Guide to the Sam Brandon Socialist Labor Party Papers TAM 215
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 Tamiment staff, 2010.
This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on May 02, 2018
Collection level finding aid updated to include box level description by Jacqueline Rider , May 2017
Descriptive Summary
| Title: | Sam Brandon Socialist Labor Party Papers |
|---|---|
| Dates [inclusive]: | 1900-1993 |
| 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. |
| Quantity: | 14 Linear Feet in 14 record cartons |
| Location: | 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. |
| Language: | Materials are in English |
| Call Phrase: | TAM 215 |
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.
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.
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.
Access Points
Subject Names
- Block, Murray
- Brandon, Joseph
- Lazarus, Louis
- Petersen, Arnold, 1885-1976
- De Leon, Daniel, 1852-1914
Subject Organizations
- Industrial Union Party (U.S.)
- Socialist Labor Party
- Industrial Union League (U.S.)
Subject Topics
- Socialist parties -- United States.
- Socialists -- New York (State) -- New York.
- Socialism -- United States -- History -- 20th century
Administrative Information
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.
Separated Materials
Issues of the SIU Discussion Bulletins and the Industrial Unionist have been transferred to the library collection.
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.
Processing Information
Materials have been placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Original folder information, when available, has been retained.
Container List
| Container 1 | Title | Date | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box: 1 | IUP Party correspondence; publications, clippings |
1974-1993 | ||
| Box: 2 | IUP Party correspondence, appeals, mailing lists |
1915-1946, 1972-1993 | ||
| Box: 3 | LSR, Socialist Reconstruction correspondence, clippings, De Leonist articles |
1909-1913, 1970-1981 | ||
| Box: 4 | Socialist Reconstruction; Ann Arbor conference |
1928-1930, 1965-1978 | ||
| Box: 5 | Socialist Reconstruction, IUP correspondence, files by individual name |
1910-1939, 1950-1993 | ||
| Box: 6 | IUP correspondence, resolutions; The Weekly People |
1934-1941, 1968-1988 | ||
| Box: 7 | IUP correspondence, leaflets, mail lists, minutes, constitution |
1921-1940, 1969-1981 | ||
| Box: 8 | IUP, LSR correspondence; files by individual name |
1928-1949, 1975-1992 | ||
| Box: 9 | LSR, IUP correspondence; files by individual name |
1968-1989 | ||
| Box: 10 | SLP, IUP correspondence, minutes, resolutions; Industrial Unionist; Unity Conference |
1913-1954, 1967-1980 | ||
| Box: 11 | IUL, IUP correspondence, clippings, branch reports |
1910-1947 | ||
| Box: 12 | SLP, LSR correspondence, minutes, reports; SIU Discussion Bulletins |
1921-1954, 1970-1993 | ||
| Box: 13 | Correspondence
ArrangementMaterials in this container were arranged prior to 2017 by date. |
1940-1972 | ||
| Box: 14 | Correspondence, SLP convention proceedings |
1938-1939, 1976-1984 | ||