When they first met in the 1930s (and indeed, throughout their lives), Franklin Littell and his first wife, Harriet Lewis Littell, were social activists and ardent pacifists. In fact, it was through their shared work with the National Council of Methodist Youth, which publicly petitioned against American involvement in World War II, that they met. At the time, Franklin was a student at Columbia’s Union Theological Seminary in New York City and Harriet was a student at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
They were married in June 1939, and the letter pictured here, it is believed by the project archivist, was sent that year as their Christmas greeting. While Franklin and Harriet wrote each other frequently during their long-distance courtship, revealing much about their shared work, beliefs and love, these three short paragraphs perfectly evidence exactly who they were and what they stood for in their youth.

 

Now is the plumbline set against the wall!
Nations are rending each other  Peoples are
fleeing for refuge from the invader.  Those who
have taken the sword are perishing by it.

 

In our own country, millions are unemployed. “Eligible”
candidates for public office are created by slashed
budgets, flour and dried apples for thousands
who face starvation. Justice and righteousness are
made mockery.

 

If ever human beings needed Jesus Christ, it is today!
Our community should be found in bringing the Gospel
of Peace among men. Let him be the center of our lives:
the example and the living foundation of our faith.

 

Franklin and Harriet Littell

 

Apartment 615
99 Claremont Avenue
New York City