Lincoln's Birthday Committee for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom
Encyclopedia
The Lincoln's Birthday Committee for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom (LBCDIF) was an antifascist organization of scientists founded by Franz Boas
in 1938 to discredit the theories of race being forwarded by the Nazis in Germany
.
In the 1930s Franz Boas was one of the first scientists to become aware of the immense prestige and influence of scientists in that era. Even at his advanced age Boas wanted to find a way to use the influence of scientists to promote human welfare. At Columbia University
he collaborated with Ruth Benedict
, Leslie Dunn, Robert Lynd
, Walter Rautenstrauch
, Harold Urey
and other members of the University Federation for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom to find a unifying political position that would bring scientists of all disciplines together on a common front. He decided antifascism was such a position, and based on his collaborations wrote the Manifesto on Freedom in Science. In 1938 the Manifesto was released with 1,284 signatures of prominent scientists, including Roger Adams
, Robert Oppenheimer
and Albert Einstein
(see: Einstein Letter to LBCDIF). Boas used the excitement generated by the Manifesto to launch the LBCDIF. Twenty-six meetings were organized to uphold the principles of the Manifesto, and the success of these meetings encouraged the organizers to expand the Birthday Committee to an ongoing group called the American Committee for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom (ACDIF).
Franz Boas
Franz Boas was a German-American anthropologist and a pioneer of modern anthropology who has been called the "Father of American Anthropology" and "the Father of Modern Anthropology." Like many such pioneers, he trained in other disciplines; he received his doctorate in physics, and did...
in 1938 to discredit the theories of race being forwarded by the Nazis in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
In the 1930s Franz Boas was one of the first scientists to become aware of the immense prestige and influence of scientists in that era. Even at his advanced age Boas wanted to find a way to use the influence of scientists to promote human welfare. At Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
he collaborated with Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict
Ruth Benedict was an American anthropologist, cultural relativist, and folklorist....
, Leslie Dunn, Robert Lynd
Robert Staughton Lynd
Robert Staughton Lynd was an American sociologist born in New Albany, Indiana...
, Walter Rautenstrauch
Walter Rautenstrauch
Dr. Walter Rautenstrauch took the Chair of Columbia University's Department of Industrial Engineering in the 1930s. He was instrumental in the creation of this department which is said to be the first such department in the United States...
, Harold Urey
Harold Urey
Harold Clayton Urey was an American physical chemist whose pioneering work on isotopes earned him the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1934...
and other members of the University Federation for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom to find a unifying political position that would bring scientists of all disciplines together on a common front. He decided antifascism was such a position, and based on his collaborations wrote the Manifesto on Freedom in Science. In 1938 the Manifesto was released with 1,284 signatures of prominent scientists, including Roger Adams
Roger Adams
Roger Adams was an American organic chemist. He is best-known for the eponymous Adams' catalyst, and his work did much to determine the composition of naturally occurring substances such as complex vegetable oils and plant alkaloids...
, Robert Oppenheimer
Robert Oppenheimer
Julius Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley. Along with Enrico Fermi, he is often called the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project, the World War II project that developed the first...
and Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
(see: Einstein Letter to LBCDIF). Boas used the excitement generated by the Manifesto to launch the LBCDIF. Twenty-six meetings were organized to uphold the principles of the Manifesto, and the success of these meetings encouraged the organizers to expand the Birthday Committee to an ongoing group called the American Committee for Democracy and Intellectual Freedom (ACDIF).
