Descriptive Summary
| Creator: | Allen, James S. |
|---|---|
| Title: | James Allen Papers |
| Dates: | Bulk, 1945-1970 |
| Dates: | 1920-1986, (Bulk 1945-1970) |
| Abstract: | James S. Allen, born Sol Auerbach (1906-1986), was an organizer, Marxist scholar, writer and editor for the Communist Party, USA. He was a doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania and was in the first American student delegation to the Soviet Union. In 1928, he joined the Communist Party and began writing for the Daily Worker. He was a leading party organizer in the south in the early 1930s, and edited the Labor Defender and Southern Worker. In the late 1930's, he travelled to the Phillippines where he helped to arrange the merger of the socialist and Communist parties. His books include: The Negro Question in the United States (1936), Atomic Energy and Society (1949), and Organizing in the Depression South: A Communist's Memoir (2001). From 1962 to 1972, Allen also headed International Publishers, the CPUSA publishing house. The collection includes his correspondence, Communist Party documents, and scrapbooks. |
| Quantity: | 7.5 Linear feet (8 boxes) |
| Call Phrase: | TAM 142 |
Historical/Biographical Note
James S. Allen (1906-1986), an organizer, Marxist scholar, writer and editor for the Communist Party, USA, was born Sol Auerbach in Philadelphia in 1906, the year his parents, Jacob and Luba, who were Russian Jewish radicals, came to the U.S. A doctoral candidate in philosophy at the University of Pennsylvania, he traveled in 1927 with the first American student delegation to the Soviet Union. In 1928 he was expelled from college for his radical activities, joined the Communist Party and began writing for the Daily Worker, and edited the Labor Defender. In 1930, he took the pen name by which he became known and, with his wife Isabel, founded and edited the Southern Worker, the first Communist weekly published in the South, which was circulated on an underground basis. As a member of the Party's Southern District committee, Allen played a prominent role in all of the CPUSA's major regional activities during the early 1930s; the organizing of Alabama sharecroppers, the Harlan, Kentucky miners' strike and the Scottsboro case.
Three books by Allen, The Negro Question in the United States (1936), Reconstruction: The Battle for Democracy (1937), and American Communism and Black Americans (with Philip Foner, 1987), reflect his political concerns and southern experiences. By 1931, the strain of underground political work caused Allen to leave the South. In the late 1930s he was CPUSA representative in the Philippines, and a correspondent for The Nation (per a letter by editor Max Lerner), where he helped obtain the release of Communist prisoners and helped achieve the merger of the Communist and Socialist Parties. He served as foreign editor of the Daily Worker until being drafted in 1944.
During the Cold War years, he served as foreign editor of the Sunday Worker and was compelled to appear as a witness before the House Un-American Activities Committee. During the years 1958-1966, Allen was the secretary of the Party's National Program Committee, which was charged with developing a new program for the CPUSA, and he authored the initial drafts of the program, which was not published until 1970, and corresponded with prominent communists including Herbert Aptheker, William Z. Foster, John Howard Lawson, Pettis Perry and Al Richmond. From 1962 to 1972 Allen headed International Publishers, the CPUSA publishing house, having assisted his predecessor Alexander Trachtenberg, over the previous decades. He later served as U.S. editor of the Collected Works of Marx and Engels, a joint undertaking with English and Soviet publishers, corresponding with the British Marxist philosopher Maurice Cornforth. Allen also wrote several polemical books and pamphlets, including Atomic Energy and Society (1949), which elicited a signed letter from Albert Einstein, and several unpublished manuscripts, including a memoir titled "Visions and Revisions," a portion of which was posthumously published as Organizing in the Depression South: A Communist's Memoir (2001).
James Allen Bibliography : Books & Pamphlets
American Communism and Black Americans : A Documentary History, 1919-1929, edited by Philip S. Foner and James S. Allen (Philadelphia : Temple University Press, 1987), 235 p.
The American Negro (New York : International Pamphlets, 1932), 31p.
Atomic Energy and Society (New York, International Publishers, 1949), 95 p.
Atomic Imperialism: The State, Monopoly, and the Bomb (New York, International Publishers, 1952), 288 p.
The Cartel System, (New York : International Publishers, c1946), 32 p.
Conference on Managed Economy, The Cold War and the Developing Economic Crisis, 1949: Jefferson School of Social Science, New York, The economic crisis and the cold war; reports, edited by James S. Allen and Doxey A. Wilkerson, with an introductory essay by William Z. Foster (New York, New Century Publishers, 1949), 113 p.
The Crisis in India, (New York : Workers Library Publishers, 1942), 31 p.
Disarmament and the American Economy : A Symposium, James S. Allen, et al, edited by Herbert Aptheker (New York : New Century Publishers, 1960), 64 p.
The Economic Crisis and the Cold War, edited by James S. Allen and Doxey A. Wilkerson: with an introductory essay by William Z. Foster (New York: New Century Publishers, 1949), 113 p.
The Lessons of Cuba, (New York : New Century Publishers, 1961), 31 p.
Marshall Plan : Recovery or War, (New York : New Century Publishers, 1948), 64 p.
Negro Liberation, (New York : International Publishers, 1938), 46 p.
The Negro Question in the United States (New York, International Publishers, 1936), 224 p..
The Negroes in a Soviet America (New York : Workers Library Publishers, 1935), 46 p. By James W. Ford and James S. Allen.
On Democratic Centralism : Name and Form, (S.l. : s.n., 19-), 6 p.
Organizing in the Depression South : A Communist's Memoir, (Minneapolis, Minn.: MEP Publications, 2001), 145 p.
The Philippine Left on the Eve of World War II, foreword by William Pomeroy, 2nd ed., (Minneapolis : MEP Publications, 1993), 167 p.
The Radical Left on the Eve of War : A Political Memoir Quezon City, Philippines : Foundation for Nationalist Studies, 1985), 121 p.
Reconstruction: The Battle for Democracy (1865-1876) (New York, International Publishers, 1937), 256 p.
Smash the Scottsboro Lynch Verdict (New York : Workers Library Publishers, 1933), 16 p.
Thomas Paine : Selections from his Writings, with an introduction, by James S. Allen (New York: International Publishers, 1937), 96 p.
The United States and the Common Market (New York : New Century Publishers, 1962), 36 p.
Who Owns America? (New York, New Century Publishers, 1946), pamphlet.
World Cooperation for Post-War Prosperity (New York, New Century publishers, 1945), 63 p.
World Monopoly and Peace (New York, International Publishers 1946), 288 p.
James Allen Bibliography : Articles
"America and neutrality," National issues: A survey of politics and legislation, 1 (1939), 13-16.
"American imperialism and the war," Communism, 18 (1939), 1046-1053.
"The American road to Socialism," Political Affairs, 37 (1958), 8-27.
"Awakening in the cotton belt," New Masses, 8 (1932), 11-12.
"The black belt: area of Negro majority," Communist, 13 (1934), 581-599.
"Bretton Woods and world security," Communist, 23 (1944), 1078-1086.
"The Communist way out," Crisis, 42 (1935), 134-135.
"Democratic revival and the Marxists," Masses & Mainstream, 8 (1955), 1-11.
"Enlightened American imperialism in the Philippines," Political Affairs, 25 (1946), 526-540.
"The far eastern front in the war against the axis," Communist, 21 (1942), 143-162.
"Farm production for defense," Communist, 20 (1941), 910-916.
"The farmers and the struggle against the war program," Communist, 19 (1940), 628-648.
"Lenin and the American Negro," Communist, 13 (1934), 53-61.
"The Negro question," Political Affairs, 25 (1946), 1132-1150.
"The new state in the Far East," Political Affairs, 24 (1945), 441-447.
"The new war economy," Political Affairs, 27 (1948), 1055-1074.
"The Pacific front in the global war," Communist, 21 (1942), 1012-1020.
"The policy of anti-Soviet encirclement," Political Affairs, 26 (1947), 563-570.
"Problems of foreign policy," Political Affairs, 36 (1957), 19-31.
"Prologue to the liberation of the Negro," Communist, 12 (1933), 147-170.
"The Scottsboro struggle," Communist, 12 (1933), 437-448.
"Some lessons of the fateful decade," Communist, 22 (1943), 258-265.
"The Soviet nations and Teheran," Communist, 23 (1944), 206-216.
"We can win in 1943," Communist, 22 (1943), 680-687.
"The world assembly at San Francisco," Political Affairs, 24 (1945), 291-301.
Allen wrote the initial draft for the following works, and played a leading role in the Communist Party's Program Committee, which was responsible for drafting them --
Communist Party of the United States of America, New program of the Communist Party, U. S.A.; a draft (New York, Political Affairs Publishers, 1966), 127 p.
Communist Party of the United States of America, New program of the Communist Party U.S.A. (New York, New Outlook Publishers, 1970), 128 p.
Return to top
Scope and Content Note
The Biographical & Correspondence series is divided into two subseries, alphabetical and chronological, and principally consists of correspondence. Notable are a file of 1938 correspondence between Allen and his wife, much of it written during his trip to the Philippines, correspondence with William Z. Foster, who sought Allen's advice re his writings, a polemical exchange with Hyman Lumer, regarding his War Economy and Crisis (1954), correspondence with Japanese Marxist publisher Takeshi "Fred" Haga, some of Allen's student writings, and a file on his dismissal in 1928 from his position as a philosophy instructor at the University of Pennsylvania.
The Program Committee series contains, in addition to numerous drafts authored and/or edited by Allen, correspondence with prominent communists, minutes and other Committee documents, notes taken at CP National Executive Committee Meetings (1960), a brief unpublished typescript by William Z. Foster "Notes on the Communist Party Electoral Policy" (1958) with annotations by Allen, and programmatic materials of other communist parties.
The FOIA series contains some 1500 pages of FBI files (received in the 1980s) which document Allen's activities in the 1950s.
The Philippines series contains Allen's lengthy 1939 report on his work there, accompanying notes and documents, his correspondence re arrangements for his trip, subsequent correspondence, much of it regarding the writing and publication of Allen's The Radical Left on the Eve of War (1985), some correspondence with William J. Pomeroy, a Communist and author of several books about the Philippines, an untitled thesis by Antonio S. Araneta, Jr. (c1965) on the history of Communism in the Philippines, and an untitled anonymous book-length typescript on the same subject (possibly by Allen).
The Subject files contain notes, journals and other materials from Allen's trips to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (1960-61), and various documents, ephemera, research materials and notes, mostly on post-WWII economic and political topics, although there is some material from Allen's time in the South. The file on the Cuban Revolution contains a lengthy report by Allen dated November, 1957. A notable file, Agrarian Commission (CPUSA), contains letters (including several from sharecroppers), minutes (attendees included Puro, Haywood, Ware), position statements, reports, and other internal documents describing local farm organizing conditions in the South and the Midwest in the early 1930s.
The Writings series contains manuscripts and typescripts of unpublished, and some published works, in some cases along with relevant correspondence, notes and research materials, and is organized into four subseries. Subseries A. The Negro Question in the U.S., contains book reviews, post-WWII Black Belt statistical data and calculations, a partial typescript for a proposed revised edition, several unpublished essays from the 1950s, CP Negro Commission meeting notes and reports by Allen, James Jackson, and Doxey Wilkerson, and the proceedings of a 1956 Conference on The South, organized by the Jefferson School. Subseries B. Organizing in the Depression South, contains a partial typescript, originally written as part of (subseries C), "Visions and Revisions," Allen's unpublished autobiographical typescript, which contains chapters on his early years, travels to the Philippines and the Soviet Union, and his publishing career. Subseries D. Other Writings, contains numerous brief, mostly unpublished typescripts from the late 1920s through the early 1980s. Many deal with the debates over Party policy and theory in the 1945-60 era (critiques of Earl Browder and John Gates); others cover various topics including current events, political economy, the Soviet Union, and the developing countries, including an interview with the former leader of the Cuban Communist Party, Blas Roca (1978). There are also book contracts and reviews, memorial portraits of prominent communists, and publishing correspondence for American Communism and Black Americans (1987), Atomic Imperialism (1952), and Reconstruction (1937).
The last series consists of photocopies of six thick scrapbooks, and three sets of oversized charts. The first four scrapbooks contain Allen's articles in the Communist press, almost all from the Daily Worker and The Communist/Political Affairs (1928-1967), the fifth contains reviews of his books (1936-1962), and the last commemorates his 60th birthday. The charts contain Black Belt county population data, 1860-1950, and were compiled by Allen from U.S. Census figures.
Return to topArrangement
Organized into seven series: 1. Biographical & Correspondence; 2. Communist Party, USA. New Program Committee; 3. FOIA files; 4. Philippines; 5. Subject files; 6. Writings; 7. Scrapbooks & Charts.
Folders are generally arranged alphabetically within each series. A portion of the correspondence is arranged chronologically.
Separated Material
There is no information about materials that are associated by provenance to the described materials that have been physically separated or removed.
Return to topRestrictions
Access Restrictions
Open for research without restrictions.
Use Restrictions
Permission to publish materials must be obtained in writing from the:
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2630
Fax: (212) 995-4225
E-mail: peter.filardo@nyu.edu
Access Points
People
Allen, James S.Aptheker, Herbert, 1915-2003.
Auerbach, Isabel.
Auerbach, Jacob.
Auerbach, Luba.
Cornforth, Maurice Campbell.
Einstein, Albert, 1879-1955.
Foster, William Z., 1881-1961.
Gates, John, 1913-
Haga, Takeshi.
Hall, Gus.
Jackson, James.
Lawson, John Howard, 1894-
Lumer, Hyman.
Marx, Karl, 1818-1883 --Collected works.
Perry, Pettis.
Pomeroy, William J., 1916-
Richmond, Al, 1913-1987.
Roca Calderio, Blas.
Wilkerson, Doxey Alphonso, 1905-
Subjects
African Americans.Communism--Cuba--History--Sources.
Communism--Philippines--History--Sources.
Communism--United States--History--20th century.
Communist Party of the United States of America--History--20th century.
Communists--United States.
Economics.
International relations.
Strikes and lockouts--United States.
Organizations
Communist Party of the United States of America. Agrarian Commission.Communist Party of the United States of America. National Program Committee.
Communist Party of the United States of America. Negro Commission.
Communist Party of the United States of America.
International Publishers.
Type
Charts.Clippings (information artifacts)
Correspondence.
Documents.
Ephemera.
Notes.
Scrapbooks.
Return to top
Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift of James S. Allen, 1982, and Jesse Auerbach (son), 1986.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.