AUTOGRAPH penned by the founder of the Society for Ethical Culture FELIX ADLER together with a clipped portrait of Adler.

Together with a 5-3/4 inch high by 4-1/8 inch wide black & white portrait of the philosopher clipped from a magazine or book. Lightly creased along the top and bottom edges with remnants of tape from mounting on the verso. Very good.

The son of a Jewish Rabbi, Felix Adler (1851-1933) was born in Germany and emigrated to America with his family when he was only 6 years old. Graduating from Columbia University, he returned to Germany to obtain a doctorate from Heidelberg University before moving back to teach at Cornell University. Preaching occasional sermons at his father's Temple in New York City, Adler was noted for omitting references to god in his sermons. In 1876, at the age of 24, he founded the New York Society for Ethical Culture, which promoted social justice. An essentially Kantian moral philosophy, the Society for Ethical Culture believed in public works and the use of reason to develop ethical standards. He was the founding chairman of the National Child Labor Committee in 1904. In 1917, Adler served on the Civil Liberties Bureau which later became the ACLU and later became president of the American Philosophical Association. Although he initially supported the Spanish-American War which he viewed as an effort to liberate Cubans from Spanish rule, Adler became concerned that an imperialistic goal rather than a democratic one was guiding foreign policy. As the First World War progressed, Adler foresaw that Germany's defeat in and of itself would not make the world safe for democracy but that peace could only be achieved if democratic governments remained non-imperialistic and became active in curbing the arms race.