Connecticut State Council of Defense

Governor Marcus H. Holcomb, 1915-1921

Governor Holcomb's Message to the Citizens of Connecticut

Governor Holcomb

The Governor of Connecticut during World War I was Marcus H. Holcomb. He had first been elected to the post for the 1915-1916 term, was reelected for the 1917-1918 term and was reelected a third time for the 1919-1920 term. Holcomb was 70 years old when he became Governor, following an already long career in public service to Connecticut. Previously, he had been a Probate Judge, a member of the Connecticut Senate, Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, Connecticut Attorney General and a Connecticut Superior Court Judge.

When the Republican Convention was held in 1914, Holcomb was in the last months of his judgeship before reaching mandatory retirement at 70 and had no plans to continue public service. But his name was place in nomination and he became the Republican’s candidate. Convinced that campaigning for the office was not appropriate for a sitting Superior Court Judge, Holcomb did not participate but he was elected Governor nonetheless.  

Governor Holcomb was an early and enthusiastic supporter of the nation’s war efforts. As had Governor William Buckingham during the Civil War, Holcomb was referred to as “Connecticut’s War Governor.” Even before the United States entered the war, Holcomb had initiated a comprehensive census of Connecticut residents and of available resources. He also appointed and thereafter worked closely throughout the war with Connecticut’s Council of Defense.

President Wilson's War Address to Congress

An Act Concerning Aliens required registration with the State of Connecticut by foreign born

Comprehensive Mobilization of Civilian Resources

Even before President Wilson’s war announcement, Holcomb convinced the Connecticut General Assembly of the importance of assuring Connecticut’s readiness. In just one day, March 14, 1917, the General Assembly passed and Holcomb signed Public Act 44, “An Act Directing the Governor to Assist the Government of the United States in the Present Crisis and Authorizing Him to Provide for the Public Safety.” Public Act 44 essentially provided Holcomb with carte blanche to mobilize for the war effort: “to organize and employ any and all resources within the state, whether of men, properties or instrumentalities, and to exercise any and all power convenient or necessary in his judgment.”  

As the work of the Council of Defense began in earnest, Governor Holcomb emphasized the Council’s key role as the focal point of all civilian activities undertaken in furtherance of the war effort. The Council became involved in virtually every aspect of civilian activity in any way related to the war. This is evident from a review of even a partial list of departments and committees the Council established and oversaw: Publicity; Americanization; Food Supply; Transportation; Child Welfare; Health and Recreation; Non-War Construction; Historical Records; Education; Sanitation and Medicine; War Savings. After a time, and after more than a little discussion, the Council also established a robust Woman’s Division.

The Connecticut Council of Defense was acknowledged by the federal government, by other states and by historians for its efficient organization at the state and local level, for its coordination of messaging to citizens of the state, and for its creativity and innovation. “For all-around ability, for its capacity to recognize new problems, and for its imaginative response to the tasks of home-front mobilization, the Connecticut Council had few equals in the nation.” (William Breen, Uncle Sam at Home)

Poster for War Rally in Litchfield, December 14, 1917

Department of Publicity

Though the focus of later sections of this exhibit is on the Council of Defense’s work on Americanization, and while other committees and departments of the Council are equally deserving of attention, the work of the Council’s Department of Publicity deserves special mention. In a word, the work of the Department of Publicity was ubiquitous. The overriding theme of that work was loyalty. Virtually every project undertaken by the Department of Publicity was designed to infuse and to demand the loyalty of all Connecticut’s residents. Describing its work in its final report, the Council said that its goal was “the stimulation of patriotic effort and the steadying of morale.”

Pamphlets, Posters, Speakers and More

If the Council of Defense had at its disposal the internet, blogs, social media and Twitter, there is no doubt these vehicles of communication would have been effectively deployed to organize and to communicate with citizens of Connecticut. As it was, the Council utilized all available means to share its messaging.  These included proclamations from the Governor, literature distributed to and through the clergy, direct mailings to a list of individuals identified as thought leaders across the state, information for children made available through the schools, and information for workers in industrial plants, and more.

Council of Defense, War Bulletin No. 1

Following President Wilson’s war message to Congress, the Connecticut Council’s Department of Publicity distributed a series of pamphlets intended to reiterate and support the President’s message.  As will be addressed in more detail in the section “Americanization in Connecticut – The Dark Side,” it is telling that the Connecticut Council’s War Bulletin No. 1 was entitled “Suggestions and Requirements for Enemy Aliens.” On the one hand, this bulletin reminded citizens of the United States “to treat all foreigners who conduct themselves in accordance with law, with kindness and friendliness.” On the other hand, the bulletin emphasized, among other things, that any person from a country at war with the U.S. was not allowed to possess or operate any firearms, aircraft, or wireless devices, or to have any paper or book “in which there may be invisible writing.”