Joel A Lewis Youth Against Fascism.pdf

YOUTH AGAINST FASCISM
American younger generation." 168 They applauded its ability to "win youth for democracy
by effective participation in the life which democracy makes possible for youth." 169
Similar praise was heralded for the World Youth Congress where youth were "trying to
find a solution to their own problems in their own way… to preserve their free institutions."
170 Such institutions helped bring the "attention of the federal and state governments
and the whole progressive movement" to the conditions of American youth." 171
The YCL encouraged youth struggles outside of traditional American democratic institutions
in unions and university campuses. The YCL contended that such struggles
were essential to "the reinterpretation of democracy and the reorientation of our economic
and political life along democratic paths." 172 In order to expand democracy, the
YCL urged youth to strengthen "activities in the union… because the unions are paramount
in the People's Front movement." 173 Unions were essential "to achieve industrial
and political democracy for the people of the United States and… to achieve and retain
democracy throughout the world." 174
Student activism was vital for the democratic movement. The YCL applauded the
ASU "as the most constructive force in campus life" for its ability to raise issues "of
concern to the whole democratic community." 175 The YCL spoke of the ability of the
college campus to "teach youth in the spirit of democracy," praising it as a "fortress of
democracy." 176 ASU pamphlets utilized this same slogan, asserting its interests and
activities were "inseparable from those of democracy and the widest equalization of
opportunity." 177 The YCL argued the health of American democracy was strengthened by
union and student activism.
In their campaigns for national defense, the YCLUSA embraced similar themes as
British propaganda. The YCL centred its rhetoric on democratizing existing institutions
while discouraging youth participation in non-democratic military institutions. The
Popular Front YCL continued to denounce "the ROTC and American militarism" for
preparing youth for war, not defense. 178 The YCL supported national defence, but did not
trust the ideological motivations of the traditional military establishment. The YCL
believed the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) could be either progressive or reactionary,
depending upon who was allowed to administer the program. 179 The YCL asserted
that the Army was attempting "substitution or inclusion of military training" within the
CCC instead of serving for the best "defense of American national interests by providing
youth with jobs, vocational training, and education in citizenship and democracy." The
YCL pushed for an "expanded permanent CCC program under a civilian administration"
where "further democratization… [could] be achieved." 180 The YCL propagated that
institutions like the National Youth Administration should provide pilot training programs,
not the US military. The YCL insisted "that national security rests upon greater
democracy;" providing defense training under "supervision of a civilian agency, rather
than by the military forces themselves, is a democratic measure." 181
118