David Dellinger Papers
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Abstract
David Dellinger (1915-2004) was a peace activist, most famously known as a member of the Chicago Seven. The collection includes correspondence, periodicals, pamphlets, notebooks, writings, newsletters, photographs, teaching materials, and other ephemera. The collection mostly contains materials related to his activism after the Chicago Seven trial up until about 1999, including planning materials for antiwar fasts, protests, and demonstrations against wars, the Middle East conflict, and conflict in South America and Libya.
Biographical Note
David Dellinger (1915-2004) is most remembered for his role as the oldest defendant in the 1969 Chicago Seven trial, in which anti-Vietnam War activists were charged with conspiring to disrupt the 1968 Democratic National Convention. Yet he was a lifelong peace activist and continued to be involved in peace activism in the 1990s. Additionally, Dellinger was the editor of two leftist publications, Liberation (1956-1977) and Seven Days (1975-1980). In 1980 he and his family moved to Vermont, where he taught and wrote his memoir From Yale to Jail: The Life Story of a Moral Dissenter (1993). In addition to his autobiography, he wrote ''Revolutionary Nonviolence'' (1971), ''More Power Than We Know'' (1975), and ''Vietnam Revisited'' (1986).
Arrangement
Original order has been maintained.
Scope and Contents
This collection is made up of the personal papers of David Dellinger, a peace activist and member of the Chicago Seven and includes correspondence, periodicals, pamphlets, notebooks, writings, newsletters, photographs, teaching materials, and other ephemera. The collection mostly contains materials related to his activism from the 1960s to about 1999, including planning materials for antiwar fasts, protests, and demonstrations against wars, the Middle East conflict, and conflict in South America and Libya or focuses on his life in Vermont in the 1980s and 1990s. The collection also includes materials related to the publication of his book, From Yale to Jail: The Life Story of a Moral Dissenter and the book tour related to it. There is a significant amount of correspondence, including personal letters, correspondence related to the publication and fundraising of Seven Days magazine, and with prisoners and others. There is some materials related to the Chicago Seven case, including court proceedings and contempt trials. While there is not much pertaining to the Chicago Seven trial, this collection is a rich resource for researchers interested in social justice and peace movements in Vermont in the 1980s and 1990s as well as Dellinger's life after the trial that made him famous.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (and related rights to publicity and privacy) to materials in this collection created by David Dellinger was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; David Dellinger Papers; TAM 252; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Materials were possibly transferred from Yale University in circa 2001; one linear feet of files and video tapes (Box 12) were transferred from Yale University Library to Tamiment in 2007. Eleven linear feet of materials from David Dellinger and Elizabeth Peterson (his wife) were most likely donated to Tamiment in circa 1999. The accession number associated with this collection is 2007.022. In 2019, Daniel Akst donated an accretion of two boxes; the accession number associated with this gift is 2019.080.
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.
About this Guide
Processing Information
In 2015, an inventory of the collection was created by an archivist. Titles were retained and any supplied titles were put in brackets. In 2019, an accretion of two boxes was rehoused in archival boxes and folders and integrated into the collection as Boxes 13-14.
