Citizenship Day: The Eyes of the Nation Were Upon Us
Taken from the publication “Radio Guide; Complete Programs to be Broadcast for Week Ending May, 27th” (1939), this image promoting radio coverage of Manitowoc’s Citizenship Day shows the dark carnage of war in Europe in the background with a pair of Manitowoc youth glowing purely in the foreground.
We, as Americans have much to be proud of. As citizens of a democracy, we enjoy freedom from oppression, the privilege to elect our leaders, and a quality of life that most of the world could only dream of.
The Second World War was a time of great national unity and patriotism. For a short time of this era, the eyes of the nation fell upon the small city of Manitowoc, along the shores of Lake Michigan.
The reason was the Citizenship Day celebration held on May 21st, 1939. It was the first time in America that an entire group of new voters, then age 21, took a pubic oath of Citizenship. Nearly twenty five thousand people gathered for the parade that strode through downtown and ended at Lincoln High School. The parade was reported to have taken over an hour to pass by as floats, bands, military units and new voters marched along. The induction ceremony at Lincoln High School was presided over by Judge Albert H. Schmidt. Featured speakers at the ceremony were Dr. Clarence Dykstra, president of the University of Wisconsin and Chief Justice Marvin B. Rosenberry of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Citizen Day received great attention as NBC featured a nationwide radio broadcast of the event. In fact, programs from Manitowoc were broadcast the entire week preceding the parade and ceremony. Crews were on site from Universal and Pathe movie studios to produce news pieces that would be played before their movies at the theater. The festivities were covered by newspapers across the region and by the Associated Press, which distributes news nationwide. Articles appeared in papers such as the Chicago Tribune, Detroit News and the Boston Globe.
Numerous letters of support were received by organizers of the event from dignitaries such as F.B.I Director J. Edgar Hoover and film star Edward Arnold. The idea spread to other communities and eventually led to a congressional resolution proclaiming May 18th as national Citizenship Recognition Day.
America always rises to the challenge, but take a moment to imagine if we all pledged to live up to the responsibilities of our citizenship during times of peace. There would be no limit to what our society could achieve.