This refence collection was assembled to assist in writing a biography of the Reverend Mr. Charles E. Coughlin. The collection contains books, booklets, published sermons, published lectures, pamphlets and other printed materials. Of these, 57 were written by Coughlin. The remainder of the materials relate to him directly or have chapters or passages relating to him. Additionally, there are periodicals, including newspaper and magazine articles, and a full set of Coughlin's weekly publication, Social Justice, 1936-1942; other periodicals such as William Dudley Pelley's weekly Liberation Journal, 1938-1948; copies of Henry Ford's Dearborn Independent; original photographs, including images of Coughlin and of his church; letters; copies of the FBI's files on Coughlin; and (non-original) recordings of his broadcasts.
Arrangement:
The collection is arranged in four series.
Series 1: Coughlin, Charles E., Writings and Speeches, 1930-1972, undated
Series 2: Photographs and Ephemera, 1927-1979, undated
Series 3: Periodicals and Publications, 1919-2012
Series 4: Reference Materials, 1933-2015, undated
Biographical / Historical:
Charles Edward Coughlin was born on October 25, 1891 in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada to Thomas J. and Amelia Mahoney Coughlin. He was educated in Canada and attended St. Michael's College, Toronto. After graduation he prepared for Holy Orders within the Basilian Fathers at St. Basil's Seminary. He was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood in 1916. Coughlin left the Basilian order after 1923 and moved to Detroit, Michigan.
Coughlin was accepted into the Roman Catholic Archidiocese of Detroit in 1923. He was eventually assigned to the Shrine of the Little Flower in Royal Oak, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. His reputation for formidable preaching led to the growth of his congregation, and in 1926 Coughlin began broadcasting after a Klu Klux Klan cross burning on the lawn of the church.
He eventually expanded the topics of his broadcast to the political arena. It was with this programmatic change that Coughlin became one of the most controversial figures in the first half of the twentieth century. Described as the "Radio Priest," "The Fighting Priest," and the "Angel of the Airways," Coughlin broadcast weekly from a radio studio in Royal Oak from 1926-1940. Taking a strident and nationalistic tone, he lambasted immigrants, bankers, Communists and other groups. Breaching the line between religion and politics he also lectured and sermonized on government policy. While initially favoring the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, he eventually became one of the president's harshest critics.
In 1936 he began publishing Social Justice a weekly paper. Coughlin's broadcasts were so successful that between 1931-1936 a new Shrine of the Little Flower was built. The zig-zag Art Deco style of the Shrine became a tourist destination for Coughlin's fans. His increasingly harsh rehtoric coincided with the outbreak of World War II. While stating he was not antisemitic, he professed support for some of the governmental policies of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in part because they were a check on Communist Russia. The Vatican and many Roman Catholic American bishops disagreed and wanted Coughlin to leave the airwaves. Eventually he was forced off the air and publication of Social Justice was halted.
Coughlin remained parish priest at the Shrine of the Little Flower until his retirment in 1966. He spent his retirement publishing and giving the occasional interview. Coughlin died on October 27, 1979. He is buried in the Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Southfield, Michigan.
Separated Materials:
Objects related to Father Charles E. Coughlin are held in the Division of Cultural and Community Life (now Division of Cultural and Community Life).
Provenance:
The collection was purchased by the National Museum of American History from Todd Moriarty. Moriarty had acquired the collection from an individual who amassed the materials with plans to write a book on Coughlin.
Restrictions:
Collection is open for research.
Rights:
Reproduction restricted due to copyright or trademark. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Topic:
Anti-communist movements -- United States Search this
"Good morning" : music, calls, and directions for old-time dancing as revived by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ford / this manual was compiled and descriptions were written by Benjamin B. Lovett ..
This collection consists mostly of correspondence between the Wright brothers and the following people: J.W. See; Ralph H. Upson; Henry Ford; Ernest Jones; Frank Coffyn; O.G. Simmons; C.R. Peterkin; Otto Mallery; Maynard; and Lester Gardner. Also included are sketches, an NAA letter signed by witnesses: Etheridge, Dough and Moore attesting to the 1903 flight, and the Wright Brothers' original bid for the military contract.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists mostly of correspondence between the Wright brothers and the following people: J.W. See; Ralph H. Upson; Henry Ford; Ernest Jones; Frank Coffyn; O.G. Simmons; C.R. Peterkin; Otto Mallery; Maynard; and Lester Gardner. Also included are sketches, an NAA letter signed by witnesses: Etheridge, Dough and Moore attesting to the 1903 flight, and the Wright Brothers' original bid for the military contract.
Arrangement:
Correspondence is arranged by recipient, other materials are arranged by topic.
Biographical / Historical:
Wilbur Wright was born April 16, 1867, his brother Orville Wright on August 19, 1871. They, along with sister Katharine and brothers Reuchlin and Lorin, were raised near Millville, Indiana and in Dayton, Ohio by their mother, Susan Wright, and father, Milton Wright, bishop of the United Brethren Church. As young men, Wilbur and Orville launched a printing business and a bicycle shop. An interest in aeronautics, spurred by the accounts of the experiments of Otto Lilienthal, prompted Wilbur to request information on the subject from the Smithsonian Institution in 1899. In August of 1900, Wilbur built his first glider and that year and the next the brothers tested gliders at Kitty Hawk. The Wrights constructed a wind tunnel to gather accurate aeronautical data and, benefiting from this new information, another glider was built in 1902. In 1903, the brothers were ready to began construction of a powered craft. With the assistance of mechanic Charles Taylor, they added a 4-cylinder, 12-horsepower engine and propellers to the 1903 Flyer and it was sent to Kitty Hawk for testing. At 10:35 am, December 17, on Kill Devil Hill, Orville achieved a flight of 12 seconds--traveling a distance of 120 feet. By 1908 the Wrights were demonstrating their machines in Europe. The U.S. Army Signal Corps advertised for bids for a two-seat observation aircraft and in 1908 and 1909, the Wrights flew at official Army trials at Fort Myer, Virginia. (It was here that powered flight's first fatality occurred: the tragic death of Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge.) The Army was to purchase the Military Flyer (Signal Corps No. 1) for $30,000 in 1909. In that same year, The Wright Company was established to manufacture Wright aircraft. Wilbur died in Dayton, Ohio on May 30,1912. Orville Wright would live until January 30, 1948.
Provenance:
Various Donors, Gift, unknown, NASM.XXXX.0376
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Gunn's Domestic medicine, or, Poor man's friend : describing, in plain language, the diseases of men, women, and children, and the latest and most approved means used in their cure, and is intended expressly for the benefit of families in the western and southern states; it also contains descriptions of the medical roots and herbs of the western and southern country, and how they are to be used in...
