Reverend Walton E. Cole Papers
Russell Michalak
Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library
800 North Dartmouth Avenue
Claremont, CA 91711
Email: specialcollections@claremont.edu
URL: https://library.claremont.edu/scl/
© 2023
The Claremont Colleges Library. All rights reserved.
Descriptive Summary
Title: Reverend Walton E. Cole Papers
Dates: 1931-1943 and undated
Collection number: H.Mss.0225
Creator:
Cole, Walton E., Reverend
Extent:
2.0 Linear Feet
(5 document boxes)
Repository:
Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, The Claremont
Colleges Library, Claremont, CA 91711.
Abstract: The Reverend Walton E.
Cole Papers consist of correspondence, clippings, and publications on the radio battle
fought in the late 1930s between Reverend Cole and Father Charles E. Coughlin.
Physical Location: Please consult repository.
Language of Material: Languages represented in the
collection: English.
Administrative Information
Access
Collection open for research.
Publication Rights
All requests for permission to reproduce or to publish must be submitted in writing to
Special Collections.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Reverend Walton E. Cole Papers. (H.Mss.0225). Special
Collections, The Claremont Colleges Library, The Claremont Colleges Services, Claremont,
California.
Provenance/Source of Acquisition
Gift of Marina Cole, March 20, 1985.
Accruals
No additions to the collection are anticipated.
Processing Information
Arranged and Processed by Special Collections staff.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The Reverend Walton E. Cole Papers consist of correspondence, clippings, and publications
on the radio battle fought in the late 1930s between Reverend Cole and Father Charles E.
Coughlin, a Catholic priest who was among the first to exploit the possibilities of
preaching on the air. Coughlin, became highly controversial when his broadcasts took a
political turn toward Nazism and anti-Semitism. Walton Cole, a Unitarian minister in Toledo,
Ohio, tried to prevail upon the Catholic hierarchy to have his inflammatory broadcasts
stopped. Walton Cole's widow, who donated the papers, has provided personal notes and
reminiscences about this tense episode.
Organization and Arrangement
The collection is arranged into the following series:
- Series 1: Miscellaneous Papers, 1931-1943 and undated
- Series 2: Books and Radio Broadcasts, 1934-1940
Indexing Terms
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library’s online public access catalog.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Cole, Walton E., Reverend
Coughlin, Charles E. (Charles Edward)
Radio broadcasting
Radio sermons
United States -- Politics and Government -- 1933-1945
Genre and Form of Materials
Brochures
Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)
Correspondence
Newspapers
Pamphlets
Periodicals
Photographs
Scrapbooks
Speeches, addresses, etc.
Series 1:
Miscellaneous Papers
1931-1943 and undated
Box 1, Folder 2
Labor Papers: Social Justice Magazine
1936-1939
Box 1, Folder 3
"Propaganda Analysis"; I.P.A. Papers; Correspondence with Clyde
Miller
1938-1939
Box 1, Folder 4
"The Fine Art of Rabble Rousing"
1939
Box 1, Folder 5
"Temper of the Times" (I)
1931-1938 and
undated
Box 1, Folder 6
"Temper of the Times" (II)
1939-1940
Box 1, Folder 7
Plans for Broadcasts, Photographs
1938-1939 and undated
Box 1, Folder 8
Coughlin Speech: National Union for Social Justice
1934
Box 1, Folder 9
Correspondence: Walton E. Cole and Edward Meeks
1939
Box 1, Folder 10
Accounts of the two visits of Walton E. Cole and Father Coughlin
1939
Box 1, Folder 11
Interview with Archbishop Mooney
undated
Box 1, Folder 12
The Christian Front
1939-1941 and undated
Box 1, Folder 13
Publicity Materials for Cole Broadcasts
1939-1940 and
undated
Box 1, Folder 14
WJR Controversy; WJAS Cancellation
1939 and undated
Box 2, Folder 1
Speaking Engagements
1939-1940 and
undated
Box 2, Folder 2
Samples of hate mail to Walton E. Cole
1939 and undated
Box 2, Folder 3
Letters to Walton E. Cole
1936-1940 and undated
Box 2, Folder 4
Reaction to Broadcasts; Letters to Walton E. Cole
1939-1940 and undated
Box 2, Folder 6
Neutrality Act
1939-1941 and
undated
Box 2, Folder 7
Lincoln and Rothchilds, Social Justice Magazine
1940
Box 2, Folder 8
Ford Hall Forum address
1939
Box 2, Folder 9
Ford Hall Forum - Boston, publicity
1939
Box 2, Folder 10
Negative of Letters from Ford Hall Forum, Propaganda Analysis
1939
Box 2, Folder 11
Ford Hall Responses and Letters
1939 and undated
Box 2, Folder 12
End of the Coughlin Broadcasts
1940-1943 and undated
Box 2, Folder 13
Newspaper Clippings (I)
1939 and undated
Box 2, Folder 14
Newspaper Clippings (II)
1940
Box 2, Folder 15
Newspaper Clippings (III)
1939-1940 and
undated
Box 2, Folder 17
P.M. Daily (Vol. 2, no. 244)
1942 May 26
Box 2, Folder 18
Digest of Social Justice, miscellaneous issues
1940
Box 2, Folder 19
Father Coughlin Self-Condemned
circa 1939
Note
Kansas City, Missouri, Friends of Democracy, Inc.
Box 2, Folder 20
Miscellaneous papers
1938-1943
Box 3
Social Justice Magazine
1936 June
12 - 1942 March 30
Note
Assorted issues of Social Justice magazine.
Box 4
Scrapbook of Newspaper Clippings
1939 July
20 - November 20
Series 2:
Books and Radio Broadcasts
1934-1940
Box 5, Item 1
"An Answer to Father Coughlin's Critics"
1940
Box 5, Item 2
Binderup, Hon. Chas G., "Government Monetary Control"
1938
Box 5, Item 3
Cole, Walton, E. "The American Way of Life", Toledo, OH: Unitarian Fellowship
for Social Justice
1939
Box 5, Item 4
Cole, Walton, E. "The Choice Before Us.", Toledo, OH: Unitarian Fellowship
for Social Justice
1940
Box 5, Item 5
Coughlin, Charles E. "Eight Lectures on Labor Capital and Justice", Royal
Oak, MI: The Radio League of the Little Flower
1934
Box 5, Item 6
Father Coughlin, His "Facts" and Arguments, New York, General Jewish
Council
1939
Box 5, Item 7
"The Fine Art of Propaganda", New York: Harcourt, Brace and
Company
1939
Radio Broadcasts
1939-1940
Note
Bound scrapbook compiling radio broadcast brochures.
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 3
Social Justice: The American Plan
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 5
Should the Neutrality Pact be Revised?
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 7
America's Greatest Need
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 8
Facts versus Fancies
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 9
Is Father Coughlin a Menace to Americanism
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 11
There Must be No Black-out Here
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 13
Building Real Americanism
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 14
The Use and Abuse of Freedom Speech
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 15
America's Struggle for Social Justice
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 16
First--Balance the Human Budget
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 18
America's Answer to "Isms"
1939
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 19
Is the Dies Committee Un-American?
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 20
The Facts about Father Coughlin and the Christian Front (I)
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 21
The Facts about Father Coughlin and the Christian Front (II)
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 22
Further Facts about Father Coughlin and the Christian Front
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 23
It Must Not Happen Here!
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 24
Propagandists Discover Lincoln
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 25
Wanted: Brotherhood!
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 26
Consider the Source!
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 27
Mr. Markham Poet of the People
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 28
Contemporary Calvary
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 29
The Choice Before Us
1940
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 30
The Facts about Father Coughlin and the Christian Front
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 31
An Appeal to Friends of Freedom
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 32
Membership Card of "the Friends of Freedom"
Box 5, Volume 1, Item 33
Add for Walton E. Cole's Broadcasts
Box 5, Folder 1
Extra Radio Broadcasts
1939
