Abstract

Pierson Ostrow (1914-1967) and Alice Scardino Ostrow (1915-2001) were socialist and progressive activists. Both were born and raised in Philadelphia, and they met there as students. They joined the Young People's Socialist League (YPSL) and became members of the Socialist Party by the early 1930s. After marrying they moved to Newark, New Jersey. In 1948 Alice Ostrow ran on the Socialist Party ticket for New Jersey's 12th Congressional district. Mr. Ostrow was a philatelic dealer and real estate appraiser, and in the latter capacity was active in the campaign for Vermont's fair housing law, passed in 1967 (the Ostrow's had moved to Vermont in 1955). In Newark, Alice Ostrow worked for the IRS and was legislative representative of the Federation of Federal Employees. She also worked for the Communications Workers of America and organized New Jersey Tenants for Rent Control. After her husband's death, Ms. Ostrow moved to New York City where she was active in the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peoples, the Workers Defense League, and Americans for Democratic Action. The collection contains unpublished writings of Pierson Ostrow (student essays, poetry, political essays, and a play), files (containing internal documents, printed ephemera and publications) on the Socialist Party and YPSL, both nationally and in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Newark, New Jersey (including one on Alice Ostrow's Congressional campaign), files on the American Youth Congress, Camp Arcola (a Federal Emergency Relief Administration camp fro unemployed women in Arcola, PA), the Junior International League of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, the Pennsylvania Committee for Total Disarmament, a scrapbook (clippings and writings), and individual letters to Pierson Ostrow from Harry Laidler, Upton Sinclair and Girolamo Valenti.