The American Heritage Project: Librarians and the Democratic Tradition in the Early Cold War

In the late 1940s and early 1950s the American Library Association sought to promote the role of libraries in adult education and to secure federal funding for public library service amid the mounting censorship attacks of the early cold war. Through its American Heritage Project, begun in 1951 with funds from the Ford Foundation, the ALA demonstrated its belief that loyalty to democracy and commitment to free speech were not only compatible but identical. Organizing library discussion groups as a forum to consider the meaning of traditional American values in a time of crisis, librarians claimed an active part for themselves, reached a wider audience, and laid the groundwork for broader support of libraries. Despite the risks, librarians reaffirmed their professional commitment to intellectual freedom and the important role of the public library in defending it.