Harry F. Ward was an American Methodist minister and left-wing activist. He was the first chairman of the ACLU, leading the group from its creation in 1920 until 1940. Ward was a prominent defender of Soviet Communism, although he didn't label himself as a Communist; this ultimately led to his departure from the ACLU.

Life and career

Born in London, Ward moved to the U.S. in 1891. He was ordained as a minister in the same year. He received a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 in 1897, an M.A. from Harvard the following year, and a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1931. Ward taught ethics at the Union Theological Seminary

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York

Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York is a preeminent independent graduate school of theology, located in Manhattan between Claremont Avenue and Broadway, 120th to 122nd Streets. The seminary was founded in 1836 under the Presbyterian Church, and is affiliated with nearby Columbia...

 from 1918 until 1941.

Ward was active in a variety of left-wing causes besides the ACLU. He was one of the founders of the Methodist Federation for Social Action

Methodist Federation for Social Action

The Methodist Federation for Social Action is an independent network of United Methodist clergy and laity working for justice in the areas of peace, poverty, and people's rights since 1907.-A short history:...

 and served as its general secretary from 1911 to 1944. From 1934 to 1940 he was the chairman of the American League Against War and Fascism

American League Against War and Fascism

The American League Against War and Fascism was an organization formed in 1933 by the Communist Party USA and pacifists united by their concern as Nazism and Fascism rose in Europe...

. He frequently spoke at events held by the National Council of American-Soviet Friendship.

In October 1939 Ward testified before HUAC, which concluded that the American League Against War and Fascism was a Communist front

Communist front

A Communist front organization is an organization identified to be a front organization under the effective control of a Communist party, the Communist International or other Communist organizations. Lenin originated the idea in his manifesto of 1902, "What Is to Be Done?"...

. In March 1940 the ACLU, under pressure to demonstrate its anti-Communist bona fides, barred Communists from holding office in the organization. Ward resigned in protest, and Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn

Elizabeth Gurley Flynn was a labor leader, activist, and feminist who played a leading role in the Industrial Workers of the World . Flynn was a founding member of the American Civil Liberties Union and a visible proponent of women's rights, birth control, and women's suffrage...

, the ACLU's lone Communist board member, was forced out soon after.

Family

Ward was married and had two children: Gordon Ward, an agricultural economics

Agricultural economics

Agricultural economics originally applied the principles of economics to the production of crops and livestock — a discipline known as agronomics. Agronomics was a branch of economics that specifically dealt with land usage. It focused on maximizing the crop yield while maintaining a good soil...

  professor, and the artist Lynd Ward

Lynd Ward

Lynd Kendall Ward was an American artist and storyteller, and son of Methodist minister and prominent political organizer Harry F. Ward. He illustrated some 200 juvenile and adult books...

.