Root, E. Merrill (Edward Merrill), 1895-1973

American poet and college professor E. Merrill Root (1895-1973) was a conservative and anti-communist activist who wrote articles and books on communist and Marxist propoganda in the American educational system. The son of a Congregational minister, Root was a devout Quaker and pacifist and went to France in World War I under the auspices of the American Friends Service Committee. After the war Root studied at Andover Theological Seminary and, in 1920, joined the faculty of Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, where he remained until his retirement in 1960. In the late 1930s Root became a right-wing activist and anti-communist. He wrote articles and books warning of the "polio of collectivism" rampant on college campuses. In his book Brainwashing in the High Schools, Root proclaimed the U.S. was losing the Cold War due to slanted school history textbooks. His anti-communist writings were vitriolic, but his poetry met with a measure of critical acclaim.

From the description of E. Merrill Root papers, 1917-1967. (University of Oregon Libraries). WorldCat record id: 67840452

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