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.

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.

The collection is open for research.