Collection context
Summary
- Title:
- Thomas J. Mooney Collection,
- Dates:
- 1917-1918
- Creators:
- Mooney, Thomas J., 1882-1942
- Language:
- English.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Thomas J. Mooney Collection, Sanoian Special Collections Library, California State University, Fresno.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The Thomas J. Mooney collection measures 5 linear inches and dates from 1917 to 1918. The collection centers around the trials and is comprised of mostly legal documents.
The letter is written by Webb, the Attorney General of State of California after his discovery of F.C. Oxman's perjury. He also stated that Mooney had been tried at a time when there was widespread prejudice against and suspicion of socialists because of previous industrial conflicts. The report by District Attorney C.M. Fickert outlines what he believes to be the factors that led to the conviction of Mooney and Billings, men whom he believed to be innocent.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Known worldwide as the scapegoat of anti-unionists, Thomas Joseph Mooney was falsely accused for bombing the Preparedness Day Parade in San Francisco on July 16, 1916. Mooney, a Socialist union activist and organizer, had previously been involved in an ugly strike against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. This put him under immediate suspicion for the bombing even though it was later proved that he was no where near the actual bomb site during the parade. Mooney's wife, Rena, Warren Billings, Israel Weinberg, and Edward Nolan were also tried for the bombing but only Billings and Mooney were convicted. Mooney received the death sentence in 1917 and spent the next twenty-two years in prison despite outrage from around the world and evidence that many of the witnesses who testified against him had committed perjury, especially F.C. Oxman.
Culbert Olson, governor of California, officially pardoned Thomas Mooney in 1939.
- Physical description:
- 5 linear inches
About this collection guide
- Date Prepared:
- © 1998
- Date Encoded:
- Machine-readable finding aid derived from MS Word. Date of source: 1998.
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Thomas J. Mooney Collection, Sanoian Special Collections Library, California State University, Fresno.
- Location of this collection:
-
5200 North Barton Avenue, M/S ML 34Fresno, CA 93740-8014, US
- Contact:
- (559) 278-2595