Summary Information
Jefferson School of Social Science Records
1942-1956
- Jefferson School of Social Science (New York, N.Y.)
Micro 840
1 reel of microfilm (35mm)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Records of a Marxist adult education center (1944-1956) in New York City that mainly concern its listing by the Subversive Activities Control Board as a communist front. Such records include legal documents, hearing transcripts, and petitions and statements in support of the school's positions. Concerning internal administration of the Jefferson School are incomplete files of correspondence, annual reports, executive committee meeting minutes, Bulletins of the school's predecessor, the School for Democracy; departmental memoranda; course listings; newsclippings; and speeches and statements by the director, Howard Selsam. Of note among the fragmentary, routine correspondence is a letter from Philip S. Foner, who taught labor history at the school.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-micr0840 ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
The Jefferson School of Social Science was formed in New York City in February 1944 from an amalgamation of the School for Democracy and the New York Workers' School as an avowedly Marxist educational institution. Throughout its 12-year history Dr. Howard Selsam was the school's director. Its first-year enrollment was over 5,000 full and part-time students. In 1946 and 1947, it reached a peak of over 14,000 students and throughout the late 1940's it maintained a student body of over 10,000 students for four terms each school year. Enrollment began to decline in the early 1950's, however.
The Jefferson School was cited by the Subversive Activities Control Board as a Communist front in 1953, at which time the Justice Department filed suit to require its registration as was required by the Internal Security Action of 1950. This action, coupled with the anti-Communist sentiments of the early 1950's, contributed to a further decline (in 1956 there were only 388 registered students), and the school was closed after the Autumn 1956 term.
Scope and Content Note
The core of the collection relates to the litigation by the government to list the Jefferson School as a subversive organization. These records include legal documents, hearing transcripts, and statements and petitions gathered by the school in support of its position. A few scattered items concern internal administration; among them are general correspondence, annual reports, executive committee meeting minutes, Bulletins of the School for Democracy, departmental memoranda, and course listings. Of note among the generally routine and fragmentary correspondence is a letter from Philip S. Foner, who taught labor history at the school, and a note concerning the ACLU's position on the school's case. The remainder of the collection consists of newsclippings and speeches and statements of Howard Selsam.
Because of the deteriorated condition of the paper in this collection the records were microfilmed and destroyed after filming.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Howard Selsam, New York City, and Henry Black, Jamaica, New York, 1967. Accession Number: M67-41, M67-168, M67-275
Processed by R. Reed, January 1970, and prepared for microfilming by Carolyn Mattern, October 1980.
Contents List
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Reel
1
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1
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Correspondence, 1949-1955
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1
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71
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Memoranda, publications, course lists, 1949-1956
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1
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147
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Annual reports, 1945-1947
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1
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186
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Minutes of Executive Committee, 1946-1948
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1
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218
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School for Democracy Bulletins and announcements, 1942-1943
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1
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258
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Clippings, 1944-1956
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276
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Howard Selsam speeches and statements, 1944-1954
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Subversive Activities Control Board Statements
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1
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306
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Statements and petitions of support, 1953-1955
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Legal documents, undated
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1
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268
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107-53 Brownell v. Jefferson School of Social Science
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1
Frame
1094
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12,876 Jefferson School of Social Science v. Subversive Activities Control Board
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