Guide to the Jefferson School of Social Science (New York, N.Y.) Records and Indexes TAM.005
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
10th Floor
New York, NY 10012
(212) 998-2630
tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Collection processed by Peter Filardo
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on April 06, 2018
Description is in English.
Descriptive Summary
| Creator: | Jefferson School of Social Science (New York, N.Y.) |
|---|---|
| Source: | Rand School of Social Science |
| Title: | Jefferson School of Social Science Records and Indexes |
| Dates [inclusive]: | 1931-1958 |
| Dates [bulk]: | 1944-1955 |
| Abstract: | The Jefferson School of Social Science (1943-1956) was a Marxist adult education institute in New York City associated with the Communist Party, USA. Among the faculty were a number of leftist academics dismissed from the City University of New York, including the school's director, Howard Selsam. It had as many as 5000 students enrolled per term, but the Subversive Activities Control Board forced its closing in 1956. The school published course-related pamphlets and its Librarian, Henry Black, accumulated a 30,000 volume library. The collection consists of Jefferson School materials, course outlines and related readings, bibliographies, pamphlets published by the school, unpublished typescripts, and material from the Workers School and from the Communist Party. It also includes the original indexes to the Jefferson School Library's periodical and pamphlet holdings. |
| Quantity: | 8 Linear Feet (3 boxes and 11 card trays) |
| Location: | Card trays are located in the card catalog outside the conference room. |
| Call Phrase: | TAM.005 |
Historical/Biographical Note
The Jefferson School of Social Science (1943-1956) was a Marxist adult education institute in New York City. Like its predecessor, the Workers School (1923-1943), it was associated with the Communist Party, USA. The school occupied a nine story building at 575 Sixth Avenue, offered hundreds of courses to as many as 5000 students each term, and published course-related pamphlets. Librarian Henry Black accumulated a 30,000 volume library, and compiled course-related bibliographies. Among the faculty were a number of leftist academics dismissed from the City University of New York, including the school's director, Howard Selsam. The courses ranged from the year-long Institute of Marxist Studies to cultural and self-improvement offerings. The Subversive Activities Control Board's designation of the school as a Communist-controlled organization, led to the closing of the school in the fall of 1956.
Scope and Content Note
Series I principally consists of Jefferson School materials, but also contains some material from the Workers School and from the Communist Party, and includes course outlines and related readings, bibliographies, pamphlets published by the school, unpublished typescripts, correspondence and unpublished writings of Henry Black, speeches by William Z. Foster, including several given along with William F. Dunne in 1931 at the Workers School's National Training School (for Communist Party cadre), student scrapbooks (steel strike, 1949), pamphlets and briefs concerning the Subversive Activities Control Board's decision to list the school as a Communist-front organization, and a file of Communist Party Farm Commission minutes and other documents from 1946. The authored pamphlets include works by Herbert Aptheker, Howard Selsam and Doxey A. Wilkerson. Unpublished writings include Henry Black's book-length Fundamentals of Subject Cataloging, A Guide to Marxist Studies (a bibliographical introduction) by the editorial board of Science & Society, and The Seattle General Strike of 1919, an apparently contemporaneous participants' account. There is also an incomplete set of the Library Service to Labor Newsletter (ALA), 1949-1954.
Series II contains the following seven indexes (on 3x5 card files) to the Jefferson School Library's periodical and pamphlet holdings (with the bulk of the entries covering the years 1944-1955): Earl Browder Articles, 1922-1944; Pamphlets; Periodicals; Poems; Portraits (Photographs); Reviews (Drama, Motion Pictures); Short Stories.
Arrangement
Organized into two series, each arranged alphabetically: I. Records; II. Indexes to Jefferson School Library Periodicals and Pamphlets.
Folders are arranged alphabetically by subject/author heading within each series.
Access Points
Subject Names
- Aptheker, Herbert, 1915-2003.
- Davis, Benjamin J. (Benjamin Jefferson), 1903-1964
- Black, Henry. Fundamentals of subject cataloging.
- Selsam, Howard, 1903-
- Wilkerson, Doxey Alphonso, 1905-1993.
- Foster, William Z., 1881-1961.
- Dunne, William Francis, 1887-1953.
Document Type
- Correspondence.
- Pamphlets.
- Scrapbooks.
- Typescripts.
Subject Organizations
- Communist Party of the United States of America. Farm Commission
- United States. Subversive Activities Control Board
- Jefferson School of Social Science (New York, N.Y.)
- Rand School of Social Science
Subject Topics
- Communism -- United States.
- General Strike, Seattle, Wash., 1919.
- Right and left (Political science)
- Subject cataloging -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.
- Adult education -- New York (State) -- New York.
Subject Places
- New York (N.Y.)
Administrative Information
Custodial History
Collection was part of the Rand School Archives, and may have been donated by Henry Black, the Jefferson School's librarian. In 1963 the collection was transferred to the Tamiment Library by members of the People's Education Camp Society, Inc. The accession number associated with this collection is 1963.010
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Tamiment Library 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 1931 to 1958, are expected to enter the public domain in 2079.
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.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Transfer from the Rand School Archives, 1963. Probably donated thereto by Henry Black, the Jefferson School librarian. The accession number associated with this collection is 1963.010
Container List
Series I. Records
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| Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box: 1 | Folder : 1 | AFL-CIO Merger Convention, Excerpts from Resolutions; March 1, 1956 |
1956 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 2 | All-School Self-Critical Conference, Report; February 21, 1953 |
1953 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 3 | American History Course Outlines |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 4 | Ancient Mediterranean World Course Outline |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 5 | Annual Reports |
1945-1947 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 6 | Aptheker, Herbert: American Imperialism and White Chauvinism |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 7 | Aptheker, Herbert: The Constitution of the United States |
ca.1954 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 8 | Aptheker, Herbert: The Declaration of Independence |
ca.1954 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 9 | Associated Farmers, Inc.: A Brief Summary (California anti-labor group); July 6, 1938 |
1938 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 10 | Balamuth, Louis: Atomic Power: Its History and Future |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 11 | Black, Henry: Articles (unpublished ts): Agricultural Policy; Documentation; Indexing
Costs |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 12 | Black, Henry: Bibliographies, Readers Advisory |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 13 | Black, Henry: Correspondence |
1944-1958 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 14 | Black, Henry: Education Articles (unpublished ts) |
undated , 1957-1958 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 15 | Black, Henry: Fundamentals of Subject Cataloging (unpublished, book-length typescript);
May 4, 1905 |
1951 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 16 | Black, Henry: Fundamentals of Subject Cataloging - Outline, Research Notes |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 17 | Black, Henry: Miscellaneous Notes & Unpublished Writings |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 18 | Board of Trustees: Statement (announcing closing of the J.S.); November 27, 1956 |
1956 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 19 | Capitalism and the Class Struggle, Course Outline |
1949 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 20 | Children: Conference on Ideological Needs of |
1951 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 21 | China: Course Outline |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 22 | Coalition Politics and Electoral Problems, Selected Readings: Excerpts from U.S. Marxist
Writings on Developments Between 1936 and 1950; October 1, 1954 |
1954 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 23 | Communist Manifesto, 100th Anniversary (Forum, Manhattan Center, NY). Includes speeches
of William Z. Foster, J.S. Faculty; December 8, 1947 |
1947 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 24 | Communist Party and the Struggle for Peace, Democracy, Socialism: Curriculum |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 25 | Communist Party USA, Cooperative Research Project on the Theory and Practice of (".
. . to assemble. . .information and...analyses. . .for the legal defense of the several
CP members facing deportation. . ."] |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 26 | Course Descriptions (brief) |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 27 | Cultural Departments at the Jefferson School: Some Critical Comments. . .; May 31,
1950 |
1950 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 28 | Davis, Benjamin J. Jr.: On the Struggle for Peace and Freedom |
ca.1956 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 29 | Dunne, William F.: National Training School Lectures (labor topics); May 1, 1931 |
1931 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 30 | Economics: Course Outlines, Readings |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 31 | Egypt, Modern: Preliminary Report to Dr. DuBois Seminar; March 2, 1953 |
1953 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 32 | Epstein, Irene: A Bibliography on the Negro Woman in the United States |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 33 | Epstein, Irene and Doxey A. Wilkerson: Questions and Answers on the Woman Question;
May 6, 1905 |
1953 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 34 | European History Course Outline |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 35 | Farm Commission, CPUSA: Internal Documents; September 1, 1946 |
1946 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 36 | Foster, William Z.: Guide for Study Groups and Self-Study on History of the Communist
Party of the United States, Parts I & II |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 37 | Foster, William Z.: National Training School Speeches (labor topics); Apr-May 1931 |
1931 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 38 | Human History Course Outline |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 39 | Imperialism, Course Outline |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 40 | Imperialism: Course Outlines |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 41 | India and the Middle East: Course Outline |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 42 | Intelligence Theory and Practice as a Weapon Against the Negro People |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 43 | Jackson, Jim: Forces of Progress in the South; February 1, 1955 |
1955 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 44 | Jews: Course Outlines |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 45 | Jones, Claudia: An End to the Neglect of the Problems of the Negro Woman! [12 pp.] |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 46 | Karlson, William: Discussion Manuscript on Child Development (book-length ts, unpublished);
Notes on a ms on Child Development. . . by M.O. [critique] |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 47 | Korea and United States Imperialism: A Selected List of Recent References; July 1,
1950 |
1950 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 48 | Labor Press: Significant Articles |
1936 , 1944-1946 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 49 | Labor Research Association: Outlines for a History of American Workers |
1934 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 50 | Labor Research, Reference Guides for (by Francis Gates - Univ of California, Berkeley
Library); May 1, 1957 |
1957 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 51 | Latin America & Puerto Rico: Course Outlines, Study Materials |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 52 | Lawson, Elizabeth: The American Standard of Living |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 52A | Leaders of Their People: The Careers of Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Moranda
Smith |
1953 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 53 | Lenin's Imperialism, Study Guide for |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 54 | Library Service to Labor Groups Case Studies 1 & 2 (Newark & Boston Public Libraries |
1948-1949 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 55 | Library Service to Labor Newsletter (ALA) - incomplete |
1949-1954 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 56 | Makarenko in the Soviet Press, Discussion On, 1950-1951 (issued by the Jefferson School
Bookshop) |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 57 | Marxism: Course Outlines and Related Readings |
undated | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 58 | Marxism I: Science of Society - Course Outline; Fall 1949 |
1949 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 59 | Marxism II: Elements of Political Economy - Course Outline; Fall 1949 |
1949 | |
| Box: 1 | Folder : 60 | Marxism Leninism I; April 1, 1943 |
1943 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 1 | Marxist Studies, A Guide to ("Bibliographical Introduction" - a book-length typescript,
unpublished) - written by the Editorial Board of Science & Society |
ca.1937 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 2 | Marxist Studies, Institute of: Course Outlines |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 3 | Mason, Chick: Sources of Our Dilemma: A Rejection of the Right-Opportunist, Left-Sectarian
Explanation by Our Leadership [28 pp]; July 1, 1956 |
1956 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 4 | Mathematics and Science: Course Outlines & Related Readings |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 5 | Medical Student Seminar: A Critique of the Bourgeois Concepts of Race and Constitution
in Classical Medicine [81 pp.]. Presented at the J.S. Conference on Science & the
Scientist in the Fight for Peace & Socialism; 23-25 Jun 1950 |
1950 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 6 | Miscellaneous |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 7 | Miscellaneous Course Related & Other Mimeographed Reading Material |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 8 | Negro Labor Since 1867, a Fact Sheet on; May 5, 1905 |
1952 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 9 | Negro People, 1619-1918, History of...Study Outline; April 22, 1905 |
1939 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 10 | The Negro Press; A Vital Democratic Heritage [7 pp.] |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 11 | Negroes: Course Outlines and Related Readings |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 12 | Paxton, Max T. On Comrade Jackson's Report: A Dissent; March 3, 1958 |
1958 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 13 | Philosophy Course Outlines & Related Readings |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 14 | Philosophy, What Is?: Selectee Readings [48 pp] |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 15 | Political Economy I; April 1, 1943 |
1943 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 16 | Political Economy I: Wages, Prices & Profits - Course Outline; May 2, 1905 |
1949 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 17 | Political Economy II; April 1, 1943 |
1943 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 18 | Political Economy Course Outlines |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 19 | Political Economy Lessons 8 & 9 (Abridged) - Economic Crises |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 20 | Political Science: Course Outlines, Glossary |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 21 | Prago, Albert & George Siskind: Productive & Non-Productive Labor Under Capitalism |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 22 | Psychology: Course Outlines |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 23 | Railroad Strikes of 1877, 1886 (two typescripts) |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 24 | Rozenberg, D.: Outline of Marx's Capital Volumes II & III |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 25 | Russian, Reading |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 26 | San Francisco and After (J.S. Forum, Town Hall, NY); May 25, 1945 |
1945 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 27 | Science Department: Toward an Understanding of the Human Brain |
ca.1953 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 28 | The Science of Society: An Introduction to Marxism - Course Outline; May 2, 1905 |
1949 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 29 | Science of Society - Queens-Nassau Annexes of the J.S. |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 30 | Seattle General Strike: An Account...Issued by the History Committee of the General
Strike Committee [unpublished ts, 37 pp] Note: this appears to be a contemporary account. |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 31 | Selsam, Howard: The Negro People in the United States: Facts for All Americans; May
6, 1905 |
1953 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 32 | Social Democracy, Bibliography on; May 1, 1951 |
1951 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 33 | Soviet Biology: From the Discussion of the Lysenko Report [49 pp] |
ca.1948 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 34 | Soviet Union: Course Outlines and Related Reading |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 35 | Spanish, Courses Taught in - Outlines |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 36 | Stalin, Joseph: Study Guide for Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 37 | Stalin on Capitalist Crisis and International Affairs, 1930-1939 |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 38 | Stalin's Economic Problems: Course Outline |
undated | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 39 | Steel Strike (1949) - Student Scrapbooks, Bound; May 2, 1905 |
1949 | |
| Box: 2 | Folder : 40 | Steel Strike (1949) - Student Scrapbooks, Loose; May 2, 1905 |
1949 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 1 | Subversive Activities Control Board Case: Defense Briefs and Campaign Material |
1948-1955 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 2 | Subversive Activities Control Board Case: Recommended Decision; December 29, 1954 |
1954 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 3 | Titoism: Course Outline; CPUSA Discussion Outline |
undated , 1949 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 4 | Vila, William: Notes on the Puerto Rican Question; May 6, 1905 |
1953 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 5 | Vilner, Meir: The Cold War and the Question of the Yiddish Language in the USSR -
Speech at the 13th Congress of the Communist Party of Israel; May 9, 1905 |
1956 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 6 | Vilner, Meir: Marxism, Humanism and Hyman Levy; May 1, 1958 |
1958 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 7 | Wallace, Henry: Debate on; May 1, 1905 |
1948 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 8 | Wieden, Peter: The Working Class and the Nation |
ca.1939 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 9 | Wilkerson, Doxey A.: Class Forces in the Development of Free Public Education in the
U.S.; December 1, 1955 |
1955 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 10 | Wilkerson, Doxey A.: The Historic Fight to Abolish School Segregation in the United
States; May 7, 1905 |
1954 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 11 | Woman Question / Women: Course Outlines |
undated | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : 12 | Zhadanov, A.: The International Situation |
undated | |
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Series II. Indexes to Jefferson School Library Periodicals and Pamphlets
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| Container 1 | Container 2 | Title | Date | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : Drawer 1 | Browder, Earl: Articles, 1922-1944 (arranged chronologically) |
1922-1944 | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : Drawer 2 | Pamphlets (by author) |
undated | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : Drawer 3-7 | Periodicals: Author Index |
undated | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : Drawer 8 | Poems (by author) |
undated | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : Drawer 9 | Portraits, Individuals (photographs) |
undated | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : Drawer 10 | Reviews: a. Drama; b. Motion Pictures (by title) |
undated | |
| Box: 3 | Folder : Drawer 11 | Short Stories (by author) |
undated | |
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