Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM
such a sound thrashing last November. They are back again. And they must now receive
such a knockout blow, that they will not recover so easily. 148
Roosevelt's political opponents were described as "enemies of democracy." The YCL
insisted that in "the national congressional elections the progressive political youth
forces… must strive at all times to direct their main fire against the candidates of the
reactionary Liberty-League elements." 149
The Democratic Front strategy enabled the YCL to effectively engage the American
political system to advance the interests of youth. Electoral campaigns helped to further
politicize youth by including them in New Deal democratic struggles. In 1938 the YCL
argued that the "election campaign cannot be purely an electoral struggle, a question of
votes. We must participate in and help stimulate the widest mass struggles of the youth
for jobs and for better conditions for the youth generally." 150 By encouraging youth to
"support those candidates for Congress in the coming elections who best represent their
interests," the YCL believed youth would understand and reject "the Republican Party
reactionaries, masquerading behind a mask of progressivism… [who] will attempt to
rally young voters around its banner." 151 Even after the outbreak of WWII when Roosevelt
and the YCL held divergent positions on foreign policy, the YCL still personified
itself and the youth movement as the greatest allies of the New Deal.
By 1939, the YCL had acclimated itself to the two-party system and American democratic
politics. They consistently published bold statements about defending democracy,
one article stating:
[Our] Declaration must have a strong point about our stand for the defense of democracy.
Our position on this question is indisputable! We are determined to defend and extend
our democracy against any enemy, within or without. We are opposed to all who
undermine our democracy.... That also applies to the privileges which have been stated
in the American Bill of Rights. The League stands for the defense of these rights unequivocally!
152
Increasingly the YCL reconciled their democratic rhetoric and activities to American
political culture and democratic traditions.
The YCL maintained that youth activism could influence state policy and improve the
conditions of youth. The YCL rejected YPSL positions that insisted youth "need not
concern itself with trying to influence governments, but need only organize independent
action." 153 The YCL countered this with urges for greater democratic initiatives arguing,
"Let's not rely on our governments… let's influence the government policy so that it
corresponds with the policy of the people." 154 By actively participating in democratic
politics, youth could "make our voice heard and can be enabled to decide on our own
future lives." 155 The YCL asserted that the depression years had facilitated a new "democratic
spirit" in youth; this new generation was composed "not [of] disillusioned
youth, but youth who question… who are on the move, fighting for a place under the
sun." 156 This generation was fighting for "democracy and still more democracy, for a…
democracy which the American people will not be denied." 157 The YCL contended that
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