Title: Fred Halstead Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1956-1978

Creator:

• Halstead, Fred, 1927-

Call Number: Mss 511; PH Mss 511; Tape 464A

Quantity: 4.1 c.f. (10 archives boxes and 1 oversize folder), 1 tape recording, and 17 photographs (1 folder)

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:

Papers of Halstead, a Socialist Workers Party presidential candidate and leading opponent of U.S. involvement in the War in Vietnam. The collection consists of correspondence and research files for his book Out Now: A Participant's Account of the American Movement Against the Vietnam War (1978) and records of various anti-war organizations, most notably the Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee, New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, National Peace Action Coalition (NPAC), National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE), and the Student Mobilization Committee (SMC). Also included are subject files containing publicity material, press releases, correspondence, agendas and proposals for individual conferences, demonstrations, and GI civil liberties. In addition there is a tape recording of an oral history interview given by Halstead about the origins of the anti-war movement and photographs of protests.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss00511

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Fred Halstead was born in Los Angeles, California in 1927. His mother was an immigrant Jewish garment worker and a Debs Socialist and his father was an early American Trotskyist and a member of the Industrial Workers of the World. Halstead joined the navy at age 18 and participated in the “Going Home” movement while stationed in Chinese waters. After his discharge he attended UCLA, studying to become a schoolteacher and working as a merchant seaman between semesters. In 1948, Halstead joined the Socialist Workers Party. When the SWP was named on the U.S. Attorney General's list of subversive organizations, Halstead was denied clearance as a seaman and unable to work as a teacher. In 1953, Halstead moved to Detroit where he worked in automobile factories as an upholstery cutter and began writing articles for the Militant, the publication of the Socialist Workers Party. He was an active member of the trade union and participated in strikes and organizing drives of the National Farm Labor Union, the United Auto Workers, and the International Ladies Garment Workers Union. Halstead was also active in the civil rights movement in the 1950's, visiting Montgomery, Alabama in 1956 to cover the bus boycott. Halstead moved to the New York City office of the Militant that year and continued working in the garment cutting industry there.

In the 1960's, Halstead was one of the central organizers in the movement against U.S. involvement in Vietnam. He was an active SWP representative for a number of national anti-war organizations, including the Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee, the National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam, the National and New Mobilization Committees to End the War in Vietnam, and the National Peace Action Coalition (NPAC). He participated in the planning of the first big protest demonstrations in 1965-1966, worked with Jerry Rubin and Dave Dellinger to plan the Pentagon Demonstration in October 1967, and was in charge of logistics for the November 15, 1969 March on Washington, in which 750,000 participated.

In 1968, he was the SWP presidential candidate, with running mate Paul Boutelle, receiving 41,000 votes. In 1971, Halstead returned to Los Angeles and conducted an unsuccessful bid for Governor of California in 1978. In addition to his frequent contributions to the Militant, his publications include: Harlem Stirs (1966), GI's Speak Out Against the War: The Case of the Ft. Jackson Eight (1970), and Out Now: A Participant's Account of the American Movement Against the Vietnam War (1978), a somewhat biased account of the Vietnam anti-war movement. Halstead died in June of 1988 from liver cancer at the age of 61, leaving behind a wife and six children.

The papers relate almost entirely to Halstead's activity in the Vietnam War-opposition movement and his research for Out Now: A Participant's Account of the American Movement Against the Vietnam War. There is very little personal information on Halstead included in the papers which reflect the involvement of the Socialist Workers Party in the anti-war movement rather than that of Halstead himself. The papers are divided into the following series: Correspondence, Writings, Organization Records, and Subject Files.

The CORRESPONDENCE series (1956-1978 but primarily after 1963) consists principally of incoming letters compiled by Halstead in the course of his research for Out Now. Included is a letter from James P. Cannon (August 1, 1960), a draft of three chapters of Farrell Dobbs' Teamster Bureaucracy (1977), and a number of letters from the Japanese Congress opposing nuclear weapons (1969). The most consistent correspondence dates from 1975, when Halstead was completing Out Now. During this time he corresponded with Jerry Gordon, Gus Horowitz, and several other leading activists concerning their recollections of particular events.

The WRITINGS series (1968-1975) consists of all of the source material that was directly cited in footnotes to Out Now. The material is arranged according to the chapter to which it pertains. General research material that was not cited in the book has been included in the ORGANIZATION RECORDS and SUBJECT FILES. Also included are writings about Halstead as well as a tape and transcript (1968) of an oral history interview of Halstead while he was the SWP Presidential candidate, conducted by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

The ORGANIZATION RECORDS series (1962-1974) consists of the steering committee minutes, correspondence, publicity materials (such as flyers and posters), press releases, publications, agendas, memoranda, and occasional financial records of organizations with which Halstead was directly involved or which he researched for Out Now. The documentation here is not complete, and some files are quite spotty, with materials pertaining to a single event or aspect of the organization. The papers are most thorough for the Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee, New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, National Peace Action Coalition (NPAC), National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE), and the Student Mobilization Committee (SMC).

The Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee (1966-1973), established in 1965, was an umbrella organization in New York City composed of over 80 groups and numerous individuals prominent in the anti-war movement. By the end of 1966, the committee came to include over 150 organizations and was generally acknowledged to be the largest and most important local anti-war coalition in the country. The committee records include minutes, correspondence (mostly outgoing mass mailings), press releases, publications, flyers, and statements. In 1970 the organization shortened its name to the Vietnam Peace Parade Committee.

The New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam was the successor to the National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam. These records (1969-1970) consist of correspondence, financial records, memoranda, minutes, publicity materials, press releases, committee reports, statements and proposals. There are a number of materials pertaining to Anti-Draft Week (March 16-22, 1970) and the demonstration in Washington DC (May 9, 1970)

The National Peace Action Coalition (NPAC) records (1970-1972) consist of correspondence, publicity materials, membership lists, lists of event sponsors, press releases, minutes, statements, conference agendas and proposals, and financial records. A significant amount of material concerns the NPAC Convention in Los Angeles (July 22-23, 1970). Also of note is correspondence (1972) regarding the relationship between NPAC and the People's Coalition for Peace and Justice (PCPJ).

The National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE) was founded in 1957 and the records (1962-1969) include correspondence, minutes, press releases, publicity, reports, statements, and leaflets regarding upcoming events within the organization, as well as calls to action regarding contemporary political events and policies.

The Student Mobilization Committee (SMC) was one of the longest running and most successful organizations opposing American involvement in the war in Vietnam. In Out Now, the history of the SMC and its relationship with other national mobilizations as well as with the Socialist Workers Party and the Young Socialist Alliance are described. Of note is correspondence from 1968 regarding a power struggle within SMC in which two members of its national steering committee, Kipp Dawson and Syd Stapelton, were removed from, and eventually reinstated in their positions.

The SUBJECT FILES series (1965-1973) is arranged alphabetically by topic and chronologically thereunder and are divided into the following sub-categories: Conferences (1966-1971), Demonstrations (1965-1973), Draft Resistance (1966-70), GI Anti-War Movements and Defense (1966-1972), House Investigations of the Anti-war Movement (1966, 1971), Miscellaneous Publications (1969-1970, undated), and Vietnam Summer records (1966). The bulk of the subject files consist of publicity materials, posters, press releases, correspondence (in the form of outgoing mass mailings), calls to action, as well as leaflets, fact sheets, and conference agendas and proposals.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Fred Halstead, Los Angeles, Calif., 1968-1978, 1988. Accession Number: M68-314, M74-218, M78-493, M78-639, M88-062

Processing Information

Processed by Carolyn J. Mattern, 1979 and Valerie Love (Practicum student), 2003.

Mss 511 Box   1 Folder   2-4	Series: Correspondence, 1956-1978
	Series: Writings	⇧
	Out Now
Box   1 Folder   5	Outline, 1970
	Research Citations
Box   1 Folder   6-12	Chapters 2-8
Box   2 Folder   1-17	Chapters 9-26
	Oral History
Tape 464A	Tape recording, 1968
Mss 511 Box   1 Folder   1	Transcript, 1968
Box   2 Folder   18	Other writings, 1968-1975
	Writings about Halstead
Box   2 Folder   19	Fred Halstead in San Francisco, 1968
Box   2 Folder   20	Better Red than Fred, 1968
	Series: Organization Records	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1-5	Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee, 1966-1973
Box   3 Folder   6	National Coordinating Committee To End the War in Vietnam, 1965-1966
Box   3 Folder   7	National Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, 1967-1969
	New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam
Box   3 Folder   8-9	1969
Box   4 Folder   1-2	1970
	National Peace Action Coalition (NPAC)
	General
Box   4 Folder   3-4	1970-1971
Box   5 Folder   1-2	1972-1975
Box   4 Folder   5-6	Conferences, July and December, 1971
Box   4 Folder   7	Moratoriums, October and November,1971
Box   4 Folder   8	Correspondence and Press Releases, 1971
Box   5 Folder   3	Convention, Los Angeles, 1972, July 22-23
	People's Coalition for Peace and Justice (PCPJ)
Box   5 Folder   5	1971-1973
Box   5 Folder   4	Training Manual, 1971
Box   5 Folder   6-8	National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy (SANE), 1962-1974
Box   5 Folder   9	Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam Records, 1967
	Student Mobilization Committee (SMC)
Box   6 Folder   1-8	General, 1967-1973, undated
	Conferences
Box   6 Folder   9-11	1968-1970
Box   7 Folder   1-2	1971-1972
Box   7 Folder   3	Correspondence, 1969
Box   7 Folder   4-5	SMC Exclusion Fight, 1968
Box   7 Folder   6-9	High School SMC, 1967-1970
Box   7 Folder   10	Third World Task Force, 1969-1971
Box   7 Folder   11	Vietnam Moratorium Committee, 1969-1970
Box   7 Folder   12	West Coast New Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, 1969-1970
Box   7 Folder   13	West Coast Spring Mobilization Committee to End the War in Vietnam, 1967
	Series: Subject Files	⇧
	Conferences
Box   7 Folder   14	1966
Box   8 Folder   1-6	1967-1971
	Demonstrations
Box   8 Folder   7	1965
Box   8 Folder   9	1966
PH Mss 511	Hiroshima Day, San Francisco, Photographs
PH Mss 511	Afro-Americans Against the War, New York, Photographs
Mss 511 Box   8 Folder   10	International Day of Action, December 10, 1966
Box   8 Folder   11	1967: October 21
	1968
Box   8 Folder   12	Black Student Strike, April 26, 1968
Box   8 Folder   13	San Francisco (Halstead Speech), April 27, 1968
	1969
Box   8 Folder   14	Benjamin Spock Rally, New York, January 29, 1969
Box   8 Folder   15	April 5, 1969 (San Francisco)
Box   8 Folder   16	Hiroshima Day, August 6-9, 1969
Box   8 Folder   17	San Clemente: Nixon's Summer Home, August 17, 1969
Box   8 Folder   18	Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) Actions (Chicago), October 11, 1969
Box   8 Folder   19	October 15, 1969
Box   8 Folder   20	November 11-13, 1969
	1970
Box   9 Folder   1-2	April 15, 1970
Box   9 Folder   3	May Student Strikes, 1970
Box   9 Folder   4	October 31, 1970
Box   9 Folder   5	1971
Box   8 Folder   8	March on Washington, April 17, 1971
Box   9 Folder   6	Washington and San Francisco, April 24-25, 1971
Box   9 Folder   7	May Day Action, May 1, 1971
Box   9 Folder   8	Hiroshima Day, August 6, 1971
Box   9 Folder   9	October Actions, 1971
Box   9 Folder   10	1972
PH Mss 511	Hollywood Leafletting Photographs
Mss 511 Box   9 Folder   11	New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, April 22, 1972
Box   9 Folder   12	Republican National Convention, August 20-23, 1972
Box   9 Folder   13	October 26 and November 18, 1972
Box   9 Folder   14	1973: January 20
Box   9 Folder   15	Draft Resistance, 1966-1970
	GI Anti-War Movements and Defense
Box   9 Folder   16	Fort Hood Three Defense Committee, 1966
Box   9 Folder   17	Fort Jackson Eight Defense, 1966
Box   10 Folder   1	Howard Petrick Defense Committee, 1967-1971
	GI's Against the War
Box   10 Folder   2	1968
Box   10 Folder   5	1969
Box   10 Folder   3	GI's Civil Liberties Defense Committee, 1968-1970
Box   10 Folder   4	GI March, San Francisco, October 12, 1968
Box   10 Folder   6	GI Defense Committee, 1970-1971
Box   10 Folder   7	Harrisburg Eight Defense, 1971-1972
Box   10 Folder   8	Vietnam Veterans Against the War, 1971 -1975
Box   10 Folder   9	GI Demonstrations, October, 1972
	Investigations of Anti-War Movement
Box   10 Folder   10	House Un-American Activities Committee, 1966
Box   10 Folder   11	House Internal Security Committee, 1971
	Publications
Box   10 Folder   12	Crisis Newsletter, Madison, Wis., 1969
Box   10 Folder   13	Labor Voice for Peace, Madison, Wis., 1970
Box   10 Folder   14	Anti-war publications, undated
Oversize Folder	Posters, 1968-1971, undated
Box   10 Folder   15	Vietnam Summer, 1966