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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Bowman Gum Company (fl. 1951) Fight the Red Menace: The Children's Crusade against Communism trading cards; 16. Negro GIs Hold Line

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC09627.16.01 Author/Creator: Bowman Gum Company (fl. 1951) Place Written: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Type: Trading card Date: 1951 Pagination: 1 collecting card ; 6 x 8 cm. Order a Copy

One trading card from the Red Menace collection, "16. Negro GIs Hold Line" depicting African American GIs attacking North Korean soldiers located in a trench. Reverse side contains propaganda narrative claiming African Americans were imperative to protecting a ridge nearby Hungnam. Implies that communism creates a division in the United States and that divisions are weak when it comes the nation's defense.

African Americans served and were involved in major combat operations during the Korean War. An estimated 100,000 African Americans were on duty by June 1950, and 600,000 by the end of the war. By 1953, segregation in the army ended, and soldiers served in integrated companies. African-Americans were among those awarded with high rank and honors.

Ties between the Civil Rights Movement and the Communist Party USA goes back as far as the 1920s when they initiated fighting segregation in the labor movment.

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