Call Number:

03

Repository:

Grand Army of the Republic Civil War Museum and Library

Extent:

0.75 linear feet

Language:

English

Date:

1919-1992 (inclusive)

Creator:

American Legion. Benjamin Franklin Post No. 405 (Philadelphia, Pa.).

Abstract:

The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, servicemembers and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. The records of Benjamin Franklin Post No. 405 (Philadelphia, Pa.), American Legion, 1919-1992, includes financial, administrative, and membership records, as well as newsletters.

"The American Legion was chartered by Congress in 1919 as a patriotic veterans organization. Focusing on service to veterans, servicemembers and communities, the Legion evolved from a group of war-weary veterans of World War I into one of the most influential nonprofit groups in the United States. Membership swiftly grew to over 1 million, and local posts sprang up across the country. Today, membership stands at over 2.4 million in 14,000 posts worldwide. The posts are organized into 55 departments: one each for the 50 states, along with the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, France, Mexico and the Philippines.

"Over the years, the Legion has influenced considerable social change in America, won hundreds of benefits for veterans and produced many important programs for children and youth."

Bibliography:

The American Legion. "History," Accessed December 29, 2011. http://www.legion.org/history

The records of Benjamin Franklin Post No. 405 (Philadelphia, Pa.), American Legion, includes financial, administrative, and membership records, as well as newsletters. The financial records date from about 1927 to 1933, and include bank statements, cancelled checks financial correspondence, a receipt book, and budgetary committee reports. The administrative records include meeting minutes and correspondence, circa 1930-1933, and Executive Committee minutes, 1979. The membership records include: renewal cards, 1931 and 1992; applications, 1947; member lists, 1978 and 1991-1992; and correspondence and thank-you letters, circa 1980-1992. There is also some event ephemera.

Newsletters from Benjamin Franklin Post No. 405 are bound together with newsletters from two other Philadelphia posts of the American Legion, Taylor E. Walthour Post No. 282 and Post No. 174. The newsletters date from 1921 to 1929.

This collection also includes some meeting minutes, 1919-1923, from Taylor E. Walthour Post No. 282.