125 Years in Review – 1940s

John E. Swift is elected supreme knight in 1945. Among his first initiatives is to authorize funding for full-page advertisements in 12 major U.S. newspapers and five Canadian papers highlighting the dangers of communism. The ad offers a free copy of Msgr. Fulton J. Sheen’s pamphlet, “Communism, the Opium of the People.”

The Order creates a $1 million trust fund for the education of children of members who had died in World War II. This evolves into the current scholarship fund for use at Catholic colleges and universities in the U.S. and Canada.

In December 1946, the Order launches its Crusade for the Preservation and Promotion of American Ideals. Educational pamphlets on communism and the dangers of secularism are published and distributed; councils set up groups where the pamphlets are discussed. By August 1948, there are more than 1,300. K of C discussion groups, college students and seminarians are enlisted as “lay apostles” in the Knights’ efforts.

In 1947, several hundred radio stations broadcast K of C- sponsored programs with the titles “Safeguards of America” and “Foundations of Our American Ideals.” A 1948 series is entitled “The Future of America.”