Historical/Biographical Note
Sociologist Daniel Bell (1919- ) is a writer and teacher of the history of the American left and of American Labor. A 1939 graduate of City College (CUNY), where he was a member of the Young Peoples Socialist League, Bell was managing editor of the New Leader (a social democratic journal of opinion) in the 1940s, labor editor of Fortune magazine from 1948 to 1958 and author of several books and monographs, including The End of Ideology (1962), The Birth of Post-Industrial Society (1974), and The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976). Daniel Bell's life and ideas are described in Arguing the World (1997) a documentary film about three notable City College graduates: Bell, Irving Howe, and Nathan Glazer.
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The papers represent materials gathered by Bell for his writing and research. It includes clippings, correspondence, minutes, proceedings, reports, resolutions, circulars and other internal documents; articles, research notes, pamphlets, congressional testimony and interviews. Notable individuals represented herein, sometimes by biographical studies, correspondence, manuscripts, and oral history interview notes include: John Brophy, Earl Browder, Sam Darcy, James Carey, Sidney Hillman, George Meany, H.L. Mitchell, Philip Murray, Norman Thomas, and fellow researcher William Goldsmith. Series descriptions follow. Note: Folder titles usually reflect Daniel Bell's research interests, which may or may not coincide with the overall topical focus and/or provenance of the documents therein.
Series I. The Communist Party, U.S.A.: Organization and Policy Development.
Subseries IA. CPUSA Organization, Policy Development, Political Activities: The news clippings, correspondence, and reading notes assembled here outline the internal development of the CPUSA and are particularly useful for the period 1919-1929. Party minutes, letters, and reports of 1928 and 1929 provide additional information on the labor situation in the needle trades and in mining and on intra Party affairs, in particular on the expulsion of the Lovestoneites in 1929. For the period after 1929 there are articles, newsclippings, and pamphlets illustrating the CPUSA's economic and political orientation. Some of the political activities of the CPUSA are suggested in these reading notes, articles, and news reports concerning the "united fronts" of the 1920s, the Farmer Labor movements of 1922-1925, Henry Wallace, and Vito Marcantonio.
Subseries IB. Earl Browder Material: Most of these files contain reports of interest to the CPUSA during World War II. There are, in addition, a report by Earl Browder to the CPUSA National Committee, 1939; a financial report of the Communist Political Association for 1944; and a statement concerning political tactics, 1946. Influence in the Labor Movement: material on the role of the Party in the labor movement in general is included in this section of the collection. Much of it is congressional testimony concerning communist influence in the Congress of Industrial Organizations and the National Labor Relations Board. The testimony is supplemented by interviews with CIO officials and articles by prominent communists outlining CPUSA labor policy. There are also articles, news reports, and CIO committee reports concerning the CIO's purge of communists in the years 1948-1950. Communist activity in specific unions is dealt with in Part II. Government and Industry's Anticommunist Campaign: general aspects of the anticommunist campaign are treated in this section. Articles and reports concerning government actions against union officials associated with the CPUSA and business reports illustrating private harassment of communists and "left wingers" in the labor movement are included here.
Series II. The Communist Party, U.S.A. and the American Labor Movement.
The CPUSA has always emphasized the importance of working within the labor movement. Many Party members have been actively involved in CP caucuses within individual unions and, on occasion, Party sympathizers have achieved positions of prominence. This section of the collection is devoted to unions in which there has been active or influential communist participation. It is arranged by union and includes information on Distributive, Processing, and Office Workers of America; Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Workers Union; Amalgamated Food Workers Union; United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America; United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum, and Plastic Workers of America; International Fur and Leather Workers Union of the U. S. and Canada; United Public Workers of America; Transport Workers Unions; International Longshoremen and Warehousemen's Union; Packinghouse Workers Union; United Gas, Coke, and Chemical Workers of America; National Maritime Union; Upholsterers International Union; Cloth, Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers International Union; Cutters Local 10; International Ladies' Garment Workers Union; Joint Board of Cloak, Skirt, Dress, and Reefer Makers Unions of New York.
There are many sources of information about communist activity in the labor movement. Articles, notes, and news clippings reveal some aspects of the CP 's relations with organized labor and make up part of the files of all the unions listed above. For a few unions, these are supplemented by more extensive descriptions; there are a short history of the Packinghouse Workers Union, detailed notes on the Amalgamated Food Workers Union, and a substantial history in manuscript of the United Electrical Workers by William Goldsmith.
Both public and private efforts to expose communist "subversion" of the labor movement are useful, though not always reliable sources. Reports of congressional hearings concerning the Distributing, Processing, and Office Workers of America; the Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers Union; and the United Electrical Workers; and N. L. R. B. reports regarding the filing of false noncommunist affidavits on the part of the International Fur and Leather Workers Union and the Mine, Mill, and Smelter Workers Union, are included in the files of the respective unions. Anticommunist propaganda put out by Oppenheim Collins against Local 1250 of the D. P. O. W. A. is the only example of the private “expose."
Finally, there is a variety of primary materials. The internal struggles occasioned by CP activities in unions are reflected in leaflets and statements of the Communist and anticommunist factions within the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union; the International Ladies' Garment Workers Union; and the International Fur and Leather Workers Union and in the report of the trial and expulsion of the United Public Workers of America from the CIO The files of the United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers Union include a class book of the District Fraction Training School for 1937-1938. The material on the needle trades unions is most helpful for an understanding of CP policies and daily activities in the labor movement: the correspondence of Herman Zukowsky with accompanying union material for the period 1926-1937; Trade Union Educational League and Trade Union Unity League material concerning the Cloth, Hat, Cap, and Millinery Workers Union; and reports and statements of the State Board of the Cloak, Skirt, Dress, and Reefer Makers Unions of New York.
Series III. American Labor Unions and Industrial Relations.
This section consists of both general studies of the labor movement and information pertaining to specific unions. The general studies include articles, reports, and book reviews arranged topically under the headings: union leadership, union structure, labor and economic conditions, union membership and organizing drives, industrial relations, labor ideology, labor and government, and foreign unions.
The material specifically devoted to the Teamsters provides a substantial introduction to the recent history of the union. It includes biographical studies of Dan Tobin, Dave Beck, and James Hoffa, articles on Teamster history and structure and news reports concerning Teamster relations with other unions. Almost half the material deals with the charges of racketeering made against union officials during the 1950's. These files are composed primarily of articles and news reports but also include the Report of the AFL CIO Ethical Practices Committee to the AFL CIO Executive Council re: International Brotherhood of Teamsters, September 16, 1957, and the Proceedings of the Seventeenth Convention of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, September 1957.
The United Auto Workers material also heavily emphasizes the post War period. There are biographical sketches of important union officials, notes on the history of the union, and articles concerning the important question of internal democracy. Much of the material concerns the industrial relations of the United Auto Workers: strikes, negotiations, and innovations such as the Guaranteed Annual Wage.
The International Ladies' Garment Workers Union and United Mine Workers Union files consist of biographical studies of the unions' leaders and articles concerning their history, structure, and industrial relations. Together with these files there are miscellaneous articles and news clippings on the Pulp, Sulphite, and Paper Mill Workers Union; the United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners; and the Textile Workers Union of America.
A section devoted to the AFL CIO consists of two parts. The first contains selections from the convention proceedings of the Federation of Trades and Labor Unions and the American Federation of Labor showing the list of delegates to the conventions, together with notes on the elections at the national conventions of the AFL for the period of 1886-1905. The second includes biographical studies of George Meany, Phil Murray, Alan Haywood, and Sidney Hillman, together with articles and pamphlets concerning the history of the CIO and the AFL CIO merger.
Series IV. The American Socialist Party.
The Socialist Party before 1930: The section of the collection devoted to the Socialist Party heavily emphasizes the 1930s. For the period before World War I there is some Connecticut SP material; minutes of the State Convention at New Haven, 1906; state constitutions of 1906 and 1909; letters, platforms, and bulletins concerning the elections of 1906, 1910, 1912, and 1913; and newspaper clippings concerning the Socialists in office. For the 1920's there are news clippings concerning relations between the Socialist Party and the Conference for Progressive Political Action; miscellaneous National Convention Papers for 1924 and 1928; and the Twenty first Anniversary Convention Book, Cuyahoga County, Ohio, 1922.
The Socialist Party: 1930-1933: In the years between 1930 and 1933 two groups within the Party organized themselves into loose but identifiable factions: the "Militants," a coalition surrounding Norman Thomas, composed of younger and, in the main, more radical Socialists, and the "Old Guard," a group associated with Morris HilIquit and the New York Socialist establishment. The early stages of the party schism are reflected here in correspondence concerning the dispute between The New Leader and The American Guardian; in a statement by Jack Altman to the "Militant" group in 1933; in letters from Sidney Yellin, Ohio S. P., and Birch Wilson, Pennsylvania SP, concerning disagreements with the National Office, 1933; and in policy statements concerning a proposed united front with the Communist Party. In addition to the factional material, this section includes proposals submitted to the City Convention of New York, 1930; miscellaneous National Convention Papers for 1932; minutes of the National Executive Committee for December 1932; presidential election material, 1932; instructions from the Socialist Speakers Service; and statements, propaganda, and letters of the Continental Congress of Workers and Farmers, 1933.
Young People's Socialist League: 1930-1940: The YPSL material comes from a variety of chapters, although New York City groups are best represented. It includes minutes and reports from groups in Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois, and New York; miscellaneous National Convention Papers; and some of the minutes and office releases of the National Executive Committee. There are also letters and statements concerning issues of importance to the YPSL: the George Smerkin affair, relations with the Young Communist League, unity with the Social Democratic Federation, and the ultimately consuming problem of world war. Like its parent body, YPSL suffered from factional disputes that are reflected in statements and circulars put out by the "Militants," the "Old Guard," the "Clarity" caucus, and the "Appeal" group. And finally, there are representative periodicals interfiled with the other material in chronological order.
The Socialist Party: 1934-1935: After 1934 the "Militant" - "Old Guard" conflict became more intense. The National Convention Papers of 1934, particularly the Declaration of Principles adopted at the Convention and the majority and minority reports of the American delegates to the Labor and Socialist International, reveal some aspects of the feud. These are supplemented by letters, statements, and pamphlets from both factions and analyses of the Socialist Party published by other "left wing" groups.
The Socialist Party: 1936: The ""Old Guard" left the Socialist Party to form the Social Democratic Federation in 1936. Letters and statements of the "Militants," the "Old Guard," and the Committee for Unity in the Socialist Party illuminate the parting. For 1936 we also have statements and resolutions on the question of the united front, miscellaneous National Convention Papers, and election propaganda.
The Socialist Party: 1937: The exit of the "Old Guard" did not end factional dispute within the Party. No sooner was the schism accomplished than the "Militants" split into two new factions, the "Old Militants" and the "Clarity" caucus, and shortly thereafter a third group was added, the "Appeal" group, which consisted of former members of the Trotskyist Workers Party who joined the SP en masse toward the end of 1936. Accordingly, 1937 was characterized by internal party feuds, and the letters, statements, and resolutions of the three factions form the bulk of the material. There are also letters and statements concerning the Spanish Civil War, the American Committee for the Defense of Leon Trotsky, and miscellaneous minutes of the National Executive Committee, the National Action Committee, the New York City Executive Committee, and the New York City Central Committee.
The Socialist Party: 1938-1939: The "Appeal" group was expelled from the Socialist Party at the end of 1937, but they did not leave a harmonious party behind them. Letters, statements, and reports concerning the election of delegates to the 1938 National Convention reveal continuing dissension. To some extent this dissension can be attributed to disagreements concerning unity with the Social Democratic Federation, the socialist attitude toward war, and political tactics, in particular the relationship of the SP to the American Labor Party. These disagreements are reflected in letters and notes of the various groups, in the literature of the American Commonwealth Federation and the Keep America Out of War Congress; and in the minutes of the National Executive Committee, the National Action Committee, the National Labor Committee, the State Executive Committee of New York, and the City Central Committee, New York, for 1939, which are included here.
The Socialist Party and the United Auto Workers: 1937-1941: The Socialist Party actively participated in the formation and the early struggles of the UAW Some appreciation of this activity can be gained from the Socialist Auto League materials in this section: bulletins and reports for 1938 and 1939, minutes of the National Steering Committee, 1938, and reports of the National Action Committee, 1938. These are supplemented by the correspondence of Arthur McDowell, Ben Fisher, Gerry Allard, Roy Burt, and Norman Thomas concerning the UAW, 1937-1939, and SP policy statements, reports and miscellaneous bulletins on the situation, 1937-1941.
The Socialist Party: 1940-1941: The SP's militant antiwar position proved intolerable, not only to much of the Party's rank and file, but also to such leading socialists as Alfred Baker Lewis, Paul Porter, Arthur McDowell, and Jack Altman. Party statements, miscellaneous minutes of the National Executive Committee and the National Action Committee, and antiwar propaganda, including the text of Norman Thomas's speech at Madison Square Garden (May 24, 1941), explaining the official position. The opposition is represented by statements, resignations, and correspondence, particularly the correspondence of Arthur McDowell, who fought unsuccessfully to change the Party's position.
The Socialist Party: 1942-present: This section includes a variety of materials: National Convention Papers and election propaganda from the 1940's; bulletins issued by "left wing" tendencies within the party; Hammer and Tongs, 1940-1946 (incomplete); literature of the Conference of American Progressives, 1946, the National Educational Committee for a New Party, 1946-1947, and the North Dakota Non Partisan League; minutes of the National Executive Committee, 1943-1945, and of the National Action Committee, 1943-1946; and SP statements on the war and the Marshall Plan. A few files are devoted to articles and notes on Norman Thomas.
International Socialism: The small section on International Socialism that concludes this part of the collection is made up of articles, clippings, and publications concerning Social Democratic Parties and Social Democratic influence in the labor movement since World War II. Some background information on the first and second Internationals and the roots of socialism in England and France is included. The emphasis is on Europe, particularly England, France, Germany, and Austria, but there is also information on Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Series V. Princeton Conference on Socialism and American Life.
Mr. Bell was one of the participants in the Conference on Socialism and American Life held at Princeton University, 1946-1947. His contribution to the Conference, "The Background and Development of Marxian Socialism in the United States," was published in Socialism and American Life edited by Donald D. Egbert and Stow Persons (Princeton University Press, 1952). This section of the collection contains the conference guide and the manuscript of Marxian Socialism..." along with relevant notes and articles.
Series VI. The Communist Party and Its Relations with the American Labor Movement.
The material in this part of the collection is primarily concerned with Communist Party activity in the labor movement during the 1920s and 1930s. There are several historical essays on CP development; a short study of the left wing in American trade unions, 1921-1925; and a history of the Party in the Food Workers Industrial Union. These studies in manuscript are supplemented by articles from communist and labor journals concerning CP labor policies and factional disputes and, in some cases, lengthy interviews with leading figures. Extensive reading notes on the political left and on communist influence in labor, particularly in the needle trades and in coal, and notes on CP minutes complete the section. The minutes are from the Political Committee, 1925-1928; the Trade Union Educational League and the Trade Union Unity League; the Trade Union Committee of the Central Executive Committee, 1923-1927; and a Party Conference, 1930.
Series VII. Addendum: Miscellaneous Writings and Research Materials.
The 1982 Addendum to the Daniel Bell Papers contains material dating from 1900 to 1962, with the bulk of the items falling between 1925 and 1958. The Papers are arranged in a single continuous alphabetical series by folder heading. Folder titles are of two types: (1) subject headings retained from those used by Daniel Bell, and (2) names, derived from the author or interviewee whose material constitutes the folder's contents. A small quantity of miscellaneous publications have been filed with the collection. Most correspondence is filed together with the working documentation to which it relates, but all loose correspondence has been gathered under a folder with that heading. Correspondence of note filed within other files includes communications from Earl Browder (box 51, folder 2), Norman Thomas (box 54, folder 4), and B.J. Widdick (box 54, folder 14). Listed under Daniel Bell are drafts for his various writings. These include chapters from his study, Marxian Socialism in the United States (Princeton, 1967). Also present are extensive manuscript notes by Bell, retained together with printed material relating to them. These materials document Bell's creative process, showing how his writing evolved. Another significant strength of the addendum is the collection of interviews with prominent labor and left political figures. The Congress of Industrial Organizations is the subject of several of the interviews, and of early documentation concerning both it and constituent unions. In addition a series of "discs" have been separated from the collection. (Most of the discs contain notes sent by Bell from Paris in 1957 to the New York based study of the American Left done by The Fund for the Republic, Inc., and transcripts are present.)
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Arrangement |
||
| Folders are arranged alphabetically within each box or subseries. | ||
| The files are grouped into seven series: | ||
| I, The Communist Party | ||
| II, Communist Party and American Labor Movement: Individual Unions | ||
| III, American Labor Unions and Industrial Relations | ||
| IV, American Socialist Party | ||
| V, Princeton Conference on Socialism and American Life | ||
| VI, Communist Party and its Relations with the American Labor Movement | ||
| VII, Addendum: Miscellaneous Writings and Research Materials | ||
Restrictions
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 Archive
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
Phone: (212) 998-2630
Fax: (212) 995-4225
E-mail: gail.malmgreen@nyu.edu
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Administrative Information
Provenance
Gift of Daniel Bell, 1969, 1982.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date (if known); The Daniel Bell Research Files on U.S. Communism, Socialism, and the Labor Movement;
Tamiment 80; box number; folder number; New York University Libraries ;New York University Libraries
Container List
[The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.]
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