American Committee on United Europe Collection
Collection
Identifier: GTM-780727
The American Committee on United Europe collection contains correspondence, reports, photos, pamphlets, news clippings, minutes of meetings and related material. Box 1 is divided into 7 categories, the first of which is the "College of Europe." This college was founded for the purpose of training its students to become leaders of the inter-European organizations at that time. In the first folder is a report on the college by an American who had a fellowship from ACUE.
The next category is "Speeches." These speeches are by famous people, most of which have to do with ACUE. One speech pertains to the Council of Europe and one to the English-Speaking Union. The third category is "the Union of Europe." This is material written about uniting Europe or about the activities of ACUE.
The next category is "Printed Material." This is mostly reprints of articles having to do with European union. General William J. Donovan was the former chairman of ACUE and his writings and correspondence are in the next group of folders. American Committee on United Europe is the heading for the next category. These are publications of, statements by, and scholarship announcements of the Committee. The final category "Reports from Strasbourg" is taken from the title of one of the Committee's publications, namely, Report from Strasbourg. There are several reports in these folders having to do with European unity.
Box #2 contains 4 divisions. The Atlantic Political Youth Conference is the first division. This is material about the 2 meetings of young American and European political leaders which allowed for a meaningful exchange of opinions. The next division is the American Council on NATO and this is correspondence regarding financial assistance from ACUE for the second Atlantic Political Youth Conference and for the Atlantic Treaty Association.
The minutes, reports, and correspondence of ACUE's Board of Directors is the next group of folders. The correspondence of W.C. Foster, ACUE's last chairman, is here, also. This correspondence is very relevant since it shows the different viewpoints of American and European leaders regarding the work of ACUE. The last division is ACUE and this is correspondence pertaining to ACUE, legal documents, material relating to scholarships, and material on fund raising, lecture tours, and publicity. The last folder is acid originals.
The folders within each box are arranged in chronological order by category. There are some letters from many well known persons in several folders. These people include: Jean Monnet, Bernard Baruch, Norman Thomas, Albery and Mary Lasker, Hubert H. Humphrey, Mike Mansfield, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., Henry L. Stimson, Jacob K. Javits, Lucius D. Clay, Arthur J. Goldberg, Nelson A. Rockefeller, Allen W. Dulles, David Dubinsky, David Lilienthal, Charles S. Dewey, Conrad N. Hilton, William Benton, Herbert H. Lehman, Walter Bedell Smith, William Green, Moss Hart, Robert Schuman and Paul-Henri Spaak.
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American Committee on United Europe, a non-profit tax exempt American corporation, was in existence from 1949 to 1960. This organization developed as a result of the idea that was prevalent on the Continent after World war II, that Europe needed to united in order to survive.
The Committee gave financial grants to various European private organizations associated with the European Movement. This Movement was a group of private organizations led by well-known political figures who promoted European unity. The work of the Movement led to the founding of the Council of Europe created for the same purpose as the European Movement. The Council was made up of 15 member countries. It gave advice to the national parliaments to be put into action.
ACUE helped Europeans in organized efforts to promote public discussion and understanding of the issues and opportunities of European integration. ACUE, in the United States, served in a public information capacity. The union of the European community was considered by many an important national interest. There were moments when some influence was exerted on views in Congress and the Executive Branch through some of the Committee's Board members.
Today, the European community has taken over where ACUE left off. Some of the projects begun by ACUE are continuing. The funding has been taken over by European organizations and European unity is still a goal to be attained although progress has been made towards this end. The collection covers the period from 1948-1960.
2 Linear Feet (2 Hollinger Record Storage boxes)
English
Gift of J. Allan Hovey, Jr., 1978.
Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository