Summary Information
Warren Moscow Papers
1941-1971
U.S. Mss 155AF
0.4 c.f. (1 archives box)
Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)
Papers of a New York Times political reporter. Consisting of correspondence, reminiscences, articles, and speeches, the collection is of value both with regard to the events and politicians covered during the 1940s and 1950s and to his own activities in New York government. Included are a 1941 analysis of Thomas E. Dewey, a piece ghostwritten for Robert F. Wagner, reports on politics prepared for the Twentieth Century Fund, a history of Consolidated Edison, two partially-indexed reminiscences, and correspondence dealing with his history of New York state politics. Herbert Bayard Swope and Alfred M. Landon are among Moscow's noteworthy correspondents.
English
http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0155af ↑ Bookmark this ↑
Biography/History
Warren Moscow is a noted political writer and reporter. While best known for his coverage of New York City and State, he reported extensively on national affairs as well. From 1930 to 1952 he was on the staff of the New York Times. Moscow was also actively involved in municipal government, primarily as assistant to New York City mayor Robert F. Wagner.
Moscow, son of Jacob H. and Stella M. (Klaas) Moscow, was born March 15, 1908 in Brooklyn, New York. He attended Columbia University (1925-1926) and Brooklyn Law School (1926-1927). In order to work his way through school, he took a job as a reporter with the Brooklyn Daily Citizen in 1926. He soon decided journalism was more attractive than a legal career. At the age of twenty Moscow joined the staff of Hearst's New York American as city hall and political reporter. In 1930 he moved to the New York Times. He headed the newspaper's Albany Bureau from 1938 to 1944, when he went to the Pacific as a war correspondent.
During his years as a reporter, Moscow became acquainted with many leading political figures. He was an early and critical observer of Thomas E. Dewey's career. His study of New York government, Politics in the Empire State, was published in 1948.
In 1952 Moscow resigned from the New York Times to become first deputy to Manhattan borough president Robert Wagner. When Wagner became mayor two years later, Moscow accompanied him to city hall. During this period he wrote speeches for Wagner and other officials, prepared political scripts for radio and television, and became involved in such areas as housing and transportation. He left the mayor's staff in 1957 but returned to serve as executive assistant from 1958 to 1961.
After leaving government service, Moscow worked as a public relations and political consultant. From 1963 to 1966 he was editor-in-chief of the New York Law Journal. His later books include What Have You Done for Me Lately? (1967), Roosevelt and Willkie (1968), and The Last of the Big Time Bosses (1971).
Moscow's first marriage to Esther Loeb in 1934 ended in divorce. They had one daughter, Judith. In 1946 he married Jean Shalen. Twins John W. and Katherine A. were born in 1948. He lives in New York City.
Scope and Content Note
The Warren Moscow papers are useful primarily for the insights they offer to the politics and politicians he covered during the 1940's and early 1950's. There is considerable material related to his activities in New York City government, but only fragmentary documentation of his early career and his activities after 1961. The collection consists chiefly of correspondence,
reminiscenses, articles, and speeches. There are also small amounts of clippings, reviews, and printed matter.
The CORRESPONDENCE includes many letters congratulating Moscow on the 1948 publication of Politics in the Empire State. Among the prominent correspondents are Warren Burger, Alfred A. Knopf, Herbert Lehman, Robert Moses, and Richard Rovere. However, few made substantive comments. Letters from Herbert Bayard Swope (August 17, 1948) and Alfred M. Landon (January 14, 1949) are exceptions; they contain political recollections related to Moscow's book. Most other letters discuss literary and business transactions. The collection includes a small number of letters written by Moscow, some with biographical information.
Two REMINISCENSES transcribed from interviews with Moscow (1950 and ca. 1952) are included in the collection. Both are indexed by subject, although part of the 1950 index is missing. Moscow's reminiscenses contain a limited amount of biographical data but consist primarily of political recollections. Subjects covered in detail are the New York mayoral campaign of 1950, corruption in city government, Thomas E. Dewey, and the 1952 Democratic national convention.
The largest portion of the collection is composed of Moscow's ARTICLES AND SPEECHES. The unpublished writings are divided into four categories: articles and fragments; speeches; reports; and Consolidated Edison and New York. Articles and fragments contains an early analysis of Thomas E. Dewey (1941) and other political articles. It also includes a piece (ca. 1962) to be published under New York Mayor Robert F. Wagner's name during a period when Moscow wrote little under his own name. Speeches date from his years as Wagner's aide (1952-1961), as do one set of reports. The reports deal with various aspects of city government such as administration, personnel, and community relations, and are filed alphabetically by subject. A second set of reports, written while Moscow was employed as a consultant to the Twentieth Century Fund, covers the Nelson A. Rockefeller gubernatorial campaign of 1966 and the Rockefeller and Hubert H. Humphrey campaigns for the presidential nomination in 1968. Consolidated Edison and New York folders contain an untitled company-commissioned history (1957-1958) of this utility company. A small number of published articles and speeches, dating from the 1940's through the 1960's, deal with local and state politics.
In the section CLIPPINGS AND REVIEWS are reviews of Politics in the Empire State, editorial commentaries, and articles mentioning Moscow. Several contain photographs of him. PRINTED MATTER contains a handbook for Democratic campaign workers prepared by the Democratic State Committee of New York in 1950.
Administrative/Restriction Information
Presented by Warren Moscow, New York, N.Y., March 29, 1967 and July 8, 1971. Accession Number: MCHC67-021, MCHC71-067
Processed by L. Erich (FGH intern) and Joanne Hohler, February 9, 1977.
Contents List
|
Correspondence
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
1
|
1941-1947.
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
2
|
1948.
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
3
|
1949-1968, n.d., fragments.
|
|
|
Folder
4
|
Reminiscenses, 1950, ca. 1952.
|
|
|
Articles And Speeches
|
|
|
Unpublished
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
5
|
Articles, fragments, 1941-1970.
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
6
|
Speeches, 1953-1963.
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
7-8
|
Reports, 1954-1968.
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
9-10
|
Consolidated Edison and New York, 1957-1958.
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
11
|
Published , 1947-1961.
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
12
|
Clippings And Reviews, (1947-1958), 1968.
|
|
|
Box
1
Folder
13
|
Printed Matter
|
|
|
