Thomas Stamm Papers
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Abstract
Thomas Stamm [1904-1980s] was a U.S. Trotskyist and one-time member of the Political Committee of the Workers Party who, along with Hugo Oehler, founded the Revolutionary Workers League. This small collection consists of one record box of material generated and collected by Thomas Stamm during the course of his personal research, writing, and involvement with the Revolutionary Workers League.
Historical/Biographical Note
Thomas Stamm [1904-1980s] was a U.S. Trotskyist and one-time member of the Political Committee of the Workers Party who opposed the Party's 1935 decision to attempt to enter the Socialist Party of the United States in an attempt to broaden its influence. With Hugo Oehler, he formed the Revolutionary Workers League (RWL). In 1937, the group renounced Trotskyism, but while Oehler concluded that Trotsky had split with Marxism in 1934, Stamm held that Trotsky had degenerated in 1928, and the two split. Oehler retained the majority of the group, but Stamm set up a rival organization of the same name. This was some times known as RWL Revolt after its periodical, which ran Vol. I #1 March 26 1938 to Vol II #14 January 7, 1940.
Arrangement
The order in which these materials were sent to the Tamiment Library has been maintained.
Scope and Content Note
This small collection consists of one record box of material generated and collected by Thomas Stamm during the course of his personal research, writing, and involvement with the Revolutionary Workers League. The majority of the collection consists of correspondence between Thomas Stamm and other individuals such as Max Schachtman, Carl Cowl, James T. Farrell, Meyer Shapiro, Robert J. Alexander and Edward Oehler. Copies of publications such as Fighting Worker, Ahora, Political Notes, and the Marxist Worker are interspersed throughout the collection. There are four folders (53-56) that pertain specifically to Stamm's interest in the Trotsky assassination, although this topic may be present in other areas of the collection. There are 4 unidentified tapes on magnetic reels labeled 1-4 and accompanied by a typed transcript of a "tape 2" which may be the tape 2 that is present in this collection. Personal material related to Thomas Stamm exists in the form of his diary at the start of the collection. There are also many published and unpublished manuscripts and articles by Thomas Stamm, some of which are undated, although a possible date range could be ascertained by examining surrounding and related material in the collection.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives has no information about copyright ownership for this collection and is not authorized to grant permission to publish or reproduce materials from it. Materials in this collection, which were created in 1934-1979, are expected to enter the public domain in 2060.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Thomas Stamm Papers; TAM 081; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by May Stamm, 1980. The accession number associated with this gift is 1980.013
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Appraisal
No materials were separated from this collection.
About this Guide
Processing Information
At the time of accessioning, materials were moved into archival housing, and a collection-level finding aid with preliminary inventory was created to describe these materials. No physical processing or arrangement was done at this time. In 2015, the materials were rehoused for preservation reasons and a folder-level finding aid was created.
