Hollywood Democratic Committee records, 1942-1950

Author / Creator

Hollywood Democratic Committee

Available as

Physical

Summary

Papers of the Hollywood Democratic Committee (HDC), a group organized in 1943 to support the programs and re-election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1945 it re-formed as the Hollywood Independent Cit...

Papers of the Hollywood Democratic Committee (HDC), a group organized in 1943 to support the programs and re-election of Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1945 it re-formed as the Hollywood Independent Citizens of the Arts, Sciences, and Professions; in 1946 it became the Arts, Sciences, and Professions Council of the Progressive Citizens of Southern California; and finally, in 1948, the group withdrew from PCA and organized as the non-partisan National Council of Arts, Sciences, and Professions. Throughout its brief existence the group worked in behalf of liberal causes including civil liberties, racial justice, and peace, and it actively supported the Hollywood community against the Dies Committee and the House Committee on Un-American Activities. It was placed on the HUAC list of subversive organizations.

The collection contains a history of the organization, statements of policy, minutes, financial records, correspondence, information on national affiliates, publicity and campaign materials, and tape recordings of various events sponsored by the committee. Much of the collection consists of subject files related to wide-ranging political action including such topics as control of atomic weapons, the Bretton Woods agreement, the Hollywood Ten, the film strike of 1945, world peace, opposition to the Zoot suit riots, and relations with political leaders such as Henry Wallace and Harold Ickes and scientists such as Albert Einstein, Linus Pauling, and Harlow Shapley.

The processed portion is summarized above and is described in the register. Additional accessions are described below.

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