Thomas F. Barton papers HLL.2019.005

Allison Ransom

Holt Labor Library at CSU Dominguez Hills

October 2019

Contributing Institution: Holt Labor Library at CSU Dominguez Hills

Title: Thomas F. Barton papers

Creator: Barton, Thomas F.

Identifier/Call Number: HLL.2019.005

Physical Description: 2.5 Linear Feet

Physical Description: 5 boxes

Date (inclusive): 1964-2015

Date (bulk): 2003-2005

Abstract: This collection includes the personal and professional papers of Thomas F. Barton, an anti-war activist and socialist who organized soldiers against the Vietnam and Iraq wars. It includes newsletters, articles, correspondence, meeting minutes and agendas that document Barton's involvement with various anti-war and socialist organizations, and the distribution, founding, and publishing of various anti-war newsletters.

Language of Material: Collection material is in English.

Content Description

The Thomas F. Barton Papers (1964-2015, bulk 2003-2005) contain correspondence, newsletters, press releases, articles, publications, meeting minutes, and agendas that chronicle Barton's involvement in the anti-Iraq War movement, the anti-Vietnam War movement, and various political organizations. Although active throughout the east coast, the papers primarily reflect Barton's activities that were based in New York City. Correspondence is primarily between Barton and members of organizations with whom he was involved, along with some correspondence between Barton and individuals directly impacted by the Iraq war. Files documenting the publishing of the Wildcatnewspaper, the distribution of the anti-Vietnam War Vietnam GI newsletter, and the founding and publishing of GI Special, later called Military Resistance, and Traveling Soldier are present in the papers. Also included are flyers, correspondence, and articles related to the organizing activities of various anti-war committees and organizations, including Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW), Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), and Veterans for Peace (VFP), as well as socialist organizations such as the International Socialist Organization (ISO) and the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Subject files comprising correspondence, articles, publications, and other documents regarding the Iraq War and anti-Iraq War movement, and political topics in China, El Salvador, North Korea, Palestine, and Serbia are present. One file of correspondence between Barton and various affiliates reflects the activities of the Wildcat group, and one file containing correspondence, articles, and newsletters that reflect New York City's District Council 37's organizing with the Greater Hospital Association of New York (1199) is present as well. The papers also contain single issues of War Times, Socialist Action, and The Richmond Defender : Monthly Newspaper of the Defenders for Freedom, Justice and Equality, among other publications.

Processing Information

Yahaira Santana and Allison Ransom processed the collection, and Allison Ransom wrote the finding aid, in 2019.

Preferred Citation

For information about citing archival material, see the Citations for Archival Material guide, or consult the appropriate style manual.

Custodial History

The Thomas F. Barton Papers were donated to the Holt Labor Library in San Francisco, California around 2013, and were acquired by the Gerth Archives and Special Collections at California State University, Dominguez Hills, in 2019.

Conditions Governing Access

There are no access restrictions on this collection.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Archives and Special Collections. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical materials and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Arrangement

The papers are arranged in two series: Series I. Iraq War 2003-2015, undated; Series II. Vietnam War and Political Organizations, 1964-2005, undated.

Biographical / Historical

Thomas F. Barton was born in 1935 in Indiana. He was active in the Young People's Socialist League (YPSL), a chapter within the Socialist Party, during the 1950s and through the first half of the 1960s. During this time, he was also a member of the Student Peace Union, in which he assisted in organizing the anti-Vietnam War movement in Philadelphia, and an editor of the Young Socialist Review. Barton represented the Chicago Branch of the YPSL at its national convention in 1964, a year by which the chapter began to align more closely with Trotskyism. This ideological shift led to many changes within the organization that ultimately led to its dissolution.

Barton continued to participate in the peace movement throughout the 1960s and 1970s as the east-coast distributor of the anti-war Vietnam GI newsletter with fellow activist Jeff Sharlet, which was circulated to troops deployed in Vietnam as well as those in the Army Reserves in the United States. His participation with the newsletter laid the roots for his later anti-Iraq War activism. In 2003, Barton began publishing the anti-war Traveling Soldier newsletter which was distributed among soldiers deployed in Iraq, as well as Germany, Japan, and various military bases in the United States. Barton also established the Military Project, a committee that grew from the organizing efforts of Traveling Soldier that supported the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and helped organize soldiers and civilians against the war. The Military Project also organized prisoners against the Iraq War into the Prisoners Against the War section of the committee. In the same year, Barton also began publishing the anti-war GI Special newsletter, later known as Military Resistance, an emailed newsletter that is still being published. The Military Project collaborated with various anti-Iraq War organizations and committees, including Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), Veterans for Peace (VFP) and the Troops Out Now coalition, to advocate for the end of the Iraq War.

Barton remained active in the socialist and labor movements throughout his life. During the 1970s he published the pro-labor and anti-Vietnam War Wildcat newspaper, in association with the Wildcat group, which sought to organize industrial workers in various cities throughout the United States. He maintained membership in multiple socialist organizations throughout the 1970s and into the 2000s, including the American Socialist Organizing Committee, and published a newspaper of the same name. He was also a shop steward for Local 768, District Council 37, which organized against budget cuts to Medicaid and layoffs made within the Greater Hospital Association of New York (1199) in New York City.

Bibliography:

"Background on Thomas Barton." Thomas Barton Papers (MS 539). Special Collections and University Archives, University of Massachusetts Amherst Libraries.

Various items throughout the Thomas F. Barton papers, 1964-2015, bulk 2003-2005, HLL.2019.005, Gerth Archives and Special Collections, California State University, Dominguez Hills.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Iraq War, 2003-2011

United States -- History, Military -- 20th century

United States -- History, Military -- 21st century

Vietnam War, 1961-1975 -- United States

Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Moral and ethical aspects

Veterans -- Political activity -- United States

Iraq War, 2003-2011 -- Protest movements -- United States

Families of military personnel -- Political activity -- United States -- History -- 21st century

Peace movements -- United States -- History -- 21st century

Socialism -- United States -- History -- 20th century

Iraq War Series I. 2003-2015, undated 2003-2005