The papers document the professional and intellectual career of Liston Oak. There is very little in the collection of a personal nature. Although there are scattered items from the 1930's and earlier, the bulk of the papers date from the late 1940's through the 1960's -- years of Oak's involvement with The New Leader and the Voice of America. The collection is organized in six series: CORRESPONDENCE, SPEECHES AND ARTICLES, AMERICAN INDIAN ART, LEFT/LABOR MATERIAL, VOICE OF AMERICA, and PERSONAL INFORMATION.
The CORRESPONDENCE, arranged chronologically, consists mostly of letters to and from Oak in his positions as editor of The New Leader and labor and economics editor of the Voice of America. Among the few items dating from the 1930's is correspondence relating to Oak's involvement in the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts (1930-1932), and materials from the late 1930's concerning his growing dissatisfaction with communism. Filed with the correspondence are the minutes to a 1937 meeting of the board of the Theater Union. Among the materials from the 1940's are letters commenting on the actions of the House Un-American Activities Committee, including a letter to the committee dated September 26, 1947; a letter of October 7, 1947 to Attorney-General Tom Clark; and a letter to ex-communist and informer Whittaker Chambers, dated December 6, 1948. Much of the correspondence from the 1950's concerns Oak's outcries against the spread of communism. Also among the correspondents are Alfred Nohlberg of the American China Policy Association, labor leader George Meany, Socialist leader Norman Thomas, Polish leader Stanislaw Mikolajcyk, leftist writer Max Eastman, and writer Upton Sinclair. A list of prominent correspondents is an appendix to this register.
The extensive file of Oak's SPEECHES AND ARTICLES contains both complete and fragmented drafts. The drafts are generally arranged alphabetically by title. The majority of Oak's writings concern historical treatments of Russian communism, but also included are a variety of articles on topics such as anarchism, Waldo Frank's Spain, spy rings in Canada, and the Polish underground resistance. Filed under the title “People's Platform” is a 17-page transcript of a 1949 radio debate between Oak and Harvard professor John K. Fairbank regarding the United States' China policy.
The series AMERICAN INDIAN ART contains materials relating to Oak's involvement with the Exposition of Indian Tribal Arts, 1930-1932. Included here are clippings, a program brochure, and an article on Indian art by Oak. Correspondence concerning the exposition is filed with the Correspondence series.
The series LEFT/LABOR MATERIAL is made up of newspaper and magazine articles and pamphlets. Here are included many of Oak's own writings on these subjects. These materials include commentaries on the international situation in the late 1940's and document Oak's interest in the testimonies before the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1947 and 1949 trials of Communist Party leaders. The pamphlets are generally filed by topic.
The VOICE OF AMERICA series contains printed materials publicizing the activities of the agency; correspondence and memoranda relating to programming policy; and printed program scripts on a great variety of anti-communist subjects. Most of these scripts date from the early 1950's.
The last series in the collection, PERSONAL INFORMATION, includes Oak's address book, a file of letters of recommendation from many notable persons, and a group of autobiographical and biographical materials. Among the autobiographical materials can be found many resumés Oak used in searching for employment.
