You hear the phrase "America First" and think it sounds like something you would definitely support. Think again. The phrase is often thought to be traced back to Charles Lindbergh in the l940's, but it's origins go even further back.
The earliest use of the phrase was in the 1880's. It was a phrase used by Republicans, but it didn't enter the national discussion until 1915, when Woodrow Wilson used it in the speech arguing neutrality in World War 1. What Wilson meant was not isolationism. He meant America would be first in Europe to help whichever side won.
When Mussolini took power in November 1922, the word "fascism" entered the American political conversation. This was between 1915 to mid 1920's, when the Second Klan was on the rise. The Klan instantly declared "America First" one of its most prominent slogans. They would march in parades with banners saying they (the Klan) was the only "America First" society.
By the 1930's "America First" stopped being a presidential slogan and began to be claimed by extremist, far-right groups who were self-styled American Fascist groups, like the German American Bund and the Klan. When the America First Committee was formed in 1940, it became a magnet that attracted all of these far-right groups. Lindberg and the Committee used the phrase, but it's history started long before the 1940's.
Think again when you hear the phrase "America First" and you'll realize it's not something you want to be associated with. It's a far-right, anti-Semitic, White Nationalist phrase that has no place in our democratic society.
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