FAPA Campaign
The 1938 elections for the officers of the newly-created FAPA were seen at the time as a battle for the future of fandom between the Wollheim--Michel axis and the non-political fans.
Basically, Wollheim was at the peak of his influence in fandom -- basically, he dominated it -- and arranged to continue control over FAPA by running a slate of officers and by sending out his slates attacks on the opposition along with the ballots. His slate won because, in those days of much slower communication, most of the FAPA membership had no idea what was going on. Once fans did realize how Wollheim had played them, sentiment turned against his group and it resigned.
While Wollheim and company continued to be very influential, they never again dominated fandom.
Jack Speer, while very much a player in these events, produced the first fan history Up To Now in 1939 and described the process in detail. See the chapters
- Up To Now: The FAPA Campaign
- Up To Now: The Crucial Period
- Up To Now: The Undertow
- Up To Now: The Situation in the West
- Up To Now: The Order Begins to Crumble
- Up To Now: The Decline and Fall of Wollheim
for a full and fairly well-balanced account.
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