Title: Kutcher Civil Rights Committee Records
Inclusive Dates: 1948-1973

Creator:

• Kutcher Civil Rights Committee

Call Number: Micro 810

Quantity: 4 reels of microfilm (35mm)

Repository:

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

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

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

Abstract:

Records of a committee formed in 1948 which successfully fought James Kutcher's dismissal from government employment because of his membership in the Socialist Workers Party. Included are correspondence, form letters, press releases, speeches, financial records, clippings, legal briefs, hearing transcripts, and a copy of Kutcher's book, The Case of the Legless Veteran (1953). The correspondence relates chiefly to Kutcher's legal defense and to enlistment of union support. Prominent correspondents include Farrell Dobbs, James T. Farrell, Alfred Kazin, Carey McWilliams, Alexander Meiklejohn, Lewis Mumford, Joseph L. Rauh, Jr., I. F. Stone, and Norman Thomas.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr0810

The Kutcher Civil Rights Committee was organized in August 1948 by George E. Novack, secretary of the Civil Rights Defense Committee, to win justice for James Kutcher. Kutcher, a Purple Heart veteran and a double amputee, was dismissed from his position as a clerk in the Veterans Administration because of his membership in the Socialist Workers Party, one of several hundred groups included in the Attorney General's list of subversive organizations. Kutcher's case became the first real challenge to the government's loyalty program, giving rise to numerous court actions before Kutcher won a victory on procedural grounds in 1952. However, not until 1958 was he finally awarded a substantive victory and returned to his former position without prejudice. Two related cases involved the attempt by the government to revoke Kutcher's veteran's pensions and to evict him from a federal housing unit. In its initial phases the committee was headed by Novack, but during the early 1950s, leadership passed to George Breitman, editor of The Militant. The activities of the committee consisted of fund-raising for the legal defense and enlistment of non-partisan support from labor unions, religious organizations, educators, and civil libertarians.

The collection is made up of Kutcher's own papers and the files of George L. Weissman, treasurer of the committee from 1955 to 1958, and it consists of correspondence, financial and legal records, publicity, and miscellany. The CORRESPONDENCE includes many exchanges with defense counsels Michael Myer and Joseph L. Rauh, Jr., representatives of organized labor, and other members of the SWP. There are also many exchanges between committee head George Breitman and Kutcher during the latter's public relations tour in 1954. Prominent correspondents included are Farrell Dobbs, James T. Farrell, Alfred Kazin, Carey McWilliams, Alexander Meiklejohn, Lewis Mumford, I. F. Stone, and Norman Thomas. There is also a file of form letters issued by the committee.

PUBLICITY consists of a copy of the first edition of Kutcher's book, The Case of the Legless Veteran, (the 1973 edition is available in the Society library), press releases, handbills, speeches, and souvenir programs. The FINANCIAL RECORDS are rather complete and consist of income and disbursement books; check book stubs which serve as a balancing ledger; reports; and two receipt books, which may relate to the New York Kutcher Civil Rights Committee. LEGAL RECORDS consist chiefly of court briefs and summaries and some hearing transcripts. The MISCELLANY consists of reports of Kutcher's national tour, form resolutions submitted by various organizations, lists of supporters, notes, and clippings. Because much of the collection was in a highly deteriorated condition, the originals were destroyed after microfilming.

Acquisition Information

Presented by George L. Weissman, New York, New York, 1968, and James Kutcher, New York, New York, 1978-1979. Accession Number: M68-108, M78-488, and M79-358

Processing Information

Processed by Carolyn Mattern, 1970, March, and 1980, April.

	Series: Correspondence
	Correspondence
Reel   1	1948-1955
Reel   2	1956-1958, 1971-1973
Reel   2 Frame   255	Form letters, 1948-1958
	Series: Publicity	⇧
Reel   2 Frame   434	The Case of the Legless Veteran, 1953
Reel   2 Frame   528	Book publicity, 1953-1955
Reel   2 Frame   547	Souvenir programs, 1949-1950
Reel   2 Frame   608	Handbills, 1949-1954
Reel   2 Frame   644	Press releases, 1948-1956
Reel   2 Frame   769	Miscellaneous publicity, undated
	Series: Financial Records	⇧
	Income books
Reel   2 Frame   941	1948-1953
Reel   3 Frame   1	1954-1957
Reel   3 Frame   16	Disbursement book, 1948-1957
Reel   3 Frame   45	Check book balance stubs (2), 1948-1958
Reel   3 Frame   255	Reports, 1948-1958
Reel   3 Frame   277	Unidentified receipt books (2), 1949-1950
	Series: Legal Records	⇧
Reel   3 Frame   395	Civil Service Commission Loyal Review Board appeal, 1953
Reel   3 Frame   414	Kutcher v. Gray
Reel   3 Frame   529	Kutcher v. Higley
Reel   3 Frame   649	Kutcher v. U.S.
Reel   3 Frame   664	Veterans Administration Committee's hearings, 1948, 1955
Reel   3 Frame   825	Notes, undated
	Series: Miscellany	⇧
Reel   3 Frame   849	Reports, 1949-1954
Reel   3 Frame   894	Organization support resolutions, undated
Reel   3 Frame   1036	Miscellaneous lists of supporters, undated
Reel   3 Frame   1126	Notes and miscellany, undated
Reel   4	Clippings, 1948-1958