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Sam Brandon Socialist Labor Party Papers

Call Number

TAM.215

Date

1900-1993, inclusive

Creator

Block, Murray (Role: Donor)
Brandon, Sam

Extent

14 Linear Feet in 14 record cartons

Language of Materials

Materials are in English

Abstract

Sam Brandon joined the Socialist Labor Party (SLP) as a teenager, and became an organizer for its New York section and chair of its NY State Committee. Expelled in 1927, he helped to found the Socialist Labor Propaganda League, the Industrial Union League (IUL) in 1928, and in 1933 the Industrial Union Party (IUP), and remained its leader, an advocate of the ideas of SLP founder Daniel De Leon, and a critic of the SLP until his death. This collection consists of correspondence and typescripts (principally of Sam Brandon), documents, ephemera, clippings, and some proceedings of various De Leonite organizations. Notable are the files from the 1920s and 1930s which closely document his expulsion from and ongoing disagreements with the SLP, and the founding of the IUL and IUP. Much of the collection covers the years 1970-1984, and documents Brandon's leading activities in several short-lived De Leonite political groupings. Correspondents include Joseph Brandon, Louis Lazarus, Ralph Muncy, and Arnold Petersen.

Historical/Biographical Note

Sam Brandon joined the Socialist Labor Party (SLP) as a teenager and became an organizer for its New York section and chair of its NY State Committee. SLP leaders expelled the entire Bronx section in 1927 over political disputes. Brandon, his older brother Joseph, and others formed the Socialist Labor Propaganda League, then the Industrial Union League (IUL) in 1928. In 1933 Sam Brandon founded the Industrial Union Party (IUP). He remained its leader, an advocate of the ideas of SLP founder Daniel De Leon, and a critic of the SLP until his death. Brandon also founded RichLoom, a Brooklyn-based textile manufacturing company, whose profits supported his activism.

Arrangement

This collection has not been arranged by an archivist. Most of the materials are arranged in the order in which they were received from the donor. Some materials were arranged by year and re-foldered prior to 2017.

Scope and Content Note

The Sam Brandon Socialist Labor Party Papers (1900-1993) consist of correspondence and typescripts (principally of Sam Brandon), documents, ephemera, clippings, and proceedings of various De Leonite and other Socialist organizations. Notable are files from the 1920s and 1930s, which closely document, most importantly through Brandon's correspondence, his expulsion from and ongoing disagreements with the Socialist Labor Party (SLP), and the founding of the Industrial Union League (IUL) and Industrial Union Party (IUP). The collection holds little material from the years 1940-1969. The remainder of the collection covers the years 1970-1984 and documents Brandon's leading activities in several short-lived De Leonite political groupings: the Socialist Committee of Correspondence (circa 1969), the Daniel De Leon League (circa 1970), Socialist Reconstruction (circa 1971), and the Revolutionary Industrial Unionists (circa 1979); his leadership of the reactivated IUP; and his criticism of the SLP. Other correspondents include Joseph Brandon, Louis Lazarus, Ralph Muncy, and Arnold Petersen.

Donors

Block, Murray

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open without restriction.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection created by Sam Brandon was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; Sam Brandon Socialist Labor Party Papers; TAM 215; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

Materials are stored offsite, and advance notice is required for use. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu at least two business days prior to your visit to coordinate access.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

This collection was donated to Tamiment Library in 1997 by Murray Block; additional materials found in the repository were incorporated into the collection in 2014. The accession numbers associated with this collection are 1997.060 and 2014.076.

Separated Materials

Issues of the SIU Discussion Bulletins and the Industrial Unionist have been transferred to the library collection.

Collection processed by

Tamiment staff, 2010.

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:57:32 -0400.
Language: Description is written in: English, Latin script.

Processing Information

Materials have been placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Original folder information, when available, has been retained.

Revisions to this Guide

May 2017: Collection level finding aid updated to include box level description by Jacqueline Rider

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012