Series II: Wackenhut Corporation Research Files, 1931-1973, inclusive; 1955-1973, bulk

This series contains research files and records of the Wackenhut Corporation which came into the custody of the Church League of America. They are a mixture of research files, correspondence, and administrative files for Wackenhut's library. Wackenhut's fastidious documentation of the activities of individuals and organizations make these files a strong source for information on players in Communist and left-wing politics in the 1950s-1970s.

The research files are a mixture of clippings, essays, pamphlets, and other materials organized and frequently marked up by Wackenhut. Many of the research files were originally collected by former Joseph McCarthy aide Karl Baarslag and sold or gifted to Wackenhut. While the corporation's primary concern was monitoring the activities of Communist and left-leaning individuals and organizations, they collected materials from anyone engaged in the civic dialogue, including right-wing fringe groups. Taken as a whole, the files give insight into the range of activities that these right-wing anti-communists viewed as potential threats to stability in American society. The first 27 folders of the series, Subversive Activities, contain materials similar to the rest of the series, with a higher content of correspondence (much of it with Federal intelligence agencies), and research files on Vietnam War protests, espionage, and anti-communist efforts in Florida. These folders, and the series more broadly, point to the real and perceived connections between Communism, the anti-war movement, and the broader left counterculture of the 1960s, and document the right's evolving definition of "subversion."

Interspersed with the research files are administrative files for the Wackenhut Corporation's library. Many of these files are correspondence with publications, mostly dating from 1966-1967. Most of the subscriptions were obtained using the aliases Carol Ascher and William Jones. Like the research files, the publications reflect the full spectrum of political viewpoints of the period and document the range of actors attempting to shape American society during this turbulent period. The publications themselves generally are not included in the files.