American Legion, Jefferson Post No. 15 Records, 1919-1988
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: American Legion, Jefferson Post No. 15
Title: Records, 1919-1988
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Curator of Special Collections.
Size of Collection: 1 cubic foot
Location Number: Mss./BM/A512
Scope and Content Note
A collection of the records of the Jefferson Post of the American Legion. The collection contains meeting minutes, constitutions and by-laws, membership records, financial and realty records, lists of member deaths, and information on club activities. Also contains information on the American Legion’s work during the 1937 flood and to prevent un-americanism from spreading during the post-World War I period. Includes some information on negative responses to the civil rights movement and student activism during the 1960s.
Historical Note
Jefferson Post No. 15 of the American Legion was founded in Louisville, Ky., on July 8, 1919. For almost seventy years, they held their meetings in downtown and the Old Louisville neighborhood at places such as the Seelbach Hotel and Memorial Auditorium. In that time, they participated in numerous activities, such as putting on Armistice Day parades, providing aid during the 1937 flood, and assisting veterans in various ways. Jefferson Post was also staunchly anti-radical in both the years after World War I and World War II. Following the First World War, the Americanism committee investigated citizens of Louisville as well as celebrity visitors who were suspected of “anti-americanism.” The post thrived throughout the 1920s and was the largest American Legion post for several years at the end of the decade. The post also hosted the 1929 national convention in Louisville. In the 1960s, membership began to decline significantly, and the collection ends in 1988, about the time the post disbanded.
Folder List
Folder 1: Constitution, Resolutions, etc.
Folder 2: Minutes, 1919-1925
Folder 3: Minutes, 1928-1932
Folder 4: Minutes, 1955-1968
Folder 5: Minutes, 1970-1977
Folder 6: Minutes, 1978-1987
Folder 7: Executive Committee Minutes, 1925-1927
Folder 8: Executive Committee Minutes, 1928-1930
Folder 9: Executive Committee Minutes, 1945-1951
Folder 10: Executive Committee Minutes, 1955-1956
Folder 11: Membership, 1951-1988
Folder 12: 1934 Armistice Day Parade
Folder 13: 1937 Flood
Folder 14: 1937 Flood
Folder 15: Post Promotion
Folder 16: History of the 1966-1967 Year
Folder 17: Fifty Year Ceremony
Folder 18: Newsletters
Folder 19: Financial Papers and Contracts
Folder 20: Main Street House
Folder 21: War Dead
Folder 22: Americanism
Folder 23: Miscellaneous
Folder 24: Miscellaneous Notebook
Folder 25: Membership Ledger
Folder 26: Freiburg Passion Play Scrapbook, 1929-1930
Folder 27: Membership Drive Scrapbook, 1930
Folder 28: Membership Drive Scrapbook, 1931
Subject Headings
American Legion. Jefferson Post No. 15 (Louisville, Ky.)
Armistice Day – United States
Baseball – Kentucky – Louisville
Berger, Victor L., 1860-1929
Braden, Carl, 1914-1975
Civil rights movements – History – 20th century
Debs, Eugene V. (Eugene Victor), 1855-1926
Dempsey, Jack, 1895-
Drunk driving – Kentucky – Louisville
Duncan, Isadora, 1877-1927
Floods – Kentucky – Louisville – 20th century
John Birch Society
Kent State University
King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968
Louisville (Ky.) – History – 20th century
Louisville Colonels (Baseball team)
Ludendorff, Erich, 1865-1937
Mammoth Cave National Park (Ky.)
Nearing, Scott, 1883-
Passion-plays
Peace movements
Socialism – Kentucky – Louisville
Southern Conference Educational Fund
Taylor, Zachary, 1784-1850 – Tomb
United States. Espionage Act of 1917
Vietnamese Conflict, 1961-1975 – Veterans
War casualties – Statistics
William II, German Emperor, 1859-1941
World War, 1914-1918 – Casualties
World War, 1914-1918 – Veterans
World War, 1939-1945 – Casualties
