Register of the John G. Wright papers
Finding aid prepared by Dale Reed
Hoover Institution Library and Archives
© 2003
434 Galvez Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003
hoover-library-archives@stanford.edu
Title: John G. Wright papers
Date (inclusive): 1933-1977
Collection Number: 92033
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
9 manuscript boxes
(3.6 Linear Feet)
Abstract: Speeches and writings, correspondence, resolutions, theses, and notes, relating to Marxian theory, the translation of works
of Leon Trotsky, Trotskyist activities in the United States and abroad, and analysis of the post-World War II Chinese and
Eastern European states.
Creator:
Wright, John G.
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual
or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1992.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], John G. Wright papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
| 1902 |
Born as Joseph Vanzler in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, in the Russian Empire |
| circa 1914 |
Emigrated to the United States |
| circa 1920 |
Graduated from Harvard University. Became a professional chemist |
| 1933 |
Joined the Communist League of America (subsequently Socialist Workers Party) |
| 1933-1940 |
Literary collaborator and translator of Leon Trotsky |
| 1939-1956 |
Member, National Committee, Socialist Workers Party |
| 1956 |
Died in New York City |
Scope and Content Note
John G. Wright (the political and pen name of Joseph Vanzler) was a leader of the Socialist Workers Party of the United States
from the 1930s to the 1950s. Wright was heavily involved with theoretical, journalistic and publishing-house work of the party.
A polyglot, he translated texts from various languages into English for publication. His collaborative work with Leon Trotsky
was of particular significance. Wright translated many of Trotsky's writings into English for the first time. During Trotsky's
period of residence in Mexico at the end of his life (1937-1940), Wright, in New York City, corresponded with him regularly
and, having access to major American academic libraries, provided him with Russian-language research materials to support
his writing projects, especially his biography of Joseph Stalin. The papers thus shed light on Trotsky's literary activities
and on the publishing history of
Stalin. Post-World War II materials in the collection also document debates within the Trotskyist movement on analysis of the Chinese
and Eastern European states, and the internal struggle within the Socialist Workers Party involving the faction led by Bert
Cochran and George Clarke.
The John G. Wright Papers were formerly housed at the Library of Social History in New York City. The Hoover Institution Library
& Archives acquired them in 1992.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Communism -- United States
China
Europe, Eastern
Trotsky, Leon, 1879-1940
Fourth International
Socialist Workers Party
Biographical File,
1956-1977
Scope and Contents
Obituaries, tributes, lists, and material for projected memorial volume.
box 1, folder 1
Obituaries and memorial tributes,
1956
Scope and Contents
Includes tributes by James P. Cannon, George Novack and Morris Stein.
box 1, folder 2
Lists of papers and books
undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes list of selected Socialist Workers Party records.
box 1, folder 3
Projected Pathfinder Press memorial volume,
1977
Scope and Contents
Draft table of contents, draft introductory matter, and working materials.
Speeches and Writings,
1933-1956
Scope and Contents
Arranged chronologically.
box 3, folder 1
"American Perspectives,"
circa 1933
box 3, folder 2
"A Few Facts" [re France],
1934
box 3, folder 3
"Proposed Theses on the Role and Nature of the Revolutionary Party,"
1934
box 3, folder 4
Untitled speech re Paterson, New Jersey, textile strike,
1934
Scope and Contents note
Notes and working materials.
box 3, folder 5
"The Bolshevik-Leninists in the SFIO" and La
Vérité,
1935
box 3, folder 6
Untitled debate with Sidney Hook re Marxism,
circa 1935
Scope and Contents
Notes and working materials.
box 3, folder 7
Letter to the editor,
New International, re Sidney Hook,
1935 March 25
Scope and Contents note
Typescript and cover letter.
box 3, folder 8
"The Fate of a Marxist Classic," The Accumulation of Capital,
1935 July 8
box 3, folder 9
"Perspectives of the American Revolution,"
1936
box 3, folder 10
Untitled speech re Moscow Trials,
1937 March
Scope and Contents note
Notes and drafts.
box 3, folder 11
"Roosevelt Beats the War Drums," speech,
1937 November 12
Scope and Contents
Announcement, notes, drafts and working materials.
box 3, folder 12
The Truth about Kronstadt,
1938
Scope and Contents note
Mimeograph
box 3, folder 13
Untitled speech re GPU murders and kidnappings,
1938
Scope and Contents note
Notes, drafts and working materials.
box 3, folder 14
"The Ideological Captives of the Bourgeoisie,"
1939 July 15
box 3, folder 15
"Shachtman and the Slippery Ice of Russian History," speech,
1939-1940
Scope and Contents
Notes and drafts.
Outline History of Russian Bolshevism
1940
box 3, folder 16
Book One
Scope and Contents note
Mimeograph
box 4, folder 2
Untitled speech re splits in Bolshevik history,
1940
box 4, folder 3
Untitled speech re situation in Soviet Union,
1940 December 26
Scope and Contents note
Notes
box 4, folder 4
"What Are Russia's Chances?" [re German invasion],
1941 June
box 4, folder 5
Untitled speech re party organization, Socialist Workers Party convention,
1942
box 4, folder 6
Untitled speech, anniversary of founding of Second International,
1942 May 1
box 4, folder 7
Untitled speech, anniversary of death of Leon Trotsky,
1942 August
box 4, folder 8
Exchange of notes with other Socialist Workers Party leaders re revolutionary defeatism,
1942-1944
box 4, folder 9
Untitled speech, anniversary of death of V. I. Lenin,
1943 January
Scope and Contents note
Typescript
box 4, folder 10
Untitled speech, Socialist Workers Party National Committee plenum,
1943 October 31 - November 1
box 4, folder 11
"How Long Before the Revolution?,"
1944
box 4, folder 12
Untitled speech re Germany,
1944
box 4, folder 13
Untitled speech, anniversary of Russian Revolution,
1944 November
box 4, folder 14
"The British Labor Victory: Its Meaning for the American Workers," national lecture tour,
1945 September - November
box 4, folder 15
"Stalin," speech re publication of Leon Trotsky's
1946
box 4, folder 16
"Theses on the American Revolution,"
1946
box 4, folder 17
Untitled writing re Soviet Union,
1947
box 4, folder 18
Untitled speech re war and depression,
1947
box 4, folder 19
"The Twin Evils: War and Depression," May Day speech,
1947 May 3
box 4, folder 20
Untitled remarks, educational meeting re British Labour Party,
1947 September 18
box 4, folder 21
Untitled writing re Yugoslavia,
1948
box 4, folder 22
"The Soviet Union Today," speech,
1949
box 4, folder 23
Untitled speech re devaluation,
1949 October 6
box 4, folder 24
Untitled speech, anniversary of Russian Revolution,
1949 November
box 4, folder 25
Untitled speech re Yugoslavia, Socialist Workers Party convention,
1950
box 4, folder 26
Untitled speech re Eastern Europe, Socialist Workers Party National Committee plenum,
1950 February
box 4, folder 27
Review of Benjamin I. Schwartz, "Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao,"
circa 1951
box 4, folder 28
Untitled remarks, unidentified meeting,
1951 January
box 4, folder 29
"The Colonial Revolution: Greatest Event of Our Time," speech,
1951 November 30
box 5, folder 1
Foreword and notes to Leon Trotsky, "The First Five Years of the Communist International," Volume II,
1953
box 5, folder 2
Untitled speech in opposition to Cochran-Clarke faction,
1953
box 5, folder 3
"Stalin and Stalinism," speech,
1953 April 17
box 5, folder 4
"Cochranite Level of Discussion: Mechanical Thinking Plus Sophistry Plus Slander," speech,
1953 May 3
box 5, folder 5
Untitled remarks re Cochran-Clarke faction, Socialist Workers Party National Committee plenum,
1953 May 28
Scope and Contents note
Notes
box 5, folder 7
Untitled May Day speech,
1954 May 1
box 5, folder 8
Untitled writing re Hu Feng purge in China,
1955
box 5, folder 9
"Preliminary Notes on Automation,"
1955 January 3
box 5, folder 10
Untitled resolution on colonialism,
1955 June 29
box 5, folder 11
"The Soviet Union Today," draft resolution,
1955 August 12
box 5, folder 12
"Draft Amendment on the Third Chinese Revolution" [with Farrell Dobbs and Morris Stein],
1955 September 13
box 5, folder 13
Untitled writing re 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union,
1956
Scope and Contents note
Notes and drafts
"ABC of Marxism," International Workers School lecture series, (repeated for many years)
undated
box 5, folder 15
Dialectics
Scope and Contents note
Notes and drafts
box 6, folder 3
"Bolshevik Traditions (Intra-Party Conduct),"
undated
box 6, folder 4
"The Collapse of the Second International,"
undated
box 6, folder 5
"Documents for the History of the Comintern,"
undated
box 6, folder 6
"Kamo: The Story of a Worker-Bolshevik,"
undated
box 6, folder 7
"Marxism and the Law,"
undated
box 6, folder 8
"Marxist Approach to Slogans,"
undated
box 6, folder 9
"Material Base of Thought,"
undated
box 6, folder 10
"On the USSR Theses,"
undated
box 6, folder 11
"The Proletarian Viewpoint,"
undated
box 7, folder 1
Untitled writing re American history
undated
box 7, folder 2
Untitled writing re antisemitism
undated
box 7, folder 3
Untitled writing re atomic energy
undated
box 7, folder 4
Untitled writing re Nikolai Bukharin
undated
Scope and Contents note
Notes and working materials
box 7, folder 5
Untitled writing re China
undated
box 7, folder 6
Untitled writing re Communist International 1st Congress
undated
box 7, folder 7
Untitled writing re Darwinism
undated
Scope and Contents note
Notes
box 7, folder 8
Untitled writing re fascism
undated
box 7, folder 9
Untitled writing re Ludwig Feuerbach
undated
box 7, folder 10
Untitled writing re Karl Kautsky
undated
box 7, folder 11
Untitled writing re John Maynard Keynes
undated
Scope and Contents note
Notes and working materials
box 7, folder 12
Untitled writing re V. I. Lenin
undated
box 7, folder 13
Untitled writing re Lovestoneites
undated
box 7, folder 14
Untitled writing re Vaclav Machajski
undated
box 7, folder 15
Untitled writing re Russian Revolution
undated
box 7, folder 16
Untitled writing re Iakov Sverdlov
undated
box 7, folder 17
Untitled writing re Leo Tolstoy
undated
box 7, folder 18
Untitled miscellaneous writings
undated
Writings by Others,
1933-1955
Scope and Contents
Arranged alphabetically by author. Includes manuscripts translated and/or edited for publication by Wright.
box 8, folder 1
Cannon, James P.,"The Struggle for a Proletarian Party." Socialist Workers Party,
Internal Bulletin,
1940 April
Scope and Contents note
Printed copy with editorial annotations and notes by Wright
box 8, folder 2
Commission of Inquiry into the Charges Made Against Leon Trotsky in the Moscow Trials. The Case of Leon Trotsky,
1937
Scope and Contents note
Corrections and insertions
box 8, folder 3
Dewey, Frank. "Rudolf Hilferding,"
undated
box 8, folder 4
Dobbs, Farrell, Morris Stein, and Joseph Hansen. "Statement on the Internal Party Situation,"
1953
box 8, folder 5
"Die Stalinisten erinnern sich an Thälmann: Warum hat Stalin nicht geholfen?"
1939-1940
box 8, folder 6
"Verfall und Aufstieg: Wanderer ins Nichts,"
circa 1941
box 8, folder 7
International Communist League. "War and the Fourth International,"
1934
Scope and Contents note
Drafted by Leon Trotsky. Printed copy with editorial annotations and notes by Wright.
box 8, folder 8
Johre. Untitled writing re Thomas Mann
undated
Scope and Contents note
Typescript (in English) edited and likely translated by Wright.
box 8, folder 9
Kim, Chang Sei. Untitled memoirs of a Korean physician
undated
box 8, folder 10
Meyer, F. "Antwort auf die Anmerkungen Gen. Yalts,"
undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes a holograph.
box 8, folder 11
Morrow, Felix. "The Myth of French Democracy,"
circa 1940
box 8, folder 12
"Una internacional contra el internacionalismo,"
1941 February
box 8, folder 13
"The Stagnation of Political Centrism,"
undated
box 8, folder 14
O'Rourke, Walter. Untitled writing re Mexico,
1941 June 8
box 8, folder 15
Parti Communiste Internationaliste [France]. "The Conception of the Party,"
circa 1945
box 8, folder 16
Peng, Shu-tse. "The Third Chinese Revolution and Its Perspective,"
1954 December 1
Plekhanov, Georgii. "Belinsky and Rational Reality,"
Fourth International,
1955 Spring
box 8, folder 17
Typescript translated by Wright
box 8, folder 18
Notes and working materials for translation
box 8, folder 20
R. "Theses on the Crisis of Stalinist Bonapartism,"
1941 January 31
box 8, folder 21
Revolutionary Communist Party [China]. "The Founding Convention of the Revolutionary Communist Party of China,"
1948 September 10
box 8, folder 22
Rizzi, Bruno. "La bureaucratisation du monde,"
1939
box 8, folder 23
Sternberg, Fritz. "Draft of the Economic Part of the Program of the Fourth International,"
undated
box 9, folder 1
"Will Japan Commit Suicide?"
Liberty
1933 November 18
box 9, folder 2
"Politics in the Reichstag Trial,"
New Republic,
1934 January 3
box 9, folder 3
"If America Should Go Communist,"
Liberty,
1935 March 23
box 9, folder 4
"How Should the Bolshevik-Leninists Act in Spain? Letter to a Spanish Comrade,"
1936 April 12
box 9, folder 5
"Revolutionary Interlude in France,"
Nation,
1936 August 8
box 9, folder 6
Transcript of answers to American comrades,
1937
box 9, folder 7
"Did Stalin Poison Lenin?"
Liberty,
1940 August 10
box 9, folder 8
Working materials provided by Wright
box 9, folder 9
Memoranda by Wright, Charles Malamuth and Jean van Heijenoort re editorial changes to text made by Malamuth
box 9, folder 10
Miscellaneous writings.
Scope and Contents note
Translations of excerpts and notes by Wright
box 9, folder 11
Wollenberg, Erich. "The Red Army,"
1938
box 9, folder 12
"La montée revolutionnaire atteint l'URSS,"
1953
box 9, folder 13
"Report on Yugoslavia,"
1950 May
box 9, folder 14
"Zwei Kamenews, zwei Lebenswege,"
undated
box 9, folder 15
Untitled writing re Palestine
undated
Scope and Contents note
Includes a holograph (in German).
box 9, folder 16
Untitled series of writings on women and socialism
undated
Miscellany,
1941-1953
Scope and Contents
Printed matter and artwork.
box 9, folder 17
Leaflets, cards, and style sheet
undated
box 9, folder 18
Printed matter. Issues of
Les cahiers de l'économie soviétique and clippings
1941-1953
box 9, folder 19
Artwork for press
undated
Correspondence File
1934-1956
Scope and Contents
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent. Includes some letters by third parties. Editorial correspondence of Bert Cochran
from 1945 to 1947 is interfiled with that of Wright. Wright and Cochran shared editorial duties on
The Fourth International during this period.
box 1, folder 5
Baghavan, R.S. (Ceylon)
1948-1954
box 1, folder 9
Breitman, George
1943-1955
box 1, folder 10
Canfield, Cass (Harper and Brothers; re Leon Trotsky manuscripts)
1937
box 1, folder 11
Cannon, James P.
1944-1954
box 1, folder 14
Clarke, George,
1945
Scope and Contents
Includes 1953 memorandum about Clarke.
box 1, folder 15
Cochran, Bert,
1945-1946
Scope and Contents note
Includes 1953 resolutions of Cochran-Clarke faction.
box 1, folder 16
Copeland, Vince
1944-1946
box 1, folder 19
Curtiss, Charles
1945-1948
Scope and Contents note
Includes 1939 note from Lillian Curtiss in Coyoacán.
box 1, folder 20
Davenport, William
1945-1946
box 1, folder 22
Dollinger, Sol (United Auto Workers),
1945
Scope and Contents note
Includes press releases and letters of protest re beating of Dollinger.
box 1, folder 23
Dowson, Ross (Canada)
1946
box 1, folder 24
Dunayevskaya, Raya
1937-1948
Scope and Contents note
Includes letters from Coyoacán.
box 1, folder 25
Dunne, Vincent Raymond
1945
box 1, folder 26
Forkosch, Morris D. (re Trotsky heirs)
1941
box 1, folder 27
Frank, Pierre (France)
1945
box 1, folder 28
Frankel, Jan (Coyoacán)
1937
box 2, folder 4
Goldman, Albert (re Trotsky manuscripts)
1941-1945
box 2, folder 8
Haston, Jock (Great Britain)
1946
box 2, folder 9
Healy, Gerry (Great Britain)
1952-1953
box 2, folder 13
Konikow, Antoinette (mother-in-law of Wright)
1934-1946
box 2, folder 14
Kovalesky, Theodore
1943-1947
box 2, folder 16
Leinwand, Rose (sister of Wright)
1943-1945
box 2, folder 17
Liberty (re Trotsky manuscripts)
1938
box 2, folder 18
Malamuth, Charles (re Trotsky manuscripts)
1938-1940
box 2, folder 19
Mandel, Ernest (Belgium)
1945-1953
box 2, folder 21
Mei, Lei Dar (re China)
1955
box 2, folder 22
Moreno, Nahuel (Argentina)
1955
box 2, folder 25
New International (re Trotsky manuscripts)
1939
box 2, folder 27
O'Brien, Vaughan T. (Coyoacán)
1938-1939
box 2, folder 28
Olshausen, George G.
1947-1948
box 2, folder 29
O'Rourke, Walter (Coyoacán)
1940
box 2, folder 30
Pablo, Michel (France)
1948
box 2, folder 32
Rubinstein, Moisei (Mexico)
1936
box 2, folder 33
Saettone, Ruben (re Argentina)
1945
box 2, folder 35
Sinclair, Louis (Great Britain)
1948
box 2, folder 36
Stein, Morris and Sylvia
1943-1948
box 2, folder 39
Trainor, Larry and Augusta
1944-1947
box 2, folder 40
Trotskaia, Nataliia Sedova
1945
box 2, folder 42
Van Heijenoort, Jean,
1937-1946
Scope and Contents note
Includes letters from Coyoacán.
box 2, folder 43
Vanzler, Edith (first wife of Wright)
1945
box 2, folder 44
Vanzler, Tyl (son of Wright)
1945-1953
box 2, folder 45
Walker, Charles R. (re Trotsky manuscripts)
1937
box 2, folder 46
Weber, Sara (Coyoacán)
1937-1938
box 2, folder 49
Wild, Mr. (Great Britain; re Trotsky manuscripts)
1937
box 2, folder 50
Wolfe, Bernard (Coyoacán)
1937
