Norman Thomas Papers
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Abstract
Norman Mattoon Thomas (1884–1968), was an American socialist, pacifist, and author. He was also a six-time presidential candidate for president on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America between 1928 and 1948. The collection contains correspondence, including some in his capacity as co-executive director of the League for Industrial Democracy, unpublished political and biographical writings, biographical sketches of his grandfather, Stephen Mattoon, Daniel Bell's 1954 correspondence with socialist luminaries around the world in preparation for the celebration of Thomas's seventieth birthday, and one typescript each by Broadus Mitchell and Emil Rieve, president of the American Federation of Hosiery Workers.
Biographical Note
Norman Mattoon Thomas (1884–1968) was an American socialist, pacifist, and author. He was also a six-time presidential candidate on the Socialist Party of America ticket, between 1928 and 1948. Born in Marion, Ohio, he was a graduate of Princeton University, attended Union Theological Seminary, where he became a socialist, and was ordained as a Presbyterian minister in 1911. Thomas opposed the United States' entry into the First World War, a position that earned him the disapproval of many in his socialist circle and in his church. He founded a magazine, The World Tomorrow, in 1918. In 1921-22 he was associate editor of The Nation, and, also in 1922, he became co-director of the League for Industrial Democracy. He was later one of the founders of the National Civil Liberties Bureau (the precursor of the American Civil Liberties Union) and of the Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy. At first Thomas was outspoken in opposing the U.S. involvement in the Second World War, and he served on the board of the America First Committee. However, once the United States was attacked by the Japanese, he supported U.S. war effort, while opposing the war-time incarceration of Japanese Americans. Thomas frequently spoke on the difference between democratic socialism and communism; his early admiration for the Russian Revolution and later sympathy with Popular Front activity evolved into fervent anti-communism. He wrote several books, among them his defense of World War I conscientious objectors, Is Conscience a Crime? (1927) and Socialism Re-examined (1963).
Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norman_Thomas (August 22, 2008)
Arrangement
The folders are arranged alphabetically.
The files are grouped into 1 series:
- Papers, 1925-1969
Scope and Content Note
This small collection contains some of Norman Thomas' correspondence, including some in his capacity as co-executive director of the League for Industrial Democracy, unpublished political and biographical writings, including "Forty Years of Communism," a 1939 radio speech on the revision of the Neutrality Act, a statement to the membership of the New York City Socialist Party, circa 1936, an undated memorandum on Local 306, Motion Picture Operators, biographical sketches of his grandfather, Stephen Mattoon (provided by the Johnson C. Smith University Library, North Carolina), Daniel Bell's 1954 correspondence with socialist luminaries around the world in preparation for the celebration of Thomas' seventieth birthday, and one typescript each by Broadus Mitchell and Emil Rieve, President of the American Federation of Hosiery Workers.
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Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive 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 1925-1969, are expected to enter the public domain in 2089.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Norman Thomas Papers; TAM 423; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
A portion of the materials was donated by Daniel Bell, date unknown; the provenance of the remainder is unknown. The accession number associated with this collecion is 1950.238.
About this Guide
Processing Information
In 2021, narrative description was edited in the biographical note to more accurately describe the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.
Researchers can access previous versions of the finding aid in our GitHub repository at https://github.com/NYULibraries/findingaids_eads/commits/master/tamwag/tam_423.xml.
