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George Field Collection of Freedom House Files
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
"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).
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).
The papers were given to Princeton University Library by George Field in March of 1977; additional papers were given in December of 1990.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
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.
This collection was processed by Melissa Johnson in January 1993. Finding aid written by Melissa Johnson in January 1993.
No appraisal information is available.
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Public Policy Papers
- Finding Aid Author
- Melissa Johnson
- Finding Aid Date
- 1998
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
No arrangement action taken or arrangement information not recorded at the time of processing.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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."
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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