Table of Contents
Scope and Contents of the Collection
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Overview of the Collection |
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| Creator: | American Youth Congress. |
| Title: | American Youth Congress Collection |
| Inclusive Dates: | 1937-1944 |
| Quantity: | 2 linear ft. |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, minutes, publications, radio scripts, more from the youth organization active from 1935 to 1940. |
| Language: | English |
| Repository: | Special Collections Research Center, Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Avenue Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center |
Biographical History
The American Youth Congress was formed in 1935 to be a "voice for youth" on economic, social, and political issues of interest to young people, including unemployment, education, the draft, Communism, and so on. The organization was structured like a mock Congress, with delegates from across the United States as well as Canada, Cuba, China, Puerto Rico, and other countries. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was a strong backer of the organization (her involvement eventually led to the establishment of the National Youth Administration). When leaders of the AYC were subpoenaed by the House Un-American Affairs Committee (HUAC), Mrs. Roosevelt attended the hearings to demonstrate her support. The organization disbanded in 1940, largely due to internal conflict over the Nazi-Soviet non-aggression pact.
Scope and Contents of the Collection
The American Youth Congress Collection consists of correspondence, publications, and subject files.
Correspondence is that of the AYC with external individuals and organizations. Represented here are a range of liberal, leftist, progressive, and youth-focused organizations such as the Carnegie Endowmen for International Peace and the United Student Peace Committee. There is also correspondence with individuals, some supporters and others who were interested in the AYC as a phenomenon.
Publications of the AYC include several issues of three different newsletters and a "Delegates Manual" in newspaper format.
Subject files relate to internal AYC committees (Education Commission, Far East Commissions, Jobs Commission) and projects (Youth In Focus, American Youth Act) as well as including general AYC papers, including minutes and financial records. This series also includes typescript of radio programs, dramatized scenarios and conversations dealing with various youth-oriented questions and problems.
Restrictions
Access Restrictions
The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.
Use Restrictions
Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.
Related Material
Special Collections Research Center has numerous collections relating to American radicalism. Please refer to the SCRC Subject Index for a complete listing.
Subject Headings
Persons
Corporate Bodies
Subjects
Genres and Forms
Administrative Information
Preferred Citation
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
American Youth Congress Collection,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries
Acquisition Information
Purchased from Adah C. Blackman Fund, 2009.
Finding Aid Information
Created by: MRC
Date: 14 Sep 2009
Revision history:
Inventory
| Correspondence | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Carlson, Mildred 1939 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Carnegie Endowment for International Peace 1940 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Cerf, Bennett 1939 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Colby, Merle 1939-1940 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Council of Social Agencies of Chicago 1938-1939 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Creel, Randall 1940 - regarding ROTC, Joseph Curran of the Seaman's Union | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) 1938-1940 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship 1939 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | International Youth Council in Britain 1942 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Leslie, Kenneth 1942 - includes draft of article on pacificism among Christian youth, possibly by a Dr. Vlastos | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Stone, Candace 1939-1940 - regarding National Youth Center and Year-Round Hostel, and a proposed book on youth activities | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | United Student Peace Committee 1937, undated - includes letter from Federal Union of Spanish Students | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | IBM (International Business Machines) 1938 - mentions IBM's loan of their Filene-Finlay Translator System for the 2d Congress | ||||||||||
| Publications | |||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | "Delegates Manual" (newspaper format) | ||||||||||
| Newsletters | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | AYC News 1940 (3 issues) | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Newscast 1941 (7 issues) | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Youth 1938, 1939 (4 issues) | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Miscellaneous - brochures, fliers, etc. | ||||||||||
| Subject files | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | American Youth Act | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Education Commission 1937 - memo on "The function of education in a democracy" | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Far Eastern Commission 1940 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Financial material 1942-1944 | ||||||||||
| Jobs commission | |||||||||||
| Box 1 | Minutes 1940 | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Miscellaneous | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Radio scripts undated | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Titled - titles include "Freedom Under Fire" and "Mr. Youth Goes to Washington" | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Untitled | ||||||||||
| Oversize 1 | Youth in Focus project | ||||||||||
| Box 1 | Miscellaneous | ||||||||||