I want names of prominent Americans, such as celebrities, who
protested U.S. involvement in World War II.

Dear journey-ga;

Thank you for allowing me an opportunity to answer your interesting
question.

You must remember that many of the people who suffered greatly from
the previous war with Germany (World War I) only a generation ago were
still keenly aware of it’s effects at the time war broke out a second
time. Believe it or not, prior to the invasion of Poland in 1939 and
the fall of France in 1940, the majority of American citizens opposed
the involvement of the United States in what was previously considered
a foreign internal conflict, and most people were satisfied to let
them fight it out among themselves. In like manner, prior to December
7, 1941, the majority felt it was neither wise nor appropriate to use
the US military to thwart the expansion of Japan’s extension in the
Far East. Of course, Pearl Harbor quickly changed all that.

Of course, as it has been for the last couple of centuries, the
Quakers, a fundamental religious sect that objects to the war based on
Christian scriptural commandments and restrictions found in the Holy
Bible (and others like them) quietly opposed the war, but without open
protest.

In the late 1930’s, Rita Royce, a popular burlesque dancer of the era,
staged a campus protest inciting students to oppose the war in Europe
and even addressed Rhode Island legislators in 1940 (something unheard
of for a woman, much less a stripper). As it turned out, the actual
war front she was opposed was not the one that changed the dynamics or
her position. In 1941, she too, bit her lip when Pearl Harbor was
destroyed and the US set sail to confront the Japanese.

Remarkably, prior to the Pearl Harbor attack, more notable opponents
of US involvement in the war abroad included Charles A. Lindbergh,
President Franklin D. Roosevelt himself, Former President Herbert
Hoover, and Charlie Chaplin.

Below you will find that I have carefully defined my search strategy
for you in the event that you need to search for more information. By
following the same type of searches that I did you may be able to
enhance the research I have provided even further. I hope you find
that that my research exceeds your expectations. If you have any
questions about my research please post a clarification request prior
to rating the answer. Otherwise, I welcome your rating and your final
comments and I look forward to working with you again in the near
future. Thank you for bringing your question to us.

Best regards;
Tutuzdad-ga


INFORMATION SOURCES

HANDBOOK OF TEXAS ONLINE
http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/WW/qdw2.html

NEWS CHANNEL 10 – TIMELINES – WAR AND PEACE
http://www.turnto10.com/timelines/1162418/detail.html

1939-1941 THE WAR’S VOICES
http://www.umkc.edu/lib/spec-col/ww2/1939/voices_txt.htm

A MEDIATOR AND A PEACEMAKER
http://209.87.142.42/y/c/c30.htm


SEARCH STRATEGY


SEARCH ENGINE USED:

Google ://www.google.com


SEARCH TERMS USED:


OPPOSED INVOLVEMENT "WORLD WAR II"

OPPOSITION "WORLD WAR II"

NEUTRALITY "WORLD WAR II"

PROTESTED "WORLD WAR II"

PBS - The Good War and those who refused to fight it
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/thegoodwar/sitemap.html

The Good War: Behind Bars
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/thegoodwar/bars.html

"Over six thousand COs who refused to serve in the Army and in
Civilian Public Service camps, or whose drafts boards deemed them
insincere, went to Federal prison. In fact, one out of every six men
in U.S. prisons during World War II was a draft resister. Among them
were Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam, and legendary
jazz musician Sun Ra. War resisters found themselves behind bars for
up to six years. Some were even held up to two years after the war
ended."

The Good War: The Arts
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/thegoodwar/arts.html

Robert Lowell, Kenneth Rexroth, and Henry Miller, among others, were
COs during the war.


Ezra Pound

Pound, a major American poet, a rabid anti-Semite, and Fascist
sympathizer was arrested for treason after the war, which he had
passed in Italy where he made 120 radio boradcasts in dissent of
American participation in the war. He was sent to an insane asylum.


Selected World War II Broadcasts
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/m_r/pound/radio.htm

Poetry: Ezra Pound
http://www.bedfordstmartins.com/litlinks/poetry/pound.htm

"When World War II broke out he was employed by the Italian government
to write and deliver twice-weekly fascist propaganda broadcasts
attacking the U.S. war effort. In some of the programs, he supported
the destruction of European Jewry. Under U.S. law this was treason,
and when the U.S. Army liberated Italy, Pound was imprisoned in a cage
outside of  Pisa for several months, then returned to the United
States for trial.

Influential friends managed to have him hospitalized for mental
illness, and there ensued a stormy controversy among American writers
over whether Pound should or should not be tried as a traitor. He
remained in the mental hospital from 1946 to 1958. Finally, he was
declared incompetent to stand trial and was returned to Italy."

Search terms
pacifism during WWII US prominent

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