Town Hall, Inc. records

1895-1955 [bulk 1940-1955] D

Following the defeat in 1894 of the women's suffrage amendment to the New York State constitution six prominent suffragists created the League for Political Education in New York City. Led by Mary Putnam Jacobi, the founders sought to continue the struggle for women's rights by raising political consciousness. In 1901 Robert Ely became its director, a post he held until 1837. In 1907 a kindred. service, the Civic Forum, was formed by the League to foster higher standards of. civic responsibility and international goodwill. In the same year the League formed The Economic Club as a non-partisan organization for the discussion of economic, social, and industrial problems. The League opened The Town Hall on 43rd Street in New York City in 1921 as "a meeting place, a clearing house for ideas, a forum, a lyceum [similar to the Chautauqua Institution which had served the needs of adult education in western New York in the 1870s] a concert hall, a school, and a college". In 1930 George Denny, a former drama teacher and professional actor, was appointed associate director. Denny created America's Town Meeting of the Air in 1935 as an integral part of the educational work of the Town Hall and The League for Political Education. He conceived ATMA as a nation-wide wide version of the New England town meeting where topics of community concern were discussed. He also hoped that it would help restore confidence in the democratic system in a nation shaken by economic instability and confused by the rapid rise and challenge of alien political ideologies. The National Broadcasting Company was persuaded to finance all out-of-pocket expenses and in May-July of 1935 six experimental programs were broadcast over a national network. The early programming reflected the concerns of the Depression Era: unemployment, the New Deal, the threat of radicalism in the unions. By 1937 the imminence of war dominated the broadcasts. In 1944 and 1945 the programs were sponsored By Reader's Digest. During this period ATMA had to answer charges that is programming reflected the conservation of the sponsor and that many of the questions asked by the audience were not spontaneous but planted. The programming for the late forties and early fifties dealt with German guilt, corrupt unions, and the crucial issues underlying the cold war: international security, defense buildup, political and military commitments abroad, leftist infiltration of labor unions, etc. At this time, too, television began to take away the radio audience and ATMA experienced a decline in attendance and sharp drops in ratings. In 1952 Denny made his last appearance as moderator and in 1956 ATMA was broadcast for the last time after 928 programs. In the same year The Town Hall was reorganized and became affiliated with New York University. In 1958 its name was charged to The Town Hall of New York University and it became a part of the University's Division of General Education.