Radicalism in America

Explore the dynamic tapestry of American radicalism through a collection of pamphlets and journals, spanning from the Populist movement of the 1890s to the civil rights and peace movements of the 1960s. This collection reveals the complex relationships between radical groups and mainstream political parties, showcasing figures like William Jennings Bryan and Theodore Roosevelt who navigated the waters of reform. With materials that include firsthand accounts of struggles against oppression and the fight for social justice, this archive invites you to reflect on the enduring legacy of dissent in America.

North America

Key items in the collection

This collection hosts a range of formats, including:

The collection from John Howell includes 535 books, pamphlets, and periodicals published in America between 1875 and 1969. The strongest focus is on the period from 1930 to 1970, with many journals from the 1960s. These publications cover topics such as Marxism, communism, socialism, anarchism, capitalism, profiteering, labor relations, trade unions, strikes, women in the workforce, civil liberties, the women’s movement, political prisoners, censorship, race relations, anti-Semitism, pacifism, espionage, the Soviet Union, the Spanish Civil War, World War II, McCarthyism, and the Vietnam War. The collection also includes a few socialist novels.

Notable American writers in this collection include Earl Browder, Eugene Dennis, James T. Farrell, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, William Z. Foster, Emma Goldman, Owen Lattimore, Scott Nearing, George Seldes, Upton Sinclair, John Spargo, Anna Louise Strong, Norman Thomas, Thorstein Veblen, and Richard Wright. It also features works by British writers like Arthur Henderson, Bertrand Russell, R.H. Tawney, and Sidney Webb.

The Tamiment Library collection was microfilmed by the Microfilming Corporation of America (mfm 1306) and was originally assembled by the Rand School in New York, which was founded in 1906 to provide working men and women with courses focused on socialist theory. The School closed in 1956, and its collection was taken over by the Tamiment Institute, which transferred the library to New York University in 1963.

This collection consists of 8,672 pamphlets produced between 1817 and 1970. While many are undated, most appear to have been published between 1900 and 1945. The pamphlets are primarily in English but also include some in German, French, Spanish, Russian, Yiddish, and Chinese. They focus on groups like the Socialist Labor Party of America, the Socialist Party of America, the League for Industrial Democracy, and the Communist Party of the United States. Topics cover a wide range, including socialism, communism, anarchism, trade unionism, labor disputes, women in the workforce, civil rights, Zionism, anti-Semitism, the Tom Mooney case (1916), the Sacco and Vanzetti case (1920-27), the Scottsboro Boys case (1931-37), and McCarthyism.

Prominent American radicals and labor leaders in this collection include Israel Amter, Herbert Aptheker, Earl Browder, Tim Buck, Victor L. Berger, Clarence Darrow, Eugene Debs, Daniel De Leon, Max Eastman, Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, William Z. Foster, Henry George, Emma Goldman, Gus Hall, Morris Hilquit, Robert Hunter, Robert La Follette, Harry W. Laidler, John L. Lewis, Jack London, George Meany, Scott Nearing, Walter Reuther, Upton Sinclair, John Spargo, and Norman Thomas. It also includes works by British and European writers like John Burns, Nikolai Bukharin, Georgi Dimitrov, H.M. Hyndman, Karl Kautsky, Petr Kropotkin, V.I. Lenin, Rosa Luxemburg, William Morris, Stalin, and Leon Trotsky

The collection includes reprints of 95 American radical periodicals (1890-1960) published by the Greenwood Reprint Corporation between 1968 and 1970. Examples include:

American Fabian (1895-1900)
American Socialist (1914-17)
Debs Magazine (1922-23)
Fourth International (1940-56)
Industrial Democracy (1932-38)
Industrial Worker (1909-13)
Modern Quarterly (1932-40)
New International (1934-58)
New Nation (1891-94)
Vanguard (1932-39)
Young Spartacus (1931-35)

Other radical journals in the collection are:

Dissent (1954-95)
International Socialist Review (1956-75)
New Masses (1926-28)
Masses and Mainstream (1948-53)
The Progressive (1956-95)
Radical America (1968-91)
Radical History Review (1975-90)
Ramparts (1967-75)
Review of Radical Political Economics (1970-93)
Socialist Review (1978-95)

Overview of American radicalism

A valuable collection of pamphlets, journals, and other publications documents various aspects of American radicalism. This collection covers movements from the Populist era in the 1890s to the civil rights and peace movements of the 1960s, with some radical journals extending into the 1990s.

Political connections

Some radical groups had ties to major American political parties. For example, the Populist Party called for changes like ending national banks and implementing a graduated income tax. They received support from leaders like William Jennings Bryan in the Democratic Party. The Progressive Party, active from 1912 to the 1940s, was led by former Republicans like Theodore Roosevelt and Robert La Follette, focusing on efficient government, regulating large companies, and improving social welfare. Major trade unions, such as the American Federation of Labor, were also aligned with the Democratic Party and sought radical Labor reforms, despite being anti-communist.

Diverse radical movements

Other radical groups were not part of mainstream politics and drew inspiration from European socialist and anarchist movements. The Socialist Labor Party of America, founded in 1876, mainly consisted of German immigrants with Marxist views. The Socialist Party of America, established in 1901, also relied on immigrant support and saw significant progress under Eugene Debs until World War I and the Russian Revolution caused divisions. The Communist Party of the United States, formed in 1919, gained traction in the 1920s but faced internal conflicts. Additionally, the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), founded in 1905, was influential among miners and workers in the West.

Radical organisations often faced violent attacks, especially during World War I, the early 1920s, and the early 1950s. The American Civil Liberties Union was established in 1921 to protect immigrants and Americans facing legal threats. Many pamphlets in the National Library's collection were responses to these attacks on radicalism.

Background to the collection

Between 1964 and 1974, several collections focused on American radicalism were acquired. In 1964, about 1,000 pamphlets were bought from Schulte’s Book Store in New York. In 1970, another collection of American radical publications was purchased from the antiquarian bookseller John Howell in San Francisco. Additionally, reprints of radical journals were acquired from Greenwood Press between 1968 and 1970. In 1974, microfilm of the Tamiment Library collection was purchased from the Microfilming Corporation of America.

The books and pamphlets from the Schulte’s Book Store and John Howell collections have been individually catalogued and added to the General Collection. There is also a volume titled “U.S.A. Radical Literature Collection” that contains the order slips for the Howell Collection. The reprints of periodicals have been catalogued separately and are included in the General Collection.

The 89 reels of microfilm from the Tamiment Library pamphlets are located in the Newspaper and Microcopy Collection (mfm 1306). While these reels have not been individually catalogued, they are listed in a published guide from the Microfilming Corporation of America.

This guide was prepared using these references: