TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary

Historical Note

Scope and Contents

Arrangement

Restrictions

Administrative Information

Related Material

Index Terms

Bibliography

Detailed Description of the Collection

Series 1: Muldoon-Burke Files 1891(1917-1933)1933

Series 2: Records of the Executive Secretary of CSWA, 1915(1917-1919)1929

Series 3: Records of the Director of Building Operations, 1918-1920

Series 4: Records of the Reconstruction Committee, 1918-1922

Series 5: Records of the Women's Committee, 1917-1930

Series 6: Records of the Men and Women's Committee, 1917-1921

Series 7: Records of the Men's Committee, 1918-1932

Series 8: Records of the Overseas Committee, 1918-1933

Series 9: Records of the Historical Records Committee and Bureau, 1917-1933

Series 10: Photographs, 1918-1925, n.d.

National Catholic War Council

An inventory of Records of the National Catholic War Council at The American Catholic History Research Center and University Archives

Mailing Address: The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. 20064

Telephone: 202-319-5065

Email: archives@mail.lib.cua.edu

URL: http://libraries.cua.edu/achrcua/index.html

Historical Note

Historically, the American Catholic Church did not have a unified voice on the national and international stage though it did meet in occasional councils such as in 1852, 1866, and 1884. The organization of the American Federation of Catholic Societies in 1901 did little to encourage national unity as many in the American hierarchy were either indifferent or hostile to the Federation, which was also troubled by ethnic conflicts. There was, however, a growing trend in America in the early twentieth century towards organization on a national level. Advances in transportation and communication together with a national economy and the growing power of the federal government induced many groups to organize nationally to promote their interests. The mainstream Protestant churches formed the Federal Council of Churches in 1908 and many Catholics, divided by region and ethnicity, were concerned about their increasing vulnerability. There was some progress regarding education and charity with the establishment of the Catholic Education Association (later the National Catholic Education Association) in 1904 and the National Conference of Catholic Charities (later Catholic Charities USA) in 1910, but there was otherwise limited progress toward creating a more effective national voice until the First World War. With this seminal event, Catholic church leaders, concerned about being excluded from the national mobilization effort and hoping to demonstrate Catholic loyalty, created the National Catholic War Council (NCWC). Organized after two meetings in 1917 at The Catholic University of America (CUA) in Washington DC, the War Council was an emergency organization that represented Catholic interests in the U.S. Congress, addressed the needs of soldiers at home and overseas, promoted the Americanization of recent immigrants, and developed a Program for the Social Reconstruction of American society after the war.

The records of the NC War Council provide valuable information about Catholic social work and the history of the American Catholic Church. The United States entered the First World War on 6 April 1917 and American Catholics responded swiftly. On April 18, at the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of The Catholic University of America (CUA), the bishops wrote a letter to President Woodrow Wilson offering the support and cooperation of American Catholics in the war effort. Several Catholic societies, including the Knights of Columbus and the Chaplain's Aid Association, also offered the government their assistance and attempted to meet special war needs. However, it soon became clear that a cooperative effort was necessary and Father John J. Burke of the Chaplain's Aid Association suggested to Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore a general meeting of all Catholic societies to coordinate their war work. He received Gibbon's approval as well as that of Cardinal John M. Farley of New York and Cardinal William O'Connell of Boston. On August 11-12 a meeting was held at CUA attended by one hundred fifteen representatives of forty-two dioceses, twenty-seven national Catholic societies and eighteen Catholic publications. Burke presented a plan for a coordinating agency, and a resolution was passed to create a national organization to unify all Catholic war activities. The organization was called the National Catholic War Council, and Burke was elected president. An executive council composed of delegates from the archdioceses, the Knights of Columbus and the American Federation of Catholic Societies directed its work. One of Burke's first acts was to invite other religious agencies to set up an ecumenical committee to advise the U.S. War Department on religious and moral matters. This Committee of Six, of which Burke was named permanent chairman, was designated an official advisory body of the Secretary of War.

In November 1917 the National Catholic War Council was reorganized to give the bishops more direct operational responsibility. The archbishops were constituted as the Council and they appointed an Administrative Committee of four bishops: Peter J. Muldoon of Rockford (Chairman), Joseph B. Schrembs of Toledo, Patrick J. Hayes of New York (succeeded by Joseph S. Glass of Salt Lake City) and William T. Russell of Charleston. The Administrative Committee met for the first time at CUA on 18 January 1918 to determine the organization and work of the new and improved War Council. It was now composed of the fourteen archbishops, the Administrative Committee of the four bishops, an Executive Committee of the same four bishops, six members of the Knights of Columbus Committee on War Activities, and six members of the original NCWC sub-committees. In addition, there was an Advisory Finance Committee of prominent businessmen and a general committee that included members of the old War Council Executive Committee. The war work of the Knights of Columbus was carried out under the auspices of the NCWC through its Knights of Columbus Committee on War Activities headed first by Patrick H. Callahan and then by William J. Mulligan. This committee and the NCWC Committee on Special War Activities (CSWA), with Father Burke as Chairman, directed the operations of the NCWC, including the work of the original six sub-committees of Finance, Chaplain's Aid, National Catholic Interests (originally Legislation), Men's Activities (formerly Recreation and Recreation Halls), Women's Activities, and Historical Records. The Reconstruction and Overseas committees were added later.

The CSWA operated through its Chairman, Father Burke, his Executive Secretary (first Walter Hooke and then Michael J. Slattery), and the sub-committees chairmen and secertaries. Burke was the laison with the government's Commission on Training Activities and the Morale Divison of the U.S. War Department. In August 1918, the War Department recognized the National Catholic War Council as an official government agent in war welfare work enabling it to participate in the United War Work Campaign of 1918 where it received thirty six million dollars as its share of the fund drive, most of which went to the work of the Knights of Columbus and the NCWC overseas units. Following the Armistice of November 1918 action was taken to make the NCWC a permanent organization. On 24 September 1919 the American bishops passed a resolution creating the National Catholic Welfare Council and three months later the Welfare Council formally took over the work of the War Council with headquarters remaining in Washington, D.C. In 1922, the name of the National Catholic Welfare Council was changed to the National Catholic Welfare Conference, which has survived under several name changes into the twenty first century. The National Catholic War Council itself was officially dissolved as a corporation on April 30, 1931.

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Scope and Contents

The voluminous records of the National Catholic War Council, organized into ten series, contain the files of Bishop Peter J. Muldoon, chairman of the NCWC administrative committee, and those of Father John J. Burke, chairman of the Committee on Special War Activities (CSWA. They also contain the files of the CSWA executive secretary and the individual sub-committees. Included are administrative, financial, and legal records as well as official and some personal correspondence of officers, news clippings, printed material such as pamphlets, photographs, posters, and memorabilia. Also noteworthy is the census of Catholic armed forces personnel compiled by the Committee on Historical Records and preserved on microfilm. The bulk of the collection deals with the daily operations of wartime and reconstruction activities at home and abroad during the years 1917-1921. This work was carried out, under the direction of the War Council's Committee on Special War Activities (CSWA).

Series 1, Muldoon-Burke, 1891(1917-1933)1933, boxes 1-12, consists of the records (1917-1927) of Bishop Peter J. Muldoon (the Rockford Files), chairman of the National Catholic War Council Administrative Committee; the records (chiefly 1917-1928) of Father John J. Burke, chairman of the War Council Committee on Special War Activities; the records of Father Burke's Special Committee of One (1919-1933); and the minutes (1918-1921) of meetings of the Committee on Special War Activities (CSWA). These files, which were transferred to CUA in 1976, decades after the first deposit, constitute the most critical series of records that document the beginnings of the National Catholic War Council, its organizational structure, its policies, and its actions. The hierarchy, lead by Cardinal James Gibbons, was the source of authority, with leadership provided initially by Father Burke and later by Bishop Muldoon and Father Burke together who consulted on all major decisions, especially the appointments of the committee chairmen and secretaries. Burke, however, who combined a missionary fervor with a taste for diplomacy, was and remained the heart and soul of the organization. Because of the overlapping nature of the files the decision was made not to attempt to separate them into different sub-series.

Series 2, Executive Secretary, 1915(1917-1919)1929, boxes 12-17, includes correspondence, reports, and related material regarding the daily operations of the Committee on Special War Activities (CSWA) and the coordination of the work of its seven subcommittees of Finance, Chaplains' Aid, Catholic Interests (formerly Legislation), Men's Activities (originally Recreation and Recreation Halls), Women's Activities, Reconstruction and After-War Activities, and Historical Records. There are also some materials from the Knights of Columbus. Soon after opening the War Council's Washington office in 1917, Father Burke hired Walter G. Hooke to serve as the Executive Secretary. Hooke had previously worked as Secretary of the Committee of Fourteen, a New York City anti-vice organization. Initially Hooke was in charge of a small staff of office personnel but this eventually grew to include several field secretaries. Suggestions of financial mismanagement arose and Hooke resigned in July of 1919 and was succeeded by Michael J. Slattery.

Series 3, Director of Building Operations, 1918-1920, boxes 18-19, contains correspondence as well as employment and financial records regarding construction projects of the National Catholic War Council in the United States. The Director was Cornelious Callahan and these files consist of his general correspondence, his correspondence with Procurement Officer L.G. Smith, and his alpabetical subject files ranging from Visitor Houses at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland and Walter Reed Hospital in Washington to the Community House in East St. Louis.

Series 4, Reconstruction Committee, 1918-1922, boxes 20-35, includes reports, correspondence, and related material of the Chairman and the Secretary of the Committee, as well as the areas of Employment Service, Hospital Social Service, Vocational Rehabilitation, Education and Research, Land Colonization, the Motion Picture Bureau, the Pittsburgh Catholic Social Study Survey, mostly duplicate Womens' and Mens' committee material, and other miscellaneous items. This committee, established on 5 May 1918, attempted to study and prepare for postwar problems. Among other things, it dealt with Americanization programs for immigrants and operated fifteen free out-patient and social service clinics in American Catholic hospitals for discharged service men and their families as well as two vocational rehabilitation schools for disabled service men. The first Committee Chairman was Msgr. M.J. Splaine of Boston with Father John O'Grady as Secretary. O'Grady was later Chairman and also served a long tenure, 1919-1961, as Executive Secretary of the National Conferencec of Catholic Charities (NCCC).

Series 5, Women's Committee, 1917-1930, boxes 36-50, includes records of the Secretary of the Committee (1917-1921), the Visitors Houses and Services Clubs (1918-1924), the Community Centers (1917-1930), and Clifton Training School (1918-1919). This committee was organized to coordinate the work of 4,959 American Catholic women's societies. Twelve Visitors' Houses were built and operated at or near U.S. military camps. Twenty-one community centers were set up and recreational facilities provided to support women and girls who were war workers. A training school for women social workers, known as The National Service School for Women, was founded at Clifton in the nation's capitol, and sent many graduates overseas as War Council workers. The Committee Chairman was Father William J. Kerby with first Father John Smyth (resigned 31 July 1918) and then Father John Montgomery Cooper of CUA as Secretary.

Series 6, Men and Women's Committee, 1917-1921, boxes 51-55, contains records such as correspondence and reports of the wartime and reconstruction work of American Catholic lay organizations including but not limited to the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH), the Catholic Knights of America, the Catholic Mutual Benevolent Association, the Catholic Order of Foresters, the Christ Child Society, the Daughters of Isabella, the Holy Name Society, the International Federation of Catholic Alumnae (IFCA), the Knights of St. George, the Knights of St. John, the Queen's Daughers, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and the Western Catholic Union. Of special interest are completed questionnaires composed by the Committee on Men's Activities, the Committee of Women's Activities, and the Bureau of Historical Records requesting information about the war work of these various lay organizations.

Series 7, Men's Committee, 1918-1932, boxes 56-60,includes the administrative papers of the Committee (1918-1920), Diocesan War Council correspondence and reports (1918-1924), material concerning the Students Army Training Corps and scholarships for French soldiers (1918-1919), war waste reclamation correspondence (1918-1919), and records of Catholic men's organizations (1918-1920), the Service Clubs (1918-1922), and the Everyman Clubs (1919-1921). This committee managed and coordinated the war and reconstruction work of 9,714 Catholic men's societies and served as a clearinghouse for local diocesan activities. It assisted the War Department Committee on Education and Special Training in identifying Catholic colleges eligible for the Students Army Training Corps (SATC) program and promoted the program in Catholic institutions. Twenty-two service clubs were set up under the direction of local diocesan war councils across the country to provide food, shelter, and entertainment for soldiers. After the war ended, efforts were made to reintegrate soldiers into civilian life through employment services, vocational training, and education courses. Fifteen Everyman's Clubs were established to help with this work. The Men's Committee was also involved in the formation of a Catholic Bureau of the Boy Scouts. Overseas, war reconstruction work was carried out in Czechoslovakia in cooperation with the Bohemian Alliance of Catholics of the United States and scholarships were provided for wounded French soldiers. Charles I. Denechaud was the first Chairman and Michael J. Slattery the first Secretary.

Series 8, Overseas Committee, 1918-1933, boxes 61-73, has W.S.(War Subject) files (1918-1933) assembled by the Historical Records Committee and Bureau primarily from files of the Overseas Commissioner, arranged chronologically according to W.S. number, and Paris Office files (1919-1920), which contain papers of the Overseas Commissioner, arranged chronologically following an index. Included is material in regard to the construction, purchase, and maintenance of the Overseas Houses as well as correspondence concerning the history of The St. Vincent de Paul Society in the United States. Overseas work had been conducted through the Men's and Women's Committees until March 1919 when Charles I. Denechaud was appointed Overseas Commissioner directing all War Council activities outside the United States. In January 1919, the Etoile Service Club was opened in Paris and soon became one of the most popular of the American clubs in Europe. Between January 1919 and the end of March 1920, twenty-eight War Council Overseas Houses were set up in France, Belgium, Italy, and Poland. They included rooms for nurses and other allied women war workers, canteens, playgrounds and nurseries, boarding houses for unmarried working women, and social centers and women's clubs that offered English language classes, typing, stenography, sewing, knitting, cooking, and other courses. The War Council closed down its overseas operations in March 1920 and twenty-one houses were turned over to local committees in the various countries.

Series 9, Historical Records Committee and Bureau, 1917-1933, boxes 74-110, includes records of the United War Work Campaign Drive of 1918, some W.S. files concerning War Council activities (1917-1933), miscellaneous personnel correspondence files (1917-1933), information requests (1918-1933), G.I. (General Interest) File of war reference material (1917-1933), a census (35 reels on 16 mm microfilm) of American Catholic servicemen, material relating to the writing of Michael Williams' popular history of the War Council (1917-1921), and miscellaneous publications. This committee, directed by Msgr. Henry T. Drumgoole, with Father Peter Guilday of CUA as Secretary, was created to maintain a national Catholic archives for the preservation and use of materials dealing with Catholic war activities. Both men were historians whose goals included gathering evidence to counter bigoted charges that American Catholics were not patriotic. They also encouraged the parishes and dioceses to set up museums and archives. This committee's function was transferred to the National Catholic Welfare Council (later Conference)'s Department of Historical Records that was headed by Daniel J. Ryan, 1920-1932, whose 1941 CUA doctoral dissertation, American Catholic World War I Records, is an important supplement to Michael Williams' earlier work.

Series 10, Photographs, 1918-1925, and undated, boxes 111-112, includes loose as well as panoramic photographs, plate glass negatives, postcards, scrapbooks, and memorabilia. This series has been divided into four subseries: Knights of Columbus, Women, Scrapbooks, and Memorabilia. The Knights of Columbus photographs primarily focus on community outreach in education and military hospitals. Postwar photos of the Knights of Columbus evening schools in the American South are noteworthy in that some were devoted to African-Americans. Photographs in the Women sub-series depict war relief efforts in Poland, France, Belgium, and Czechoslovakia, with the Children of the Frontier service for orphaned children prominent. The three scrapbooks contain photographs of a military mass, wartime newspaper clippings and art notices, and foreign postcards. The Memorabilia consists of a small collection of pins, medals, and a bible.

The materials are rich in social and economic information found particularly in correspondence, reports, and surveys regarding such topics as industrialization and Americanization. There are gaps, however, with little material concerning the Committee on Chaplains' Aid and its parent organization, the Chaplains' Aid Association, founded by Father Burke, that was responsible for distributing religious articles and books to the soldiers and mass kits to the Catholic chaplains. There is also little on the Committee on Catholic Interests (formerly Legislation), chaired by Msgr. Edward Kelly of Chicago, that studied current legislation dealing with Catholic issues such as adequate representation of Catholic chaplains and exemption of seminarians from military service. Records of the Committee on Finance, based in New York City with John G. Agar as Treasurer and Edward A. Arnold as Comptroller, are also scarce though there are numerous Agar related files throughout the collection. The records of the War Council, Knights of Columbus Committee on War Activities, headed first by Patrick H. Callahan and then William J. Mulligan, which directed the World War I work of the Knights of Columbus in the camps at home and abroad, are not present.

Extensive photocopying of fragile material, primarily correspondence, onto acid free paper has been undertaken, especially for Series One. Thereafter, to save on bulk, some exceptions have been made to not photocopy items reflective of routine office matters, generally very brief memos or letters of acknowledgement. In either case, original materials have been retained regardless of their state of preservation though with ample efforts made to inhibit acid migration with folders. In addition, the records were housed for many years in 5 inch document cases but were later re-boxed, with consequent re-numbering, into record center boxes that can make the checking of older citations problematic at best.

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Arrangement

The records of the National Catholic War Council (NCWC) consists of 10 series:

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

None

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Administrative Information

Acquisition Information

The National Catholic Welfare Conference (NCWC) initially deposited the records of its predecessor, the National Council War Council (NCWC), at The Catholic University of America (CUA) in 1952, with further, smaller deposits in 1957, 1968, and 1976. This original accession, some 30 file cabinets of material, was what remained of the work of the War Council's Committee on Historical Records which sought to document Catholic participation in World War One. In 1953, files of parish lists containing names of Catholic men in the military and information regarding parishes in every American diocese, were microfilmed on 16 mm film with the original material destroyed. Some 140 feet of records of the various committees were retained. In 1954, CUA Archivist Henry Browne reported that "careful weeding" of War Council records "resulted in the disposal of over 40 linear feet of useless materials." The 1976 accession, coming to about 26 feet, included the files of Bishop Muldoon and John Burke. The year before, in 1975, CUA was designated by contract as the repository for the permanent, non-current records of the United States Catholic Conference (USCC), immediate successor to the NCWC and known since 2001 as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

Processing Information

Initial processing by Anthony Zito and Monica Blanchard, 1977-1984, with further processing and revisions by Patrick C. Cullom and William J. Shepherd, 2001-2008. Additional contributions by Paul Delponte, Jane Fitch, John Flanagan, Mary Beth Fraser, Kate Humphreys, Jennifer Jukes, Lorene Nilles, Rosabelle Kelp, Robin Pike, and H. Warren Willis. EAD Markup language by William J. Shepherd and W. Jordan Patty, 2006-2008.

In order to promote research and access to this important body of records the decision was made to post this finding aid despite the fact that a complete index of folders is not available. The records have been organized and the first 4 of 10 series indexed. Additional series index lists will be added as they become available. Please direct any question to archives@mail.lib.cua.edu.

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Related Material

In the Catholic University archives:

Bishop Peter James Muldoon Diary on microfilm.

NCWC, especially the Executive Department/Office of the General Secretary (OGS).

The CUA archives also holds copies of publications such as the NCWC Bulletin.

Related materials at other major research institutions include:

John Burke Papers at the Paulist Archives in Washington, DC

Knights of Columbus War Committee Records at the Knights Museum in New Haven, Connecticut

NCWC Immigration Department Records at the Center for Migration Studies at Staten Island, NY.

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Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access subject terms.

Persons:

Organizations:

Places:

Subjects:

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Bibliography

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Detailed Description of the Collection