David Montgomery Papers

Call Number

TAM.446

Dates

1820-1925, 1953-2009, inclusive

; 1960-2000, bulk

Creator

Montgomery, David, 1927-2011

Montgomery, David, 1927-2011 (Role: Donor)

Montgomery, Ed (Role: Donor)

Extent

50.5 Linear Feet in 45 record cartons and 12 card boxes

700 Megabytes

Language of Materials

Materials are in English with some materials in French, Italian, German, and Portuguese.

Abstract

David Montgomery (1927-2011) was Farnam Professor of History Emeritus at Yale University. Montgomery is considered one of the foremost academics specializing in United States labor history, and is credited as a leading founder of "new labor history" in the U.S., placing emphsis on working-class culture, rather than simply their organizations. Contains the research files, clippings correspondence, printed ephemera, typescripts, and FOIA files. Three boxes are devoted to the FBI files of Jay Lovestone, a former Communist Party USA leader who became a militant anti-communist, specializing in combating communism in labor movements in the U.S. and around the world.

Biographical / Historical

David Montgomery (1927-2011) was Farnam Professor of History Emeritus at Yale University. Montgomery is considered one of the foremost academics specializing in United States labor history and has written extensively on the subject. Along with David Brody and Herbert Gutman, he is credited with founding the field of "new labor history" in the U.S. Following the example of British historian E. P. Thompson, Montgomery encouraged a generation of labor historians to examine working-class culture, rather than simply their organizations. He was also President of the Organization of American Historians from 1999 to 2000.

Arrangement

Materials within the 2017 accretion have not been arranged by an archivist. Original order may have been lost during packing. The collection contains numerous photocopies of articles, and groupings of folders arranged in alphabetical order by author's last name or by article topic, in some cases, still remain.

Scope and Contents

The David Montgomery Papers document the professional career and, in some cases, the personal life of historian and professor David Montgomery (1927-2011).The bulk of the collection consists of Montgomery's research files, which mainly focus on the labor history of the United States, although some files describe labor movements that occurred in China, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Latin America. Materials include photocopies of articles, newspaper clippings, correspondence, printed ephemera, handwritten notes, typescripts, and FOIA files. Three boxes are specifically devoted to the FBI files of Jay Lovestone, a former Communist Party USA leader who became a militant anti-communist, specializing in combating communism in labor movements in the U.S. and abroad, was employed by the AFL-CIO for this purpose, and cooperated closely with U.S. government agencies. In addition to Montgomery's research files, the collection also contains a few awards, some materials related to Yale University where Montgomery taught, photographs, course materials (including student theses), medical records, personal financial documents (including tax returns), and child artwork.

Subjects

People

Lovestone, Jay.; Montgomery, David, 1927-2011 (Role: Donor); Montgomery, Ed (Role: Donor)

Topics

Labor unions -- United States.; Working class; Labor movement.; Working class -- United States.; Labor unions; Labor movement -- United States.; Communism.; Labor -- History; Labor -- Education.

Places

United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865

Donors

Montgomery, David, 1927-2011; Montgomery, Ed

Conditions Governing Access

Materials are open to researchers with the acception of any letters from Dana Frank to David Montgomery and the unprocessed 2017 accretion. Access to the Dana Frank letters is restricted until death. Access to the 2017 Accretion to the David Montgomery Papers is restricted until the materials have benn processed.

Conditions Governing Use

Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by David Montgomery were transferred to New York University in 2017 by Edward B. Montgomery and Claud B. Montgomery. Permission to publish or reproduce materials in this collection must be secured from the Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archive. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu.

Preferred Citation

Identification of item, date; David Montgomery Papers; TAM 446; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.

Location of Materials

The collection is stored offsite and advance notice is required for use. Please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu at least two business days prior to a research visit.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

The collection was initially donated by David Montgomery in 2008 and 2009; additional materials were donated in 2017 by Edward B. Montgomery and Claude D. Montgomery. The accession numbers associated with these donations are 1997.024, 2008.034, 2009.069, and 2017.036.

Collection processed by

Peter Meyer Filardo and Aniko Szucs, with updates by Andrea Kutsenkow in July 2017

About this Guide

This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace on 2023-08-20 16:33:34 -0400.

Language: Finding aid written in English.

Processing Information

The 2017 accretion to the David Montgomery Papers was initially shelved upon its arrival at 20 Cooper Square, although later, in late June and early July 2017, all materials were transferred from hanging folders to acid-free folders and archival boxes. Original folder titles were retained during rehousing, and rusty fasteners were removed to prevent further deterioration. Processing information for the materials donated prior to 2017 is unknown.

Repository

Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives