This collection consist primarily of scripts written by members of the Hollywood Writers Mobilization during World War II, and political speeches and spots written for the California Democratic Party in 1946 and for Henry Wallace's 1948 Progressive Party presidential campaign.

Robert Shaw was active in the Screenwriters Guild in Hollywood during the 1940s and 1950s. He was on the edges, if not the center, of the political turmoil in Hollywood during that period. He was associated with the Hollywood Writers Mobilization (HWM) during World War II, serving on the editorial board of the HWM's publication, Communiqué. He also wrote speeches and television spots for James Roosevelt and the State Democratic Committee during the 1946 election period. He may also have been a speechwriter for Henry Wallace's 1948 campaign. A progressive, Shaw, was also concerned about conviction and execution of the Rosenbergs and the treatment of the Hollywood Ten.The Hollywood Writers Mobilization (HWM) was an organization that sprang up in the week after the Pearl Harbor bombing. Founded by Francis Faragoh and Pauline Lauber Finn, amongst others, the HWM was a loosely organized group that was to act as a pool of writers for the Hollywood Victory Committee and the government. They worked closely with the Office of War Information (OWI) and the Office of Emergency Management (OEM). They wrote camp shows, radio dramas, and political speeches. Ring Lardner, Jr., Fred Rinaldo, Vic Parch, Robert Ardrey, Phil Dunne and others, created and wrote for Communiqué. The HWM was later accused of being Communist run or dominated and ended up on the U.S. Attorney General's list of subversive organizations during the McCarthy period. In 1943, Jack Tenney, chair of the State Un-American Activities Committee, attempted to prevent the HWM's first writers' conference at UCLA. His attempt failed when the conference was able to show the support of President Roosevelt, Wendell Willkie and the OWI. In 1944, members of the HWM were called before a Tenney Committee hearing. Membership in the HWM was also used to support charges of communism against the Hollywood Ten.

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