Kirchwey, Freda, 1893-1976

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Mary Frederika "Freda" Kirchwey (September 26, 1893 – January 3, 1976) was an American journalist, editor, and publisher strongly committed throughout her career to liberal causes (anti-Fascist, pro-Soviet, anti-anti-communist). From 1933 to 1955, she was Editor of The Nation magazine. Mary Frederika "Freda" Kirchwey (September 26, 1893 – January 3, 1976) was an American journalist, editor, and publisher strongly committed throughout her career to liberal causes (anti-Fascist, pro-Soviet, anti-anti-communist). From 1933 to 1955, she was Editor of The Nation magazine.

Born in Lake Placid, New York in 1893 as the Progressive Era was getting under way, Kirchwey was the daughter of pacifist Columbia Law Professor George W. Kirchwey. She attended Barnard College from 1911 to 1915.

Kirchwey began working locally in journalism after graduation, at the New York Morning Telegraph, Every Week magazine, and the New York Tribune.

In 1918, she was brought to The Nation by then editor Oswald Garrison Villard, largely at the behest of Kirchwey's former professor at Barnard, Henry Raymond Mussey, first working in the International Relations Section. In 1922 she became managing editor. In 1925 Kirchwey, an active feminist, published Our Changing Morality, a collection of articles dealing primarily with changing sexual relations. In 1926 she launched These Modern Women, a set of essays portraying successful feminist lives, including work by Crystal Eastman. Kirchwey also wrote articles in The Nation about early feminists Susan B. Anthony and Alice Paul. She succeeded Villard as editor of the magazine in 1933, first as part of a four-person committee, then as the sole editor, becoming the first woman at the top of the masthead of a national weekly newsmagazine. In 1937, she bought the magazine from Maurice Wertheim, who had purchased it from Villard in a brief and particularly contentious period of the magazine's history.

As editor, Kirchwey was strongly supportive of Roosevelt's New Deal and later broke with Villard in her support of Roosevelt's involvement in World War II. She was strongly supportive of the anti-Franco faction during the Spanish Civil War and supported the creation of an independent Jewish state. Her opposition to fascism led to a strong belief in the value of strong ties to the Soviet Union, opposing fascism in general and Nazism more specifically. Kirchwey criticized the Soviet invasion of Finland, stating "The horrors that fascism wreaked in Spain, are being repeated, in the name of peace and socialism, in Finland". On the domestic front, she was a sharp critic of the House Un-American Activities Committee — calling Martin Dies Jr., its leader from 1938 to 1944, a "one-man Gestapo from Texas" — and the growth of McCarthyism in America. In 1944, some 1,300 people, including President Roosevelt and Albert Einstein, attended a testimonial dinner honoring Kirchwey's 25 years at The Nation. Another attendee was journalist Dorothy Thompson, who in a speech praised Kirchwey for having the courage "to throw light into dark places and to defend the people versus those interests that in our society have repeatedly striven to defeat the full realization of the promise of democracy." At the end of World War II, Kirchwey called on the United States and the Soviet Union to work together in international affairs, and argued that the certainty of nuclear proliferation meant the great powers must pool their sovereignty in a world government ("We face a choice between one world or none.") Louis Fischer resigned from the magazine afterwards, claiming Kirchwey's foreign coverage was too pro-Soviet. As a result of this evolution in the magazine's politics, both The Nation and its editor were criticized strongly, and some readers canceled their subscriptions, claiming The Nation was "pro-Communist". This criticism was repeated even at times by members of the American left; Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. famously referred to the magazine's "wretched apologies for Soviet despotism." The magazine's political marginalization, however, also had financial consequences, becoming a significant financial drain by the early 1940s. As a result, Kirchwey sold her individual ownership of the magazine in 1943, creating a nonprofit organization, Nation Associates, formed out of the money generated from a recruiting drive of sponsors. Nation Associates ran the magazine and also conducted research and organized conferences. In 1951, Kirchwey brought Carey McWilliams to work for The Nation.

Kirchwey, as president of Nation Associates, remained editor of the paper until 1955, when McWilliams became editor and George Kirstein became publisher.

After 1955, Kirchwey became involved with a collection of civil rights and pacifist organizations, including the Committee for a Democratic Spain, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, Committee for World Development and World Disarmament, the League of Women Voters, and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

In November 1915, Kirchwey married Evans Clark, then a Princeton University professor who later worked for The New York Times. They had three sons, only one of whom survived to adulthood.

She died on January 3, 1976, in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Ruth Fischer papers, 1925-1961 (inclusive) 1940-1961 (bulk) Houghton Library
referencedIn Papers, 1899-1940, 1956 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Kirchwey, Freda. Papers, 1871-1972 (inclusive), 1937-1971 (bulk) [microform]. Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Friends of the Spanish Republic. Correspondence with Theodore Dreiser, 1936-1945. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Barrows family papers, 1861-1931. Houghton Library
referencedIn Sheldon Glueck papers Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
creatorOf Eliot, T. S. (Thomas Stearns), 1888-1965. Letters of T.S. Eliot [manuscript], 1932 and 1943. University of Virginia. Library
referencedIn Lerner, Max, 1902-2001. Max Lerner papers, 1927-1992 (inclusive). Yale University Library
creatorOf Kirchwey, Freda. Correspondence to Van Wyck Brooks, 1955. University of Pennsylvania Library
referencedIn Gannett, Lewis, 1891-1966. Papers, 1681-1966 (bulk 1900-1960) Houghton Library
referencedIn Max Lerner papers, 1927-1998 Yale University. Department of Manuscripts and Archives
creatorOf Kirchwey, Freda. Correspondence to Maxwell Struthers Burt, 1947. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Margaret Marshall papers, 1805-1980 (inclusive), 1930-1974 Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Oswald Garrison Villard papers Houghton Library
creatorOf Kirchwey, Freda. Correspondence with Carl Zigrosser, 1917. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Papers of Doris Stevens, 1884-1983 (inclusive), 1920-1960 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Gruening, Ernest, 1887-1974. Correspondence with Theodore Dreiser, 1919-1945. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Papers of Dorothy Kirchwey Brown, 1917-1957 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Blair Moody Papers, 1928-1954, 1934-1952 Bentley Historical Library
creatorOf Nation Associates (New York, N.Y.). Correspondence with Marian Anderson, 1954. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Archibald MacLeish Papers, 1907-1981, (bulk 1925-1970) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Nation (New York, N.Y. : 1865). The Nation records, 1879-1974 (inclusive), 1920-1955 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Arthur J. Goldberg Papers, 1793-1990, (bulk 1941-1985) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Leon Trotsky exile papers, 1929-1940. Houghton Library
referencedIn J. B. Matthews Papers, 1862-1986 and undated David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library
referencedIn Newman, Pauline. Papers, 1903-1982 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Bendiner, Robert. Correspondence with Margaret Naumburg, 1943. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Lydia Nadejena Papers, 1907-1974, (bulk 1920-1960) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn The Nation, records, 1879-1974 (inclusive), 1920-1955 (bulk). Houghton Library
referencedIn Dennett, Mary Ware, 1872-1947. Papers: Series III, 1909-1942 (inclusive) [microform]. Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Papers of Mary E. (Mary Elisabeth) Dreier, 1797-1968 (inclusive), 1897-1968 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Browne, Waldo R. (Waldo Ralph), 1876-1954. Letters, 1917-1954, to Lewis Mumford. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
creatorOf Browne Waldo R. (Waldo Ralph), 1876-1954. Correspondence, 1919-1945, from Lewis Mumford. University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library
referencedIn Oswald Garrison Villard papers Houghton Library
referencedIn Van Waters, Miriam, 1887-1974. Papers, 1861-1971 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Newman, Pauline, ca. 1890-1986. Papers, 1900-1980 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Hudson, Manley Ottmer, 1886-1960. Papers, 1894-1960 Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138
referencedIn Papers of Mary Ware Dennett Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Kirchwey, Freda, 1893-1976. Papers, 1871-1972 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Papers of Mary E. (Mary Elisabeth) Dreier, 1797-1968 (inclusive), 1897-1968 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Kirchwey, Freda. Papers, 1879-1935 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Paul Blanshard Papers, 1912-1979 Bentley Historical Library
creatorOf SUPPLEMENTARY SHAW PAPERS. Vol. VIII (ff. 251). Miscellaneous correspondence of G. B. Shaw; 1905-1949, n.d. Partly autograph.Drama: Literary History: George Bernard Shaw, author: Correspondence and papers of George Bernard Shaw: 1888-1950, n.d.includ..., 1905-1949 British Library
creatorOf American Fund for Public Service. American Fund for Public Service records, 1922-1941. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Additional papers, (inclusive), (bulk), 1857-1976, 1912-1971 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Kirchwey, Freda. Correspondence with Johan Thorsten Sellin, 1936. University of Pennsylvania Library
referencedIn Van Waters, Miriam, 1887-1974. Papers, 1861-1971 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Simkhovitch, Mary K. (Mary Kingsbury), 1867-1951. Papers, 1852-1960 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Wisdom, William B. William B. Wisdom collection of Thomas Wolfe. 1909-1959. Houghton Library
referencedIn Welles mss., 1930-1950, (Bulk 1936-1947) Lilly Library (Indiana University, Bloomington)
referencedIn Joseph Barnes Papers, 1923-1970 Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
referencedIn New York Times Company records. Arthur Hays Sulzberger papers, 1823-1999 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn American Fund for Public Service records, 1922-1941 New York Public Library. Manuscripts and Archives Division
referencedIn Joseph Barnes Papers, 1923-1970 Columbia University. Rare Book and Manuscript Library
creatorOf Hopwood Awards Collection, 1930- University of Michigan
referencedIn Simkhovitch, Mary K. (Mary Kingsbury), 1867-1951. Papers, 1852-1960 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Bendiner, Robert,. Reminiscences of Robert Bendiner : oral history, 1994. Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries
referencedIn Gumberg, Alexander, 1887-1939. Papers, 1904-1939. Wisconsin Historical Society, Newspaper Project
Role Title Holding Repository
Relation Name
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associatedWith Knopf, Alfred, 1892- person
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correspondedWith MacLeish, Archibald, 1892-1982. person
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associatedWith Mary Melinda (Kingsbury) Simkhovitch, 1867-1951 person
associatedWith Mather, Kirtley F. (Kirtley Fletcher), 1888- person
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associatedWith Mencken, H. L., 1880-1956 person
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associatedWith Van Arx, Hugo. person
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associatedWith Wagner, Robert F. (Robert Ferdinand), 1877-1953. person
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associatedWith Whiting, Caroline. person
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associatedWith Worker's Defense League corporateBody
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Place Name Admin Code Country
Kingdom of Spain 00 ES
Lake Placid NY US
Saint Petersburg FL US
State of Israel 00 IL
Subject
Publishers and publishing
Anti-communist movements
Anti-fascist movements
Editors
Family records
Fascism
Israel statehood
Liberalism
New Deal, 1933-1939
Periodicals
Spanish Civil War
Voyages and travels
World War, 1939-1945
Occupation
Editors
Journalists
Activity

Person

Birth 1893-09-26

Death 1976-01-03

Female

Americans

English

Information

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