As the inaugural issue of Commonweal went to press in November 1924, Calvin Coolidge had just been “decisively chosen” as the country’s next president. Offering the American people and their new "Chief Magistrate" a few words in “humility and in the spirit which is the guiding intention of this new journal—the spirit of Faith, of Hope, and of Charity,” the magazine’s founding editors wrote: “The man who will direct our government during the next four years, to whom the people, through lawfully ordained methods, have entrusted the supreme executive power and the headship of the army and navy of a mighty nation, finds that nation troubled and perplexed by most serious and highly perilous problems.”
A few pages later, the editors took on the Ku Klux Klan, denouncing the organization as an "outrageous, sinister and ridiculous manifestation of ignorant bigotry, and of shameless violation of American principles." They called on politicians, high and low, to “stand for and support loyally the fundamental law and authority of the government, and the right of free men to live… peacefully no matter what their religious beliefs or their racial origin.”
A century later, recent events remind us that, though history rarely repeats, it often rhymes.
For the past one hundred years, Commonweal has confronted the most serious and highly perilous problems of every era, defending at every opportunity bedrock democratic values and institutions. At the same time, editors have also extolled “the enduring and tested principles of Catholic Christianity,” as the fullest expression of and most viable avenue for the betterment, happiness, and peace of the American people. A constant theme in every issue has been the belief that Catholicism and American democracy not only have a lot to say to each other, but also have a lot to offer each other. “Our history,” writes current Commonweal editor Dominic Preziosi, “shows a steadfast commitment to the ways Catholicism and American democracy can inform and support each other.”
Since joining the magazine as a special projects editor more than two years ago, I have regularly revisited this history in the archives, highlighting for readers the many treasures I’ve discovered there. While I was featuring signature pieces from each decade of Commonweal’s first century in the print issue and singling out Commonweal classics in the increasingly popular Stacks newsletter, I was also leading the effort to make our archive available online.
And, today, in recognition of Commonweal’s 100th anniversary, I am proud to announce that readers can now download issues from the archive directly from the Commonweal website. That’s 151 volumes and more than 4,000 issues, dating back to our inaugural issue.
The best part is, accessing the archive is easy. Just click on the “Archives” tab on our homepage, Then click on the drop-down menu. Click on a decade, then search by year. Here’s an easy-to-follow video demonstration.
Within the archive are the articles, comments, personal essays, critical reviews, short stories, and poems that have made Commonweal one of the best journals of opinion—not only today but throughout the past century. Pieces like Willa Cather on escapism; Jacques Maritain on just war theory; Dorothy Day on the poor; John C. Cort on labor and the Catholic Church; George Shuster on the rise of Hitler amidst palpable terror in Vienna; Ellen Tarry on white racism; Michael Harrington on the other America; Daniel Callahan on caretaking; Mary Gordon on Mary, Elizabeth Johnson on the God-She; and Anthony Annett on Laudato si' and climate change.
The archive also includes a personal favorite—our exceptional arts and culture coverage, which dates back to the outstanding work of critics-extraordinaire R. Dana Skinner and Sean O’Faolain and includes longtime drama critic and Broadway theater namesake Walter Kerr, Wilfred Sheed, and film and television critics Celia Wren, Colin L. Westerbeck Jr., and Richard Alleva. These writers and more are part a grand tradition that continues today with the work of Clifford Thompson, Anthony Domestico, Phil Christman, Rand Richards Cooper, and Dorothy Fortenberry, to name just a few of the insightful and invaluable critics who continue to distinguish Commonweal as a leading journal of opinion.
On our 100th anniversary, we invite you to visit the Commonweal archive in celebration of a century of journalistic excellence rooted in the Catholic intellectual tradition and the Church’s social teaching.
