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Finding Aid for the Carey McWilliams Correspondence, 1924-1975 (bulk 1924-1950)
1356
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Title: Carey McWilliams correspondence
Collection number: 1356
Contributing Institution:
UCLA Library Special Collections
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
1 linear ft.
(2 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1924-1975 (bulk 1924-1950)
Abstract: Carey McWilliams (1905-1980) was a writer, lawyer, journalist, lecturer, activist, as well as Chief of the California Division
of Immigration and Housing (1938-1942) and editor of
The Nation (1955-1975). This collection contains correspondence, primarily letters written to McWilliams.
Physical location: Stored off-site at SRLF. Advance notice is required for access to the collection. Please contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Creator:
McWilliams, Carey, 1905-
Collection 1356 was donated to the Library in 2004 by McWilliams's son, Wilson Carey McWilliams. At the time of accessioning,
the papers were organized in an approximate alphabetical order. In 2006, Andrea Eitsert rehoused the materials and created
a folder-level inventory of the items to facilitate enhanced access to materials and to generate a finding aid.
[Identification of item], Carey McWilliams Correspondence (Collection 1356). UCLA Library Special Collections, Charles E.
Young Research Library, UCLA.
UCLA Catalog Record ID:
5390623
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Wilson Carey McWilliams, June 2004.
Restrictions on Use and Reproduction
Property rights to the physical object belong to UCLA Library Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are
retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright
and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.
COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Open for research. Advance notice required for access. Contact the UCLA Library Special
Collections Reference Desk for paging information.
Arranged in the following series:
- Correspondence.
Carey McWilliams was born December 13, 1905 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He completed his Juris Doctorate from the University
of Southern California in 1927. From 1927-1938, McWilliams was an attorney at the law firm Black, Hammack in Los Angeles.
In 1938, he was appointed as Chief of the Division of Immigration and Housing of the State of California, a position he kept
until 1942. During the period from 1945-1955, he began his long association with
The Nation, becoming successively contributing editor, associate editor, and then editorial director. From 1955-1975, he was
The Nation's editor. In addition to his editorial duties, McWilliams was a prolific lecturer and writer, speaking on many subjects and
contributing articles and essays to numerous publications. After his retirement from
The Nation, he continued to write a regular column for that publication. His monographs include
Ambrose Bierce, a biography (1929);
Louis Adamic and shadow America (1935);
Factories in the field: the story of migratory farm labor in California (1939);
Ill fares the land: migrants and migratory labor in the United States (1942);
Brothers under the skin (1943);
Prejudice: Japanese-Americans, symbol of racial intolerance (1944);
Southern California country: an island on the land (1946);
A mask for privilege: anti-Semitism in America (1948);
North from Mexico: the Spanish-speaking people of the United States (1949); California: the great exception (1949);
Witch hunt: the revival of heresy (1950); and his autobiography
The education of Carey McWilliams (1979). In the late 1970s, McWilliams was briefly a Regents Lecturer at the University of California Riverside and then taught
one quarter at the University of California Los Angeles in the History Department. He died of cancer at the age of 74 on June
27, 1980 in New York, New York.
The collection contains Carey McWilliams's correspondence, primarily letters that were written to him. Many of the letters
are from writers mentioning reviews or articles he composed about their work. Some of them discuss future writings or McWilliams's
work on topics such as Ambrose Bierce, Louis Adamic, George Sterling, and western regionalism. The collection also contains
fan mail, letters addressing McWilliams's research or political causes, some of McWilliams's responses, and assorted supporting
materials.
The following oral history is available through the UCLA Library Center for Oral History Research:
Subjects and Indexing Terms
McWilliams, Carey, 1905- --Archives.
Authors, American--20th century--Archival resources.
Periodical editors--United States--Archival resources.