Eugene and Peggy Dennis papers, 1923-1989

Author / Creator

Dennis, Eugene

Available as

Physical

Summary

Papers of the Communist Party USA general secretary, 1946-1959, and his wife Peggy, Party activist and author of "An Autobiography of An American Communist." The collection consists of clippings, c...

Papers of the Communist Party USA general secretary, 1946-1959, and his wife Peggy, Party activist and author of "An Autobiography of An American Communist." The collection consists of clippings, correspondence, articles, unpublished writings, research notes, and tape recordings and has been arranged in general chronological order by Peggy Dennis. The material which predates 1949 is primarily clippings and articles documenting the couple's political work in California in the late 1920s, their work for the Party in Wisconsin in the 1930s in rank and file labor organizing and support for the Farmer-Labor-Progressive Federation, and the direction of the Party under Earl Browder in the 1940s.

Later papers include personal notes, correspondence and legal briefs pertaining to the 1949 trial and convictions of Dennis and ten of his colleagues under the Smith Act, and correspondence between the Dennises during the prison years 1950-1955 as well as between Dennis and a Party comrade concerning the direction of the Party in the late 1950s. Peggy Dennis's articles, writings, notes, and correspondence, 1955-1979, comprise the remainder of the collection. Of particular note are letters documenting her growing alienation from the Party for several years prior to her formal resignation in 1976, and an as yet unpublished memoir on the Cold War years.

The processed portion of this collection is summarized above, dates 1923-1982, and is described in the register. Additional accessions date 1930-1989, are described below, and include material obtained from the federal government under the Freedom of Information Act.

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