Arne Swabeck papers, 1913-1999

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Summary

Creators:
Swabeck, Arne
Abstract:
Memoirs, other writings, correspondence, resolutions, bulletins, minutes, pamphlets, and serial issues, relating to socialist and communist movements in the United States, and especially to the Socialist Workers Party and other Trotskyist groups in the post-World War II period.
Extent:
21 manuscript boxes (8.4 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Arne Swabeck papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

Received in the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1987, the papers of Arne Swabeck provide an insight into the history of American radicalism in the 20th century. Over a lifetime of political activity, Swabeck participated in such events as the 1919 Seattle General Strike and the founding of the Communist Party of the United States of America, and was involved in the American Trotskyist movement from its very beginnings. Swabeck's unpublished autobiography, which includes a chapter on his meeting with the exiled Leon Trotsky in 1933, is part of the collection (see "From Debs to Mao," 1975, in the SPEECHES AND WRITINGS series).

The Swabeck papers contain articles, theoretical writings, and speeches from the whole of his political career, tracing his evolution from trade union militant to Trotskyist activist. During his many years as a member of the Socialist Workers Party, Swabeck contributed to various Trotskyist publications, and by the late 1950s, both he and his wife identified themselves as supporters of a kind of Maoism, becoming part of a small "Pro-Chinese Tendency" within the S.W.P. Following his expulsion from the S.W.P., Swabeck continued to attempt to reconcile Trotskyism and Maoism, and was briefly a member of the Progressive Labor Party.

Swabeck conducted an extensive political correspondence, and these letters detail many of the internal debates of the American Trotskyist movement. The collection contains letters mainly from the "Pro-Chinese" phase of Swabeck's activity. The PRINTED MATTER series includes an extensive selection of Trotskyist publications, as well as some material relating to China and the New Left.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1890
Born, Denmark
1916
Emigrates to the United States. Joins the Socialist Party and the Industrial Workers of the World
1919
Participates in Seattle General Strike
1922
Attends Fourth Congress of the Third International
1925
Elected to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the United States of America
1928
Expelled from the Communist Party, along with James Cannon and other Trotskyists
1928-1967
Participates in the American Trotskyist movement, first in the Communist League of America and then in the Socialist Workers Party
1933
Meets with Trotsky in Prinkipo, Turkey
1967
Expelled from the Socialist Workers Party
1967-1986
Continues political activity as a supporter of Maoism, participating briefly in the Progressive Labor Party
1986
Died
Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1987.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

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.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Arne Swabeck papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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