E. Merrill Root

Edward Merrill Root (January 4, 1895 - October 26, 1973) was an American educator and poet devoted to anti-communist pursuits.

Root was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of a congregational minister. In 1917 he graduated from Amherst College where he studied under Robert Frost.

Root was a conscientious objector during World War I. He went to France under the guise of the American Friends Service Committee. He returned from France to study at Andover Theological Seminary.

In 1920 he began working at Earlham College as a professor of English literature, where his tenure lasted until his retirement in 1960. While working at Earlham, Root began to change from a devout Quaker and pacifist into an active rightist. [ [http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/findaid/ark:/80444/xv99873 Guide to the E. Merrill Root Papers 1917-1967 ] ] Root first exploded into political print with "Darkness at Noon in American Colleges", [Human Events, July 30, 1952] an article in which he warned parents that their sons and daughters were catching the "polio of collectivism" at college.

Feeling that this article was not enough to convince people to listen, Root wrote Collectivism on the Campus, in which he claimed communism was widespread at American universities and colleges. A few years later, he wrote Brainwashing in the High Schools: An Examination of Eleven American History Textbooks. Both of these volumes are meticulous investigations into the undermining of American scholarship by the left. Both consider at length, and in detail, subversive attacks against the integrity of American educational institutions and the blatant perversion of such disciplines as history, literature, and philosophy. [ [http://www.jbs.org/node/1456 The Legacy of E. Merrill Root | The John Birch Society - Truth, Leadership, Freedom ] ]

These books brought Root fame in conservative circles. He also became a member of the Textbook Evaluation Committee of Operation Textbook, sponsored by America's Future under the direction of Lucille Cardin Crain.

In retirement Root became an editor of American Opinion, The American Friend, The Measure, and Quaker Life.

As well as his vitriolic writings on subversion in education, Merrill Root published several books of poetry that met with a measure of critical acclaim; amongst his admirers was his former teacher, Robert Frost. Root also wrote a non-critical biography of Frank Harris.

E. Merrill Root died in 1973 in Kennebunkport, Maine.

Writings

*"Brainwashing in the High Schools"
*"Collectivism on the Campus"
*"America's Steadfast Dream"
*"Children of the Morning"
*"Like White Birds Flying"
*"Shoulder the Sky"
*"Lost Eden"
*"Bow of Burning Gold"
*"The Seeds of Time"

References