An Englishman abroad and an American lawyer in Europe: Harry Brittain, James Beck and the Pilgrims Society during the First World War

Citation

Bowman S (2014) An Englishman abroad and an American lawyer in Europe: Harry Brittain, James Beck and the Pilgrims Society during the First World War. Journal of Transatlantic Studies, 12 (3), pp. 258-281. https://doi.org/10.1080/14794012.2014.928027

Abstract
The aim of this article is to examine the activities of two important members of the elite Pilgrims Society during the First World War. In 1915, Harry Brittain —journalist and chairman of the Pilgrims Society in Britain — travelled across much of the then neutral USA to study German propaganda and to encourage British subjects to join the military. Meanwhile, James Beck — former Assistant Attorney General, and outspoken critic of Woodrow Wilson’s wartime diplomacy — visited Britain in 1916 on a speaking tour on behalf of the US Pilgrims Society. This article will argue that these activities are best understood in terms of ‘state private networks’ and public diplomacy.

Keywords
British–American relations; First World War; propaganda; elite networks; Pilgrims Society

Journal
Journal of Transatlantic Studies: Volume 12, Issue 3

People

Dr Stephen Bowman

Lecturer in British Political History, History