Collection Guide
Collection Title:
Collection Number:
Get Items:
View entire collection guide
Search this collection
Table of contents
Title: Eric Hass papers
Date (inclusive): 1899-1980
Collection Number: 81034
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
11 manuscript boxes
(4.5 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Correspondence, speeches and writings, notes, clippings, serial issues, other printed matter, and photographs, relating to
the Socialist Labor Party, and to social problems of aging.
Creator:
Hass, Eric
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1981.
[Identification of item], Eric Hass papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
| 1905 | Born, Lincoln, Nebraska |
| 1928 | Joined Socialist Labor Party |
| 1932-1938 | National organizer, Socialist Labor Party |
| 1938-1968 | Editor, The Weekly People |
| 1949 | Author, The Socialist Labor Party and the Internationals |
| 1952 | Socialist Labor Party candidate for President (first campaign) |
| 1956 | Socialist Labor Party candidate for President (second campaign) |
| 1960 | Socialist Labor Party candidate for President (third campaign) |
| 1964 | Socialist Labor Party candidate for President (fourth campaign) |
| 1969 | Resigned from Socialist Labor Party |
| 1974-1978 | Lived in Costa Rica |
| 1980 | Died, Santa Rosa, California |
Scope and Content of Collection
Eric Hass was a longtime leader of the Socialist Labor Party. This party, dating back to 1876, was the first Marxist political
organization in the United States. A number of the early leaders of the subsequent Socialist and Communist Parties served
their political apprenticeships while passing through SLP ranks. Even before the death in 1914 of its outstanding leader Daniel
De Leon, the SLP had been eclipsed in size and influence by the younger Socialist Party. For decades thereafter it nevertheless
maintained a low profile existence, regularly publishing its newspaper
The Weekly People and securing a ballot position for its presidential candidate every four years. Hass figured significantly in these activities
as editor of
The Weekly People for thirty years and as a four-time presidential candidate. In 1969, however, he broke with the party. While remaining a
committed socialist, Hass came to believe that the SLP had become intellectually stultified and internally undemocratic.
The papers of Eric Hass are divided. Many are located in the Nebraska State Historical Society. Those in the Hoover Institution
Library & Archives were acquired from Tillie Hass in 1981, after the death of her husband. These papers largely date from
Hass's later years, following his departure from the SLP. After this rupture he worked for a time as caretaker of Trinity
Churchyard in New York City, then retired to Costa Rica where the cost of living was low, and after a few years returned to
the United States. As an experienced journalist and an avid amateur naturalist, he was able to supplement his income by writing
nature articles for the mainstream press, principally the
New York Times.
The
Subject File contains a good deal of collected information on Daniel De Leon. The
Speeches and Writings file includes some output by Hass from his SLP period, especially his editorial reports prefiguring his breach with the party,
and his account of his resignation. The
Correspondence file includes exchanges in the 1970s with Sam Brandon, Nick Simon and other former SLP members, analyzing their experiences
and the prospects for reconstituting a De Leonist political organization.
During the decade of the 1970s Hass became increasingly involved in study of the social problems of aging, and in advocacy
for older persons in regard to age discrimination and related issues. Toward this end he joined the Gray Panthers after his
return from Costa Rica. Shortly before his death he completed a book-length study, "Agism: The Shunning of the Elderly." This
manuscript, for which he was unable to find a publisher before he died, is in the
Speeches and Writings file. The
Subject File contains a substantial quantity of collected material on aging.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Socialism -- United States
Aging
Older people
Socialist Labor Party