Knights of Columbus, History of the Order

History of the Order

1940: The Knights of Columbus sponsor a radio prayer for peace campaign on May 19th.
1943: In the spring of this year the Order conducted a War Bond Campaign which resulted in sales of $92,000,000 dollars. These sales far exceeded the goal of $25,000,000.
1945: John E. Swift is elected the 9th Supreme Knight and would serve in that capacity until 1953.; Honorable William J. Mulligan, 3rd Supreme Master of the 4th Degree. He would serve in this position until 1965.
1946: In December the "Faith and Fatherland" crusade was started. George Hermann Derry, Ph.D. The main focus was discussion groups of which 1,300 groups had formed by August, 1948.
1947: Two sets of radio broadcasts began: "Foundations of Our American Ideals" and "Safeguards". Each was broken into six different broadcasts. The first series dealt with an exposition of the harshness of life in Communist Russia and ended with the struggle against the Communist effort in the U.S. The second series focused on the natural-law roots of American idealism, divine source of the state's authority, religious freedom, and the contrast between democratic freedom and Communist tyranny.
1948: A third series of radio broadcasts began call "The Future of America". This focused on America's place as a moral leader.