Scope and Content Note
The records of the Children's Crusade for Children document the history of an organization formed in the winter of 1939-1940 under the leadership of Marion G. Canby and Dorothy Canfield Fisher for the relief of war-exiled children of Europe. The purpose of the crusade, as outlined in articles, speeches and correspondence of Fisher and others, was to make American children aware of the blessings of living in a democratic country and to give these children an opportunity to express by contributions in pennies their sympathy for the plight of war-stricken children in other lands. The crusade was to culminate its drive in late April 1940, with a nationwide collection of money from public, private, and parochial school children.
The collection includes correspondence, administrative records, drafts of speeches and articles by Fisher and others, clippings concerning the crusade from newspapers and magazines around the country, responses or requests to officials for public support, and forms of publicity used to further the goals of the crusade.
Prominent correspondents in addition to Fisher and Canby include William Allen White, Herbert H. Lehman, and John Herling.