-mongerer,— the nation was cat- debate, and the strange events in Pittsburgh on apulted into war in Asia and all the while, as news December 7, 1941, is vital for comprehending the spread around the world, 2,500 Pittsburghers who mood ofthe nation inthe days and months before the > cared more than most never knew. shock of Pearl Harbor.

176 WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY |WINTER 1999 IN THE 15 MONTHS PRIOR TO THE OUTBREAK interventionists: cabinet members Frank Knox, of World War II,the America First Committee dom- Henry Stimson, and Harold Ickes, whose declar- inated the national isolationist thrust. Its policies ations were ably echoed by Wendell Wilkie and were simple: defend our own shores, denounce Pennsylvania Senator Joseph "Convoys for Britain" Roosevelt's interventionist agenda, and oppose aid to Guffey. At the same time, the soft-spoken Gordon Britain in her war against Hitler. Incentives for this made itclear that his was a patriotic but not a pacifist organization sprung from the desire to combat the organization and that, if the United States entered influence of the Committee to Defend America by war, "The Committee willfold up immediately, and Aiding the Allies, chaired we'll participate." 3 by William Allen White.1 From its formation on John B. Gordon, the September 4, 1940, the youthful executive of America First Committee America First's Pittsburgh rapidly expanded to chapter, charged that the 800,000 mostly urban Committee to Defend members in 450 chapters. America was campaigning The Pittsburgh chapter was to make American security formed on April 18, 1941, secondary to aid for Brit- with former U.S. Senator ain. Part of his assignment David A.Reed as the prime was to make certain that mover and honorary chair- the America Firsters re- man, and attorney Gordon ceived radio exposure as the executive. At both equal to that given White's the national and local committee. Furthermore, levels, the organization the AFC wanted to convey exhibited no clear distinc- to Europe its intention to tion between members and restate America's WWI supporters. Sen. Gerald P. policy to declare that "The Nye (R-N.D.), the AFC's Yanks Are Not Coming." 2 most aggressive advocate, Discerning confusion was technically not a mem- in the Roosevelt foreign ber, only a spokesman. On policy, the America First- the national scene, such to Irvin ers were determined PHOTOGRAPH ABOVE FROM PITTSBURGH prominent names as provide a focus. Their POST-GAZETTE, DECEMBER 8, 1941 S. Cobb, Alice Roosevelt immediate legislative goal was to force Congress to Longworth, Charles A. Lindbergh, General Hugh act on a "war or no-war" resolution. Aware that Johnson, John T.Flynn, Chester Bowles, LillianGish, public opinion polls revealed that the American and several senators and former senators were linked people stood 2-1 in opposition to war and/or aid to to the AFC.4 Britain, they concluded that congressmen would Locally there was a religious connotation to the support the no-war position. chapter, adorned with such names as the Rev. A "no-war" vote would compel Roosevelt, AFC Bernard Clausen, Father Francis X. Foley, and the directors reasoned, to silence the most vocal Rev. Orva Lee Ice, as well as Charles A. Arnesberg,

THE PITTSBURGH FALLOUT FROM PEARL HARBOR 177 John J. Kane, Major Al Williams (an aviation authority), attorney Emanuel Amdur, dancer Irene Castle Mc- Laughlin, Walter R. Hovey (Fine Arts director at the University of Pittsburgh), and Sewickleyite Mar- garet Shaw Campbell. 5 For much of its existence, the Pittsburgh chapter held weekly Mon- day evening meetings that were frequently— punctuated with boos and jeers sometimes by the members themselves, who sounded off with every mention of Stimson, Knox, Ickes, and Wilkie,and at other times by unwelcome questions from critics whose goal was disruption. Thus, by December 7, members were hardened to the give-and-take atmosphere and at times had invoked a "throw-him- out" attitude.' For the rally at Soldiers and Sailors, the theme was "Christianity and Intervention," and the principal speaker was Sen. Nye, who argued that these two concepts were "as com- pletely " opposite as anything under God. The chapter treasurer informed the audience that, without the committee's influence, the nation would already be at war and that such a realization should encourage everyone to place a dollar in the collection baskets as they were circulated through the hall.7 Nye, as well as attorney Gordon, were the ones personally advised of the Pearl Harbor attack before the meeting. Nye made the decision to proceed because, he later claimed, he had no verification of the report and doubted its veracity. Such skepticism - Open 10 a.m. 5p.m. (412) 454-6300 No admission fee to shop was justified. This the proceedings had would not have been the already begun. He held first time that rumors an advantage over oth- had been spread to ers in the audience embarrass and mislead concerning the breaking the isolationist move- international crisis be- ment. Nye could vividly cause he had heard recall, for example, how radio reports from Pearl the administration's first Harbor; the white- report about an incident haired reserve officer involving the destroyer stood and shouted: "I U.S.S. Greer deviated wonder if the audience PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, DECEMBER 8, 1941 markedly from the ac- knows that Japan has tual occurrence made public two months later. attacked us and that Manila and Pearl Harbor have The original press release declared that, with- been bombed...." 9 out provocation, a German submarine had fired two The audience did not hear most of his torpedoes at the Greer inNorth Atlantic waters. statement. America Firsters near him, conditioned for Just how unprovoked ultimately came to light. immediate response to hecklers, yelled, "Throw him The Greer had tracked the U-boat and reported its out!" even before he had finished, and the hubbub position to a British ship in the hope that the latter resounded through the hall. could reach the scene in time to sink the sub before AFC supporters wanted no repetition of an it escaped. Interpreted as one of the president's incident that had occurred at another major rally measures "short of war," this conduct passed as weeks before, when John and Grace Ewart, along protocol because Britain was at war with Germany with their 18-year-old son, were intent on em- and America was a quasi-neutral. (This quasi barrassing Senator Bennett Champ Clark (D-Mo.) status perturbed the AFC, and it desperately with a barrage of disruptive questions and com- wanted a clarification.) ments. Minor skirmishes between the Ewarts and So, at the Pittsburgh meeting on December 7, ushers were disconcerting to the audience, but Clark Nye perceived the report of a Japanese attack to be in persevered to the conclusion ofhis prepared remarks. the same category as the first Greer revelation. Senator Reed, as the presiding officer, then invited Before Nye's address, the Bellevue Methodist young Ewart, the most obnoxious in the family, to Church Choir rendered several selections, followed by take the microphone and offer a rebuttal. As Ewart local "warm-up" speakers, one of whom was C. Hale wended his way to the podium, the crowd rebelled, Sipe. A former state senator who inlater life resided making itclear that they did not want to hear him. in Butler County, he took the microphone before an Amid cries of "Throw him out!", pandimonium audience overwhelmingly sympathetic to the AFC broke loose. After a few hurried words aside to cause. During his remarks, Sipe referred to President young Ewart, Reed reversed his decision and ordered Roosevelt as "the chief warmonger in the United the meeting adjourned withthe singing of God Bless States." Colonel Enrique Urrutia, dressed in civilian America. As the audience sang, Ewart screamed into clothes, responded spontaneously to this epithet. 8 the microphone: "Is this freedom of speech?" 10 The colonel lived in the Oakland area and, in a At the December 7 event, Pittsburgh's America spur-of-the-moment decision, entered the hall after Firsters, aware of the ever-present threat of "dirty

THE PITTSBURGH FALLOUT FROM PEARL HARBOR 179 tricks," and with this leases on eight British experience ringing in bases in the Western their ears, most likely Hemisphere. The term concluded that Colonel over-age" had been Urrutia should not be inserted expressly to allowed to repeat the assuage isolationist ob- Ewart disruptions. They jections, but Nye iden- believed this was reason tified this as Roosevelt enough to rough him up, duplicity; for years the but the police intervened president had deplored and escorted Colonel the woeful state of U.S. Urrutia to the Soldiers Navyreadiness and had PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE, DECEMBER 8, 1941 and Sailors lobby, where repeatedly pressed Con- he denounced the gathering as "a traitors' meeting." gress for funds to build itto acceptable strength. Now, From the dais, draped with a "no-war" banner, Sipe contradicting that stance, the president, incredulously took a sarcastic stand; viewing the colonel as an to Nye, traded away 50 ships. The America Firster interventionist "plant," he quipped to the ushers: interpreted the deal as a "lose-lose" situation in which "Don't be too hard on this bombastic man. He is the nation lost 50 ships and assumed the added only a mouthpiece for Franklin Delano Roosevelt — burden of defending the eight bases. 13 only another springboard for the warmongers."" The senator recalled for his audience that he woke up one morning "to find that we had 50 ships less — NOT TO BE DENIED HIS TIMEON CENTER STAGE, that the president had given them away despite laws Sen. Nye took his turn at the podium and proceeded forbidding it."Some listeners responded with cries of as though he knew nothing about a war message. "Treason," and others shouted, "Impeach him." After he had been speaking for more than a half hour, Reporters continued to hand Nye messages a reporter handed him a note: "The Japanese about the Japanese war declaration. Finally, he Imperial Government in Tokyo at 4:00 p.m. (EST) paused, scanned one of the notes, and, realizing the announced a state of war against the United States gravity of the moment, declared: "Ihave before me and Great Britain." the worst news that Ihave encountered in the last 20 Nye glanced at the note and, without pausing, years. Idon't know exactly how to report it to you, continued to harangue his audience by asking: but Iwillreport it just as a newspaperman reported "Whose war is this?" In thunderous response, the it to me." 14 answer reverberated through the hall, "Roosevelt's," As the audience stunned, Nye added: "Ican't sat \u25a0» but itis believed that the vast majority thought Nye somehow believe this.... but Isuppose Imust." was referring to the war inEurope, not the one into On that note the rally ended, and, for all which America plunged only hours earlier. 12 practical purposes, the national isolationist move- For another 15 minutes, his assault on the ment died in Soldiers and Sailors Hall, an ideological administration continued. He denounced the casualty of the Pearl Harbor attack. "destroyer deal," which had occurred the day before After the meeting was formally closed, the the birth of the America First Committee. By that senator commented: "There is nothing to do but arrangement, the United States transferred 50 "over- declare war." 15 Before the day's end, the national AFC age" destroyers to Britain in exchange for 99-year headquarters in Chicago called on its members to

180 WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA HISTORY |WINTER 1999 I-M- A- G- I-N-E

® Let the Experts at Jonas Restore Your Family Heirlooms support "all out hostility ... until the to Their Original Beauty. a conflict with Japan is brought to g^^i » Faded Images Come to Life. successful conclusion." 16 a Missing Areas Filled In. The next day, President Roosevelt gave his official response to the PV s Cracks Eliminated. tumultuous events in his "day that »- It Is Your Responsibility to Share willlive in infamy" speech. Without jjL-' These Treasures with Future hesitation, Sen. Reed called a special Generations. meeting of the Pittsburgh chapter of s Call the Studio the America First Committee for that \u25a0\u25a0< VI .-4?2ilMHHHlH for an Appointment Today. same evening, at which the local group solemnly concluded: "There is not the slightest doubt about what our action should be or what it will — 17 be America is at war." y „ , / CJonas Three days later, the national 209 South Craig Street organization formally disbanded, ' °' 1\T ° A ' C! Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15213 Jf\U W A 5 Phone: (412) 621-5050 while Sen. Nye expressed hope for a brighter day in predicting that, after the war, there would be a popular clamor for an AFC revival. !/1 Before the war's end, however, in April 1945, the nation would dem- shop W OUTSIDE Tj onstrate how wrong he was with the THE signing of the charter to form the £ United Nations. Nye would effec- tively be sentenced to the political oblivion reserved for the advocates of lost causes.©

NOTES ° t -° 'Wayne S. Cole, Senator Gerald P. Nye and American • Foreign Relations, 176. B *BvmldB f ( J )\u25a0 1 bulletinIndex, (5/22/41) 'Bulletin Index, (5/22/41) "Cole, Senator Nye, 179; Pittsburgh Press, (4/18/41). 'Bulletin Index, (5/22/41). Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, (12/4/41). JJ Pittsburgh Press, (12/8/41). CONTRAST GLASS ORNAMENTS INEARTHTONES by burchetta hotglass "Pittsburgh Press, (12/8/41). "Pittsburgh Press, (12/8/41). e "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, (10/7/41). art "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, (12/8/41). b "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, (12/8/41). fOrthenew "Pittsburgh Press, (12/8/41). "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, (12/8/41). "Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, (12/8/41). | '^Pittsburgh Press, (12/8/41). millennium Pittsburgh Press, (12/8/41). u c \u25a0H PITTSBURGhIcENTErIfOR THE ARTS .^| fifthand shady avenues 412/361-0873 "O