American Citizen
American Citizen
Mises had applied for citizenship at the earliest possible date—August 1945—and on January 14, 1946, he became an American citizen.94
19. Birth of a Movement
Libertarian Seedbeds
Libertarian Seedbeds
Many Americans had grown weary of the New Deal during the second term of President Roosevelt’s administration. More and more people realized that their president had brought about a revolution in the American system of government. But the majority gave FDR a third term. The president promised to keep America out of the new European war that would eventually turn into World War II. When Roosevelt went back on his word, the majority started to wane.
The Long Visit at New York University
The Long Visit at New York University
One great limitation to Mises’s effectiveness in spreading the gospel of liberty was that he lacked an academic base. Like most other champions of the free market, he frequently lectured to businessmen and other civic leaders. But he had no direct impact on future intellectuals who studied at the universities. It was quite often a frustrating experience for him. In a letter to Machlup he wrote:
Leonard Read and the FEE
Leonard Read and FEE
About a year after the inception of Mises’s NYU lectures, another institution would be established that would prove to be a pillar of the classical-liberal renaissance and give further leverage to Mises’s ideas. Leonard Read had come to the conclusion that his engagement with the National Industrial Conference Board was a waste of time and money.
Frederick Nymeyer
Frederick Nymeyer
At about the same time Read was setting up FEE in Irvington, New York, Mises made another acquaintance who would eventually turn into a long-term ally. In May 1946, Chicago businessman Frederick Nymeyer had finished reading Mises’s Theory of Money and Credit, which prompted him to write to the author and inquire about any further writings of his on the subject.29 During the following months, Nymeyer read Omnipotent Government and other available English-language writings of the Austrian professor.
Mises Debates American Libertarians
Mises Debates American Libertarians
With the NYU seminar, FEE, and individual organizers and publishers such as Nymeyer, Mises enjoyed for the very first time in his entire life a truly congenial network of students and supporters. He had always been a respected scholar, but few of his readers and associates really appreciated the radical anti-statist gist of his theories.
Planned Chaos
Planned Chaos
Montes de Oca had already talked to Mises in 1943 about writing an epilogue to the Spanish edition of Socialism, but Mises probably did not turn to the task before 1945. Until then, the rate of progress on the translation was unclear, and Mises may well have been wary of engaging in another task for Montes de Oca, who so far had not completed any of the projects they had discussed in 1942. Mises had not even received agreed-upon payment for a study of Mexico.
A Conference at Mont Pèlerin
A Conference at Mont Pèlerin
Exactly one year after the establishment of the Foundation for Economic Education in New York, another organization was brought into existence to provide a forum for the exchange and development of ideas from a classical-liberal perspective. Unlike FEE, this organization did not have any permanent headquarters; it was conceived as a society of academic scholars, and it mainly consisted of annual meetings, which have subsequently taken place at different cities throughout the world.
Preparing the Counter-Revolution
Preparing the Counter-Revolution
By March 1945, Yale University Press had decided to publish an American edition of Nationalökonomie. The idea of a simple translation was never really an option. All sides agreed to publish a revised edition.70 For the next three and a half years, Mises worked busily on this project. The revisions were not to be substantive. Their primary purpose was to adapt the work to the intellectual background of his American readers.
