Alexander, Robert J. (Robert Jackson), 1918-2010. Robert Jackson Alexander papers, 1890-1999 (bulk 1945-1999).
Title:
Robert Jackson Alexander papers, 1890-1999 (bulk 1945-1999).
Papers, consisting of biographical files, 1944-1984; photographs, 1936-1978; published works, 1946-1980; Rutgers University files, 1952-1974; professional activities files, 1958-1988; letters sent to Jay Lovestone, 1954-1959; interviews, 1947-1994; subject files, 1890-1992; Latin American country files, 1926-1993; non-Latin American country files, 1900(1950)-1991; research files generated by others, 1965-1988; collected theses, dissertations and unpublished papers, 1948-1995 and undated; and manuscripts of writings, ca. 1945-1999. The biographical files primarily consist of newspaper clippings about Alexander's accomplishments, activities and travels, reviews of his books, a 1948 travel journal kept while in Great Britain, personal miscellany (e.g., certificates, identity cards and badges) and a small amount of material about his family. The photographs, of various sizes and almost entirely black-and-white, depict Alexander, his friends and colleagues, as well as places that he visited. Portraits of individuals include Latin American leaders such as Rómulo Betancourt, Luis Monge, Michael Manley and Luis Muñoz Marín. Group portraits document conferences and meetings in the United States, Europe and Latin America. Among the several views present are scenes of Bolivia after the 1952 revolution. Alexander's published works included in his papers consist of magazine, journal, newspaper and newsletter articles, pamphlets, book chapters, encyclopedia entries, book reviews, published conference papers and proceedings, published reports and letters to the editor, but exclude books. These writings document the full spectrum of Alexander's scholarly interests. Among the periodicals in which the writings appeared are the Canadian Forum, the Economist, Freedom at Issue, Janata (an Indian socialist newspaper), New Leader, New America, Inter-American Labor Bulletin, International Free Trade Union News, Socialist International Information and Socialist Call, as well as Current History and New Politics. His articles also frequently appeared in Latin American and United States newspapers, including letters which he addressed to the editor of the New York Times. The limited quantity of Rutgers University files documents aspects of Alexander's career at the Middlesex County campus of the state university of New Jersey. These files largely pertain to formal and ad-hoc committee work related to academic freedom cases, 1952-1967, curriculum changes, 1969-1971, and the status of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program, 1968, as well as to the history of the economics department. Alexander's professional activities files primarily relate to the Academic Freedom Committee of the American Civil Liberties Union and, especially, the International Institute of Labor Research, 1958-1965, while Alexander was a board member. Most of the files on the Institute concern its educational programs in Latin America. Important correspondents represented include Institute president Norman Thomas, Institute secretary Sacha Volman and Costa Rican president José Figueres. The letters sent to Jay Lovestone, head of the International Department of the American Federation of Labor and later the AFL-CIO, are long, detailed descriptions of conditions in Latin America based upon Alexander's travels there. In the letters, Alexander describes general political and economic situations, trade unions and the outlook towards international affairs. He also makes recommendations about how to counter communist influence in the labor unions. The majority of the letters focus on individual countries, but some describe two or more. Countries represented include Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, British Guiana, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba (including twice in 1959), Ecuador, Guatemala (including in January 1954), Honduras, Jamaica, Peru, Puerto Rico, Surinam, Trinidad and Uruguay. The approximately 12,000 dated interviews consist of typed notes, of from one paragraph to several pages each, which were recorded after the fact. They detail the views of Alexander's named sources, as expressed by a wide range of men and women during informal and formal interviews, together with similar notes recording speakers' comments at meetings and conferences plus Alexander's own observations on the countries that he visited. The interview notes, in English, are filed alphabetically by the country or region to which they pertain--regardless of where the conversation was held (always stated) or the nationality of the speaker--and are frequently subdivided by category of person (politicians, trade unionists, foreign observers, etc.). They focus primarily on political and economic aspects of a country, including labor relations. Other subjects documented are foreign policy, military affairs, religion, education and urban planning. The countries featured most heavily are in South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Venezuela have the most interviews), Central America and the Caribbean, although other regions of the world are represented. The range of persons whose views are documented, sometimes more than once, encompasses many prominent Latin American leaders (sometimes interviewed while in exile), including presidents, cabinet ministers, party officials, businessmen, religious figures and trade union officials, as well as foreign diplomats, military personnel, judges, lawyers, intellectuals, academics, students and ordinary citizens such as taxi drivers, waiters and chambermaids. Of particular interest in the United States files are interviews with socialists and communists (including Trotskyists). There are also interviews with Alexander's father, Ralph S. Alexander (professor of marketing, Columbia University) concerning his early life. The 34 cubic feet of Alexander's subject files pertain to aspects of politics and economics in various countries, particularly in Latin America and Europe, as well as in the United States. The files primarily consist of newspaper clippings, supplemented by newsletters, unpublished papers and broadsides. Socialists and organized labor feature prominently in the files; among the other topics documented (each by about one or more cartons of material) are agrarian reform in Latin America, the cooperative movement worldwide, international economics, national revolutionary parties in Latin America and nationalist movements outside of Latin America. Incorporated into the files are materials on socialists in the United States that were collected by M. Orans, the bulk of which date from 1914 to 1922, including meeting flyers, newspaper coverage and biographical notes. In addition, the folders headed "Socialism--United States" contain minutes and correspondence received by Alexander as a member of the Young People's Socialist League in the 1930s and later as a member of the Socialist Party-Social Democratic Federation. The 75 cubic feet of Latin American country files, arranged by country or region and then subdivided by topical headings, relate to all areas of Latin America, but the countries represented by the most material (about one carton or more) are Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Columbia, Cuba, Mexico, Peru and Venezuela. The most frequently used subheadings are general, economy/economics, politics and foreign relations (chiefly concerning relations with the United States and the Soviet Union). Other subheadings which occur several times (under different countries) include church, education and several pertaining to civil liberties and press freedom. The files primarily consist of newspaper clippings, but press releases, reports, unpublished papers, correspondence and government documents and other publications--among which are newsletters and broadsides from opposition groups--are also included. Among topics relating directly to Alexander's activities is a file on his 1975 fact finding mission to Paraguay to investigate the treatment of the Aché Indians. The 47 cubic feet of non-Latin American country files, which are alphabetically arranged first by country or region and then by topic, pertain to practically every country in Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as to the United States and Canada, especially from the 1950s to the 1980s. Countries represented by the most material (about one carton or more) are Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Iran, Israel, Spain, and, especially, the United States and the Soviet Union. The most common topical subdivisions are general, economy/economics and politics, with agriculture/agrarian reform and foreign relations prominently represented among the remainder. For the United States, with most items dating from the 1970s and 1980s, a number of the subheadings also relate to energy issues and to various types of industries; for the Soviet Union, regions and domestic issues are among the other subdivisions represented. The files primarily consist of newspaper, newsletter and magazine clippings (some from major publications and others from more obscure sources), but there are also government documents, biographical notes and unpublished papers present. The earlier file contents, from before 1950, represent notes on each country collected by M. Orans in the early twentieth century. The research files generated by others consist of materials donated to Alexander by John W.F. Dulles (interviews in English, 1965-1968, gathered in connection with his 1991 published biography of Carlos Lacerda) and by Anthony Perella (questionnaires and a related summary, 1988, from a survey of leaders of rural workers' unions in Pernambuco, Brazil, generated as research for a doctoral dissertation). The collected theses, dissertations and unpublished papers, many of which were generated by persons studying at Rutgers University, largely pertain to economic issues, political issues, social change and the role of the military in countries in Latin America, although economic and political issues in other nations are also represented. Alexander's manuscripts of writings, which are grouped roughly by subject and format, consist of typescripts of his published and unpublished works, together with notes, draft versions and proofs. Included are manuscripts of books, articles, book chapters, edited works, encyclopedia and almanac entries, reports, reviews and comments, as well as Alexander's M.A. thesis and Ph. D. dissertation ("Labor Relations in Chile"). Among the unpublished works are the autobiographical "A Yank's Eye View of England, 1943-45" and "In Revolutionary Catalonia"; a novella, "Of Little Faith," under the pseudonym Robert Jackson; a biography of Norman Thomas; and the monographs "Brazil's Emergence as a Great Power" (1967), "Labor in Franco Spain" and "Evolution of the Cuban Revolution." Also of interest is a typescript of Alexander's biography of Rómulo Betancourt with annotations by Betancourt.
ArchivalResource:
177.4 cubic ft. (157 record center cartons, 56 manuscript boxes, 2 newspaper boxes, 1 oversize folder)
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