Atlantic Union
Encyclopedia
Atlantic Union was the most common name for the proposal, originally advanced by journalist Clarence Streit
in 1939, to unite the world's leading democratic nations into a federal union
, in much the way the thirteen states united in 1789 under the U.S. Constitution.
For many years an Atlantic Union Resolution was introduced every session in the U.S. Congress, by Rep. Paul Findley
, Donald Fraser
, and Morris Udall as the lead co-sponsors, to call an "Atlantic Convention" which its proponents hoped would draft a constitution to be submitted for ratification to the countries represented. In 1964 the resolution finally passed and the convention was held, but President Lyndon B. Johnson
, who was not a supporter of the concept, did not appoint supporters of federation as the U.S. delegates, so nothing came of the convention except a broadly-worded resolution calling for "greater cooperation".
The idea of Atlantic Union had its origin in the fertile brain of an Englishman named Cecil Rhodes, whose dream was to see the United States reannexed to the British Empire. To this end he established the Rhodes Foundation, providing for the education in England of bright young Americans.
In 1939, a Rhodes Scholar named Clarence Streit wrote a book called Union Now, which advocated a gradual approach to final world union by way of regional unions, starting with the union between the US and Britain. Committees were set up all over America, and Mr. Streit reported that over two million Americans had signed petitions asking for union with Britain.
In Streit's own words, Atlantic Union, now expanded to include Western Europe, was the first step towards total world government:" It [Union Now] proclaimed the need of world government and insisted that no country needed this more urgently than the United States. Streit, who has been a close associate of Communists and socialists all his adult life, has no hostility towards collectivism. He said in Union Now: - Democracy not only allows mankind to choose freely between capitalism and collectivism, but it includes Marxist governments." In his pamphlets Streit asks the question:" Does the rise of socialism in some Western European democracies prevent our federating with them?" He answers with an emphatic "No !"
In March 1949, Federal Union set up a political-action unit called the Atlantic Union Committee. The first president of this Committee was former Supreme Court justice Owen J. Roberts, who said he considers national sovereignty a " silly shibboleth."
More than twenty years ago the Los Angeles Examiner described what Atlantic Union would mean to America: They [the nations of Western Europe] would impose their socialism in place of our republican self- government, extract taxes from us as they pleased, draft our men for their armies and our women for their factories, appropriate bulk of our productive wealth for their own enrichment. How can any Senator or Representative elected to represent the people of the United States bring himself to advocate so clear a policy of national self-destruction? From The Book The Rockefeller Files -Gary Allen- 1976
An Atlantic Union Resolution which would, in effect, repeal the Declaration of independence, was first introduced in Congress in 1949. It has been reintroduced every year since, but until recently never received much attention-despite its endorsement by such Rockefeller CFR stalwarts as Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, Dwight Eisenhower, Adlai Stevenson, John Foster Dulles, Jacob Javits, William Fulbright, Eugene McCarthy, and Henry Kissinger. From The Book The Rockefeller Files -Gary Allen- 1976
The work for Atlantic Union is being worked towards by the Streit Council
.
Clarence Streit
Clarence Kirschmann Streit was a journalist and Atlanticist who played a prominent role in the Atlantic Movement....
in 1939, to unite the world's leading democratic nations into a federal union
Federal union
In politics, a federal union is any organization of states or other entities that unite under a federalist system. Usually a federal union will action jointly in matters of defense and foreign relations, with individual states having independence in local matters. Examples of federal unions include...
, in much the way the thirteen states united in 1789 under the U.S. Constitution.
For many years an Atlantic Union Resolution was introduced every session in the U.S. Congress, by Rep. Paul Findley
Paul Findley
Paul Findley is a former United States Representative from Illinois, representing its 20th District. A Republican, he was first elected in 1961. Findley lost his seat in 1982 to current United States Senator Dick Durbin. Findley attended Illinois College and is a member of Phi Alpha Literary Society...
, Donald Fraser
Donald M. Fraser
Donald MacKay Fraser is an American politician from Minneapolis, Minnesota.-Early life:Donald Fraser played a critical role in making human rights an important part of U.S. policy. Fraser was born on 20 February 1924 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Everett and Lois Fraser. His parents were émigrés...
, and Morris Udall as the lead co-sponsors, to call an "Atlantic Convention" which its proponents hoped would draft a constitution to be submitted for ratification to the countries represented. In 1964 the resolution finally passed and the convention was held, but President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
, who was not a supporter of the concept, did not appoint supporters of federation as the U.S. delegates, so nothing came of the convention except a broadly-worded resolution calling for "greater cooperation".
The idea of Atlantic Union had its origin in the fertile brain of an Englishman named Cecil Rhodes, whose dream was to see the United States reannexed to the British Empire. To this end he established the Rhodes Foundation, providing for the education in England of bright young Americans.
In 1939, a Rhodes Scholar named Clarence Streit wrote a book called Union Now, which advocated a gradual approach to final world union by way of regional unions, starting with the union between the US and Britain. Committees were set up all over America, and Mr. Streit reported that over two million Americans had signed petitions asking for union with Britain.
In Streit's own words, Atlantic Union, now expanded to include Western Europe, was the first step towards total world government:" It [Union Now] proclaimed the need of world government and insisted that no country needed this more urgently than the United States. Streit, who has been a close associate of Communists and socialists all his adult life, has no hostility towards collectivism. He said in Union Now: - Democracy not only allows mankind to choose freely between capitalism and collectivism, but it includes Marxist governments." In his pamphlets Streit asks the question:" Does the rise of socialism in some Western European democracies prevent our federating with them?" He answers with an emphatic "No !"
In March 1949, Federal Union set up a political-action unit called the Atlantic Union Committee. The first president of this Committee was former Supreme Court justice Owen J. Roberts, who said he considers national sovereignty a " silly shibboleth."
More than twenty years ago the Los Angeles Examiner described what Atlantic Union would mean to America: They [the nations of Western Europe] would impose their socialism in place of our republican self- government, extract taxes from us as they pleased, draft our men for their armies and our women for their factories, appropriate bulk of our productive wealth for their own enrichment. How can any Senator or Representative elected to represent the people of the United States bring himself to advocate so clear a policy of national self-destruction? From The Book The Rockefeller Files -Gary Allen- 1976
An Atlantic Union Resolution which would, in effect, repeal the Declaration of independence, was first introduced in Congress in 1949. It has been reintroduced every year since, but until recently never received much attention-despite its endorsement by such Rockefeller CFR stalwarts as Richard Nixon, Hubert Humphrey, George McGovern, Dwight Eisenhower, Adlai Stevenson, John Foster Dulles, Jacob Javits, William Fulbright, Eugene McCarthy, and Henry Kissinger. From The Book The Rockefeller Files -Gary Allen- 1976
The work for Atlantic Union is being worked towards by the Streit Council
Streit Council
The Streit Council for a Union of Democracies is a Washington, DC-based nonprofit foreign-policy organization working toward closer cooperation and deeper integration among the US and Europe, as well as OECD democracies...
.
Further reading
- Union Now, Clarence K. Streit (1939). Online copy
- Freedom's Frontier — Atlantic Union Now, by Clarence K. Streit (1961). Online copy