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The '''American First Committee''' was an "isolationist" organization that opposed United States involvement in World War II.  It was highly visible in 1940-41, but failed to stop President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] from forming an informal alliance with Britain,, or stop Congress from passing legislation to aid Britain and Russia fight Nazi Germany.  It concentrated almost exclusively on Europe; most members favored a hard line against Japan, even at the cost of war.

The '''American First Committee''' was an "isolationist" organization that opposed United States involvement in World War II.  It was highly visible in 1940-41, but failed to stop President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] from forming an informal alliance with Britain, or stop Congress from passing legislation to aid Britain and Russia fight Nazi Germany.  It concentrated almost exclusively on Europe; most members favored a hard line against Japan, even at the cost of war.

The committee collapsed after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  It had been thoroughly discredited and most of the activists reversed positions. Interventionists for years attacked their opponents as "America Firsters".   

The committee collapsed after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.  It had been thoroughly discredited and most of the activists reversed positions. Interventionists for years attacked their opponents as "America Firsters".   

==Supporters==

==Supporters==

At its peak, America First may have had 800,000 members in 650 chapters, located mostly in a 300 mile radius of Chicago. It claimed 135,000 members in 60 chapters in Illinois, its strongest state.<ref>Schneider p 198</ref> Fundraising drives produced about $370,000  from some 25,000 contributors.  Nearly half came from a few millionaires such as [[William H. Regnery]], [[H. Smith Richardson]] of the [[Vick Chemical Company]], General [[Robert E. Wood]] of Sears-Roebuck, [[Sterling Morton]] of [[Morton Salt Company]], publisher [[Joseph M. Patterson]] (New York ''Daily News'') and his cousin publisher [[Robert R. McCormick]] (''[[Chicago Tribune]]''). Future President [[John F. Kennedy]], then a student, sent a contribution, with a note saying "What you are doing is vital."

At its peak, America First may have had 800,000 members in 650 chapters, located mostly in a 300-mile radius of Chicago. It claimed 135,000 members in 60 chapters in Illinois, its strongest state.<ref>Schneider p 198</ref> Fundraising drives produced about $370,000  from some 25,000 contributors.  Nearly half came from a few millionaires such as [[William H. Regnery]], [[H. Smith Richardson]] of the [[Vick Chemical Company]], General [[Robert E. Wood]] of Sears-Roebuck, [[Sterling Morton]] of [[Morton Salt Company]], publisher [[Joseph M. Patterson]] (New York ''Daily News'') and his cousin publisher [[Robert R. McCormick]] (''[[Chicago Tribune]]''). Future President [[John F. Kennedy]], then a student, sent a contribution, with a note saying "What you are doing is vital."

The movement was quite weak in the South, where both liberals and conservatives (and whites and blacks) supported FDR's foreign policy. America First did try to organize local chapters in the South, sponsor noninterventionist rallies, distribute pamphlets and solicit cash. None of the chapters became effective units and no major rallies were held in the South.<ref>See Wayne S. Cole, "America First and the South, 1940-1941." ''Journal of Southern History'' 1956 22(1): 36-47. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2955258  in JSTOR]</ref>  

The movement was quite weak in the South, where both liberals and conservatives (and whites and blacks) supported FDR's foreign policy. America First did try to organize local chapters in the South, sponsor noninterventionist rallies, distribute pamphlets and solicit cash. None of the chapters became effective units and no major rallies were held in the South.<ref>See Wayne S. Cole, "America First and the South, 1940-1941." ''Journal of Southern History'' 1956 22(1): 36-47. [http://www.jstor.org/stable/2955258  in JSTOR]</ref>