American School Peace League

Founded in 1908 at the Summer School of the South by Fannie Fern (Phillips) Andrews (1867–1950), the American School Peace League (after World War I, the American School Citizenship League) was intended to promote peace by introducing principles of international justice and fraternity into the curricula of US schools. By 1915 it had branches in 40 states, primarily because of the energy of Andrews and her fellow peace workers, including Lucia Ames Mead. The National Education Association urged all teachers to cooperate with the league. In 1912 US Commissioner of Education Philander P. Claxton, who had known Andrews at the Summer School of the South, invited her to serve as special advisor to the Department of Education. The league distributed circulars, leaflets, and booklets for classroom use and in 1914 published a peace curriculum. The league ceased to function when its founder died in 1950. Andrews held the bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate from Radcliffe and published a highly regarded work, The Holy Land Under Mandate.