Papers from Marxist political group at University Library

EDITORS: Photo available on request.

ANN ARBOR—Papers documenting the rise and decline of the Proletarian Party of America, a Marxist political group active from 1920 to 1971, have been acquired by the University of Michigan. Previously owned by the Charles H. Kerr Company, the archives of the group are now part of the Labadie Collection in the Special Collections Library.

The Proletarian Party, extensively involved in worker education and industrial labor movements in this period, was founded in 1920 by a group of Michigan radicals who were expelled from both the Socialist and Communist parties. As the Proletarian Party grew, local branches emerged in at least 38 U.S. cities. Although there were branches on both coasts, its stronghold was still the industrial Midwest.

The party achieved considerable impact through its emphasis on worker education, despite its relatively small size. The “guiding spirit” of the party was the Scottish-born organizer, public speaker, and pamphleteer, John Keracher, who is credited with introducing legions of workers and labor organizers to Marxist principles. He was a particularly animated speaker and writer who often attracted large audiences. Many of the party’s members graduated to become prominent labor leaders, especially in the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO). The party is credited by some with inciting the 1937 Flint sit-down strike.

The archives in the Labadie Collection include hundreds of fliers and handbills publicizing Proletarian Party events. Various publications offer scholars a window into the internal disputes that shaped the direction of the organization through the years. Several one-of-a-kind items are preserved in the archives, such as unpublished essays and lectures by party founder John Keracher, original cartoons, photographs of party members and events, and signed letters by Keracher and other radical leaders.

The collection also consists of materials documenting the personal lives of members. Included in this category are birth and death records, family papers, legal papers, and autobiographical manuscripts of party leaders. A handwritten day-by-day diary of the 1937 sit-down strike at the Wilson-Jones plant in Chicago provides a detailed picture of the front-line experiences of labor radicals.

The papers enrich the Labadie Collection’s holdings in the area of labor radicalism and American Marxism. Their readiness for public use reflects the University’s participation in celebrating Detroit’s 300th anniversary.

“The Labadie Collection is one of the world’s top research collections of social protest materials,” says curator Julie Herrada. “It is a collection of rich documentation that includes the activities and lives of radicals from the 19th century to the present.”

A published finding aid is available upon request. For further information about the Labadie Collection and the Special Collections Library, visit the Web at: http://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/SpecColl.lib/spec_coll.html. The Special Collections Library is located on the seventh floor of the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library on U-M’s Central Campus. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday.

Charles H. Kerr CompanyCongress of Industrial OrganizationsDetroit’s 300th anniversaryJulie Herradahttp://www.lib.umich.edu/libhome/SpecColl.lib/spec_coll.html