The Good Fight Production Materials

I looked at the box of production materials for The Good Fight, which produced some very interesting documents. I found a letter from a politician, Cordell Hull, to Senator Key Pittman disagreeing with Pittman's proposed resolution to lift the Spanish embargo. The arms embargo was first put into law on January 8th, 1937. Only one representative voted against it - I wonder who? In his letter, Hull refrains from calling the Spanish Civil War a civil war, but instead refers to the "civil strife" in Spain. This purposeful manipulation of language makes me think of the current US government's tentativeness to call the genocide in Darfur genocide. The terms politicians use to describe world events in themselves hold significance.

In another letter, Albert Einstein praises the work of the North American Community to Aid Spanish Democracy. As I keep coming across strong support for the Republic among prominent leaders of the artistic community, it is hard for me to imagine that the general feeling in the US was against intervention. I suppose the artists are only one small demographic, though, and do not represent nationwide views.

The grant request form for the Media Program, the sponsoring group, listed the total cost to make the movie at $244,331, which seems fairly cheap.

In the publicity folder, I found one ad and several articles spreading information about the film. Through these ads, I found out that the filmmakers were from Boston. One article spoke of the Julio Mela Brigade, made up of Cuban exiles who had fled to the US. This could be an interesting topic to research later on. In one piece, Noel Buckner specifically mentions that a person active in a pro-Republic committee in the US should be called a liberal or conservative, but NOT a leftist. I do not understand the offensive nature or innaccuracy of the term leftist, and I also don't think conservative would ever make sense when describing a US supporter of the Republic. Can you explain to me what Buckner meant?

My favorite find in the box was the transcript from a speech issued by FDR on Oct. 5, 1937. He moves away from the political strategy of isolation. Here are some quotes:

"The peace-loving nations must make a concerted effort in opposition to those violations of treaties and those ignorings of humane instincts which today are creating a state of international anarchy and instability from which there is no escape through mere isolation or neutrality."

"There is a solidarity and interdependence about the modern world, both technically and morally, which makes it impossible for any nation completely to isolate itself from economic and political upheavals in the rest of the world."

"If civilization is to survive, the principles of the Prince of Peace must be restored." What is the Prince of Peace?

"America actively engages in the search for peace." Active engagement implies intervention not isolation.

"It is my determination to pursue a policy of peace." Pursuing peace also implies that avoiding the problem will not preserve peace but that taking action and defeating the nations who wish to wage war will lead to peace.

These quotes are inspiring and on point, but his actions from 1937 -1939 do not reflect these words at all.