Norman Thomas family correspondence

id
11804
origination
Thomas, Norman, 1884-1968
date statement
1903-1974
key date
1903
identifier (local_mss)
186408
org unit
Manuscripts and Archives Division
call number
MssCol 186408
b-number
b23494468
total components
2
total series
0
max depth
1
boost queries
(none)
component layout
Default Layout
Extended MARC Fields
false
Extended Navigation
false
created
2025-01-13 16:45:24 UTC
updated
2025-01-13 16:47:33 UTC
status note
(missing)
Display Aeon link
true

Description data TOP

unitid
{"value"=>"186408", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"b23494468", "type"=>"local_b"}
{"value"=>"MssCol 186408", "type"=>"local_call"}
unitdate
{"value"=>"1903-1974", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1903/1974"}
unittitle
{"value"=>"Norman Thomas family correspondence"}
physdesc
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1 box", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"0.42 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
repository
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Manuscripts and Archives</span>"}
abstract
{"value"=>"The Norman Thomas Family correspondence dates from 1903 to 1974 and consists of eight folders. The collection is mainly focused on Norman and his younger brother Evan. Norman's files contain letters and invitations related to his time as a student at Princeton University. Evan's files contain letters, drafts, and pamphlets related to his activism as a pacifist and conscientious objector, including his time imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth during World War I."}
langmaterial
{"value"=>"English"}
origination
{"value"=>"Thomas, Norman, 1884-1968", "type"=>"persname"}
bioghist
{"value"=>"<p>Norman Matoon Thomas (1884-1968), an American Socialist leader, started his career as a Presbyterian minister in New York City. He became active in the peace movement during World War I and founded the National Civil Liberties Bureau (renamed American Civil Liberties Union in 1920) with Roger Baldwin. Thomas became an active member of the Socialist Party of America, was co-director of the League for Industrial Democracy, and edited the socialist magazine, <span class=\"title\">The World Tomorrow</span>. He ran unsuccessfully for the presidency of the United States six times on the Socialist ticket and was active in the civil rights, universal disarmament, and anti-war movements throughout his life.</p> <p>Evan W. Thomas (1890-1974) was a pacifist, conscientious objector, and physician. From 1918 to 1919, Thomas was imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth with other World War I conscientious objectors; while imprisoned he was a participant in a 1919 prisoner strike. He obtained an M.D. in 1930 and became a leading expert on syphilis treatment. He later served on the medical faculty of New York University and was a consultant to the World Health Organization and the United States Public Health Service. During World War II he served as chairman of the War Resisters League.</p>"}
scopecontent
{"value"=>"<p>The Norman Thomas Family correspondence consists of eight folders. The collection dates from 1903 to 1974 and is represented through letters, invitations, drafts, notes, and pamphlets.</p> <p>The collection is mainly focused on Norman and his younger brother Evan. The Norman correspondence contain letters, invitations, and report cards from his time as a student at Princeton University. The bulk of the letters are from his mother, Emma, but also includes other family members and friends.</p> <p>The Evan Thomas files contain correspondence, drafts, and notes related to pacifism and his activities as a conscientious objector. Held here are letters to and from his mother while imprisoned at Fort Leavenworth. This file also contains letters from Emma to the War Department and a copy of a letter by Oswald Garrison Villard, editor of <span class=\"title\">The Nation</span>. Also held with the Evan Thomas files are drafts of works on pacifism and economic determinism; copies of <span class=\"title\">The Way To Freedom</span>, a 1943 pamphlet written for the War Resisters League; a 1972 letter to President Richard Nixon; and a photocopy of a 1974 War Resisters League newsletter with a remembrance for Evan written by Julius Eichel, a fellow conscientious objector and prisoner at Fort Leavenworth.</p>"}
acqinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Evan Thomas, grandson of Norman Thomas, in 2019.</p>"}
processinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Christopher Arena</span> in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
relatedmaterial
{"value"=>"<p>Norman Thomas papers, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library</p>"}
date_start
1903
keydate
1903
date_end
1974
date_inclusive_start
1903
date_inclusive_end
1974
extent_statement
0.42 linear feet (1 box)
prefercite
{"value"=>"Norman Thomas family correspondence, Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library"}

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Child components TOP

  1. Thomas, Norman
  2. Thomas, Evan