Devere Allen

Devere Allen as he appeared in March 1937, at the time of the national convention of the Socialist Party of America.

Devere Allen (1891–1955) was an American socialist and pacifist political activist and journalist. Allen is best remembered as the main editor of The World Tomorrow following the departure of Norman Thomas from the magazine in 1922. Allen was the author of more than 20 books and pamphlets and was active in the leadership of several political organizations, including the League for Independent Political Action (1928–1932) and the Socialist Party of America.

Biography

Early years Devere Allen was born June 24, 1891, in Providence, Rhode Island. He attended elementary school in several New England towns, including Providence, Westerly, Rhode Island, and New London, Connecticut, before being enrolled in the Wheeler School, still located in North Stonington, Connecticut.

During his younger years, Allen worked variously as a farmhand, a retail clerk, a restaurant waiter, and a school teacher. In response, he joined the pacifist Fellowship of Reconciliation (FoR), which had been established in the United States in 1915.

Electoral politics also attracted Allen's attention. In 1932 he was the candidate of the Socialist Party for United States Senate from his home state of Connecticut. Allen was returned to that position by the 1938 National Convention of the SPA, serving a two-year term. The substantial holding, totaling some 80 linear feet of material, was donated to the school in 1961 and is available to be freely used by interested scholars.

Works A War-Time Credo. [Oberlin, OH]: Oberlin Fellowship of Reconciliation, n.d. [c. 1918]. War Resistance as War Prevention. New York City: Fellowship of Reconciliation, n.d. [c. 1928]. Pacifism in the Modern World. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1929. The Fight for Peace. New York: Macmillan, 1930. "Killdeer in Connecticut," The Auk, vol. 47, no. 4 (Oct. 1930), pg. 561. Will Socialism End the Evil of War? Girard, KS: Haldeman-Julius Publishing Co., 1931. Adventurous Americans. New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1932. A Survey of the Parties, 1932. New York: The World Tomorrow, 1932. "Wintering or Early Arrival of the Great Blue Heron in Connecticut," The Auk, vol. 49, no. 3 (July 1932), pg. 342. "The World's Stake in Austria," North American Review, vol. 236 no. 3 (Sept. 1933), pp. 231–237. "Pine Grosbeak Nesting in Connecticut," The Auk, vol. 50, no. 4 (Oct. 1933), pp. 442–443. "The Peace Movement Moves Left," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 175 (Sept.1934), pp. 150–155. "Socialism: Gateway to Democracy," Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 180 (July 1935), pp. 74–82. In JSTOR Justice Triumphs in Spain: A Letter About the Trial of the POUM. With Norman Thomas. New York: Socialist Party of the United States, n.d. . How to Meet Totalitarianism: Excerpts from Address, May 20, 1939. New York: War Resisters League, 1939. What Next? London: Friends' Peace Committee, n.d. . The Caribbean: Laboratory of World Cooperation. New York City: League for Industrial Democracy, 1943. "Cultural Missions Bringing Light to Mexican Masses," Hispania, vol. 27, no. 1 (Feb. 1944), pp. 69–70. Non-Violence Goes Latin. London: Peace News, 1945. What Europe Thinks About America. Hinsdale, IL: Henry Regnery Co., 1948. Above All Nations: An Anthology. Edited with George Edward Gordon Catlin. New York: Harper, 1949.