Reactions to War

Alan Lomax to David Mearns,
December 8, 1941 Memo

Alan Lomax to Fletcher Collins,
December 8, 1941 Telegram

On December 8, 1941, Alan Lomax, then “assistant in charge” of the Archive of American Folk Song (now the Archive of Folk Culture, American Folklife Center), sent a telegram to fieldworkers in ten different localities across the U.S. asking them to collect “man-on-the-street” reactions of ordinary Americans to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declaration of war. All told, approximately twelve hours of opinions were documented in the days and months following the bombing of Pearl Harbor from more than two hundred individuals. The recordings captured a wide diversity of opinion concerning the war and other social and political issues of the day.

Alan Lomax to John Lomax,
December 8, 1941 Telegram
American Folklife Center (227.1a-c)