Allard K. Lowenstein Papers, 1924-1995
Title:
Allard K. Lowenstein Papers, 1924-1995
Political activist Allard Kenneth Lowenstein (1929-1980) served as a lawyer, teacher, speaker, author, United States congressman from New York, United States representative to the United Nations Human Rights Commission, and founder and leader of several organizations. The collection includes correspondence, organizational records, political campaign records, congressional files, writings, speeches, press clippings, research materials, scheduling files, financial and administrative records, diaries, scrapbooks, family papers, photographs, sound recordings, videocasette tapes, and other items documenting the life and career of Allard K. Lowenstein. Correspondence, 1940s-1970s, covers Lowenstein's service in World War II; years as a student activist at the University of North Carolina; work with the United States National Student Association, Democratic Party, Coalition for a Democratic Alternative, and other organizations; relations with Eleanor Roosevelt, Frank Porter Graham, Adlai Stevenson, William F. Buckley Jr., Aaron Henry, Eugene J. McCarthy, Norman C. Thomas, and Hubert H. Humphrey; interests in political and social affairs including civil rights, voter registration, and political reform in the United States and relations with other countries, especially Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and the Soviet Union; work at Stanford University; anti-Vietnam War activities; the Ditch Johnson campaign; his successful campaign for Congress from the Fifth Congressional District of New York; various unsuccessful political campaigns for United States House and Senate seats from New York; his investigation of the Robert F. Kennedy assassination; his United Nations work; his work on Edward M. Kennedy's 1980 campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination; and other matters. Activity files, 1935-1980, document Lowenstein's various United Nations appointments during the Carter Administration; attempts to reopen the investigation of the Robert F. Kennedy assassination; involvement in Americans for Democratic Action; attendance at the University of North Carolina; African travels; and other activities relating to civil rights, international relations, and other topics. Political campaign materials, 1942-1980, relate to campaigns of Lowenstein and others, chiefly Democrats. United States Congress materials, 1969-1970, include personal and constituent correspondence, district files, House committee files, legislation, press files, and administrative files documenting Lowenstein's two-year congressional term. Writings include published and unpublished works by Lowenstein, 1943-1979, on a wide range of topics, and writings about Lowenstein, 1946-1985. Research files, 1940-1980, are on wide-ranging topics and were used by Lowenstein as background materials for writings, speeches, campaign appearances, and interviews. There are also materials relating to public appearances, 1944-1980; personal papers, 1924-1985, including biographical information, family papers, financial materials, diaries and scrapbooks, and other items; pictures, 1929-1980, mostly photographs of Lowenstein with family, friends, and associates; sound recordings, 1950-1982, including speeches by Lowenstein, congressional forums he conducted, interviews by or with Lowenstein, and other recordings; and videotapes and films, 1950-1980. Additions to the collection, 1983-2004, contain materials similar to those in the original deposit, but also include oral history interviews with Lowenstein and with friends and associates after his death; Dump Nixon campaign materials; and materials documenting activities of Lowenstein's assistant, Bancroft Littlefield. Nick
ArchivalResource:
327.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 165,000 items)
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