The Fifth Column Menaces America on a Thousand Fronts

After World War I, the fear of communism’s influence on the American way of life was common to many Americans. People were frightened that their way of life would become obsolete. To address these concerns, citizens and other groups organized anti-communism efforts to inform the public about possible communist activities on national and local levels.

The Constitutional Educational League was one of the nationwide groups organized to publicize the wrongs of communism. The group, which was founded after World War I, produced brochures and maps like Vote CIO and Get a Soviet America and Hitler Was a Liberal. Joseph Kamp, the once vice-president of the league, wrote most of the publications including The Fifth Column Menaces America on a Thousand Fronts. This map provides the locations of supposed communist, fascist, and Nazi organizations in the United States in 1941. The front of the map provides a look at the locations and types of anti-American groups in the United States as seen in this detail of the south. The opposite side lists all of “The Danger Spots in Your Community” with explanations as to why communism, fascism, and Nazism were dangerous to Americans.

This map can be viewed online here. You may also view the original map by visiting McCain Library & Archives (Room 305) in the Theodore Bilbo Collection (M2) in box 1000, folder 15.

For more information on this item, contact Jennifer Brannock at or 601.266.4347. To see more Items of the Month, click here.

Text by Jennifer Brannock, Curator of Rare Books and Mississippiana