America First Movement: History, Memorabilia, and the Silver Shield Proof Silver Round

Unless you’re living under a rock, you are aware of former President Trump’s use of the term “America First”. It defined his 2016 Presidential campaign and it is at the heart of his 2024 Presidential campaign as well.

Trump justifiably believes that America is slipping away from its world-wide primacy in the manufacturing, military and monetary sectors. And most would agree that he is not only correct in those observations but justified in his concern for our great country’s future.

America First Silver Shield Collection Coin

What many people are not aware of is the fact that “America First” is a concept that has risen to the surface of America’s political arena multiple times throughout our history. Granted, it has been applied to different events, under different circumstances and with different outcomes since its first use in the 1850s, but it has been a constant concern for over a century.

The No Nothings political party, which was established in the 1850s, eventually became the American Party. It was created in response to the huge influx of Irish Catholics, who were fleeing The Great Famine and flooding into Protestant America. Protestant politicians feared the Catholic Church would influence huge blocks of these “ignorant” voters with foreign sympathies. The politicians, whose families had lived in America for generations, referred to them as “un-American” and claimed they were devoid of “American feelings and values”. The concept of America First was their rallying cry.

President Woodrow Wilson is credited with coining the term “America First” in 1916 in his efforts to keep America out of World War I. Although he was unable to sustain that agenda, and America was drawn into the war, his concept survived his departure from the White House and continued to flourish for 25 years until the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

In 1940, the isolationist organization America First Committee was founded by Yale student Douglas Stuart, Jr, son of Quaker Oats founder, Douglas Stuart. It was joined by many influential people, including aviator Charles Lindbergh, automaker Henry Ford, actress Lillian Gish, Sears Chairman General Robert E. Wood, and Robert Sargent Shriver, Peace Corps Director, diplomat and future husband of Eunice Kennedy.

This organization was opposed to America entering WWII and it was especially opposed to supporting England’s valiant effort to defend itself from the onslaught of Nazi Germany because they felt England’s demise would have no effect on America. Once again, America First was their rallying cry. The Committee was tellingly dissolved the day after the Dec. 7th 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor when isolationism was no longer an option.

America lost its bearing again in the 1970’s when President Nixon gave Communist China the “Favored Nation Status” despite their avowed hatred for America. He then took America off the gold standard, which unleashed unprecedented government spending predicated by the disconnect between the dollar and our gold reserves. America was no longer seen as important enough to be first.

Politicians and their touchy-feely influencers wanted us to “share” our hard-earned prosperity and prestige with others around the world, which only led to more debt, and ultimately, more international distain.

America was never designed to be the world’s fairy godmother. America was designed to be its Archangel!!

Many of the Presidents who followed Nixon, including Carter, Clinton, Bush, Obama and Biden wallowed in the wimpy world of placating and pandering. They placed all of the other 159 remaining countries on an equal footing with America, while at the same time, ignorantly diminishing America’s leadership role and its once respected standing in the eyes of world leaders.

This is where America finds itself today. Demoralized, dismissed, disenfranchised, demented, debt-ridden, drugged, diminished, demeaned, disrespected and divided. American citizens are so desperate for a return to our rightful leadership role in the world that Trump’s patriotic America First Movement memorabilia and souvenirs are in great demand. Even historical America First collectibles are seeing a revival too. And for good reason.

Today, just as Princess Leia once pleaded with Obi-Wan-Kenobi, “This is our most desperate hour. Help me”, America also pleads too. But this time our prayers were answered, not with Obi-Wan-Kenobie and Luke Skywalker, but with Donald Trump and J.D. Vance to once more - Make America Great Again.

President Trump believes, with his whole heart and soul, that America should once again FIGHT for its rightful place on the world stage and he also believes that this charge should begin with the battle cry, America First!