Title: Charles Levenstein Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1963-1967

Creator:

• Levenstein, Charles

Call Number: Mss 137

Quantity: 0.6 c.f. (2 archives boxes)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

Abstract:

Fragmentary papers of Charles Levenstein, a student movement leader from the Boston area, including correspondence, writings by Levenstein and others, and subject files of printed matter collected by Levenstein relating to various local New Left organizations such as Students for a Democratic Society and the May 2 Movement. Correspondence includes a small file of letters to and from Levenstein and one folder of incoming letters to fellow activist John Maher. Prominent correspondents are Rennie Davis, Clark Kissinger, Staughton Lynd, and A. J. Muste.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00137

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As a student at Cornell University, Charles Levenstein served as president of the Cornell Forum, which was affiliated with the Student League for Industrial Democracy, a national group that became the Students for a Democratic Society. After graduation in 1960 Levenstein worked as a labor union organizer for the International Chemical Workers Union. Later while attending graduate school in Boston, he continued to be active in SDS and in 1964 he headed SDS's Boston Peace Research and Education Project (PREP), which sought to organize engineers and scientists around issues relating to the conversion of the U.S. economy to peaceful purposes. Levenstein later became a member of the Boston editorial board of Leviathan.

The papers are a fragmentary group of correspondence, writings, and subject files that are more useful as a reference collection for the study of New Left activities in the Boston area than as a source for Levenstein's personal activities in the student movement. The correspondence consists of a small amount of correspondence between Levenstein and the national office of SDS and its Economic Research and Action Project and other persons involved in SDS, including Rennie Davis. There is also a folder of incoming correspondence to John Maher, apparently a fellow activist. Among the correspondence are letters from A.J. Muste, Staughton Lynd, and Clark Kissinger. Writings consist of notes and annotated manuscripts for articles, essays, and leaflets, some written by Levenstein. The alphabetical subject files contain printed matter collected by Levenstein concerning various New Left activities in the Boston area. The topics covered range over a broad spectrum of social issues including the Vietnam War, disarmament, social welfare, and civil rights. With the exception of the Harvard-Radcliffe May 2 Movement the files provide only fragmentary coverage. The subject files contained a great deal of published material, mainly pertaining to SDS, which has been transferred to the Society's Library and to the Social Action Vertical File.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Charles Levenstein, Boston, Massachusetts, January 1969. Accession Number: M69-33

Processing Information

Processed by Dennis Rowley, NC, and the 1970 archives class, and by Carolyn Mattern, October 1980.

	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   1	Levenstein, 1963-1966
Box   1 Folder   2	Maher, 1965-1967
Box   1 Folder   3	Writings, undated
	Subject files
Box   1 Folder   4-5	A-B
Box   1 Folder   6	Boston Movement Cooperative, 1966-1967
Box   1 Folder   7	Boston Peace Research and Education Project, undated
Box   1 Folder   8-13	C-H
Box   1 Folder   14	Haley House, 1966-1967
Box   1 Folder   15	HUAC material, 1965-1967
Box   1 Folder   16-17	I-M
Box   1 Folder   18	May 2 Movement (Harvard and Radcliffe), 1964-1965
Box   1 Folder   19-20	N-0
Box   2 Folder   1-8	P, R - W, Y, unidentified