Guide to the Walter Johnson Papers 1938-1985
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University of Chicago Library Guide to the Walter Johnson Papers 1938-1985 © 2017 University of Chicago Library Table of Contents Descriptive Summary 3 Information on Use 3 Access 3 Citation 3 Biographical Note 3 Scope Note 5 Subject Headings 6 INVENTORY 7 Series I: Personal 7 Series II: Correspondence 7 Subseries 1: 1950-1963 7 Subseries 2: 1964-1984 9 Series III: University of Chicago 15 Series IV: University of Hawaii 16 Series V: Writing and Research 17 Subseries 1: Publications 17 Subseries 2: Lectures and Speeches 20 Subseries 3: Research 22 Series VI: Adlai Stevenson 24 Subseries 1: Research 24 Subseries 2: Correspondence 31 Series VII: Political Activity 69 Subseries 1: Paul Douglas for Alderman, 5th Ward, Chicago, 1939 69 Subseries 2: Johnson Aldermanic Campaign, 5th Ward, Chicago, 1943 70 Subseries 3: Political Activism and Research 72 Series VIII: Restricted 74 Descriptive Summary Identifier ICU.SPCL.JOHNSONW Title Johnson, Walter. Papers Date 1938-1985 Size 22 linear feet (44 boxes) Repository Special Collections Research Center University of Chicago Library 1100 East 57th Street Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A. Abstract Walter Johnson(1915-1985) historian and politician. Papers contain personal material, correspondence, speeches and lectures, research and writing, campaign literature, newspaper clippings, and press releases documenting Johnson’s academic and political career. Most of the materials in the collection relate to Johnson’s The Papers of Adlai Stevenson. Information on Use Access Series VIII contains student evaluative material, and is restricted until 2062. The remainder of the collection is open for research. Citation When quoting material from this collection, the preferred citation is: Johnson, Walter. Papers, [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library Biographical Note (Thomas) Walter Johnson, 1915-1985 Known more commonly as Walter Johnson he was a noted historian and political organizer and analyst. Specializing in progressive politics, Johnson argued that the problems posed by WWII meant that there could be no division between his academic and political careers. He felt that his generation had a responsibility to democracy and that meant that the academic “ivory tower” could not stay isolated. Born in Nahant, Mass in Jan 1915, Johnson earned his undergraduate degree at Dartmouth in 1937. He then began a lengthy relationship with the University of Chicago where he received his master’s degree in 1938 and his PhD in History in 1941. 3 Married to Catherine Dunning, Johnson joined the U of C staff in July 1940 before he was finished with his degree. He rose through the ranks until 1950 when he made full professor. Johnson served as the Chairman of the History Department between 1950 and 1961, and in that period he assisted in bringing important figures to the University, such as Hannah Gray, a president who prioritized academics at the University and Professor John Hope Franklin, one of the leading African American historians of the time. In 1943, at the age of 27, Johnson intended to enter the military but failed the physical exams. Determined to serve in some way, he ran for the Alderman post vacated by Paul Douglas when he joined the marines. Johnson stated, “Those of us who in a military fashion cannot join with the rest of the generation, have the duty on the home front of fighting vigorously and continuously for democracy in local, state and national governments.” Just as Douglas had done, Johnson ran as an independent candidate for 5th Ward Alderman with the support of U of C professors such Sophonisba Breckinridge, William T. Hutchinson, John U. Nef, and Robert Redfield. He said, “I am an instructor of American History fighting for a decent government against the Kelly-Nash machine,” repeatedly pointing out that he was the only candidate in the alderman race to stand against Mayor Kelley. After losing the election Johnson firmly believed that Kelly had purchased the alderman position for Bertrand Moss, revealing that Moss spent $10,000.00 on the election while he spent only $2,000.00. Johnson’s involvement in national politics started when he began making unofficial ‘stump” speeches for Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1940. He also assisted in both of Douglas’ campaigns for a senate seat in 1942 and 1948, serving as the chairman of Douglas’ speakers committee in 1940. Additionally Johnson worked at the Downstate Director of the Independent Voters Committees in Illinois. In 1952 and 1953 Johnson spearheaded the movement to draft Adlai Stevenson as a presidential candidate through his position as the Co-Chairman of the National Stevenson Campaign. Although Stevenson did not win, Johnson published the political guide, How we drafted Adlai Stevenson and edited an eight volume edition of Stevenson’s papers, titled The Papers of Adlai Stevenson. Johnson spent 1957-1958 as the Vyvan Harmsworth Professor of American History at Oxford which led to the publication of American studies abroad: progress and difficulties in selected countries; a special report by Walter Johnson, while he was a member for United States Advisory Commission on International Educational and Cultural Affairs. Johnson continued with political organizing in 1961 when he was the Co-Chairman of the Paul Simon For Senator Committee. 4 The U of C honored Johnson by bestowing the Preston and Sterling Morton Professorship of History upon him in 1963. He continued in that prestigious post until 1966, when he left the University of Chicago for the University of Hawaii in Honolulu from which he retired in 1982. Although Johnson’s dissertation was not published until 1947, as William Allen White’s America, it reveals that his early interest in progressive politics, as examined through the actions of William Allen White, led him to his later intellectual and political interests and activities. This interest has been handed down through the publication of books discussing America during WWII and an influential text book, The United States: Experiment in Democracy (with Avery Craven), popular among high school teachers. Additionally, Johnson’s study of the presidency, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue (1960) developed the concept of the “imperial presidency.” Johnson passed away in Michigan in 1985 and was remembered by his friend and colleague Norton Ginsburg (Professor of Geography at U of C), “He was a genuine compassionate, outgoing, friendly giant of a man who was marvelous with his students.” Scope Note The collection spans the years 1938-1985, with the bulk of material from the 1960s and 1970s. Materials document Johnson’s academic career at both the University of Chicago and the University of Hawaii, through research notes, writings, and lectures, as well as his political career through speeches, campaign literature, newspaper clippings, and press releases. A large portion of the collection comprises Johnson’s research and correspondence relating to The Papers of Adlai Stevenson. The collection has been arranged into eight series. Series I, Personal, includes biographical material, awards, and information regarding travel with family. The series spans 1957-1980. Series II, Correspondence, includes personal and professional correspondence. The series has been divided into two subseries. Subseries 1, 1950-1963, includes personal and professional correspondence, organized chronologically and alphabetically at the folder level. Subseries 2, 1964-1985, includes personal and professional correspondence organized alphabetically. Series III, University of Chicago, includes a small number of files related to Johnson’s career on the University faculty. The series spans 1943-1976. Series IV, University of Hawaii, includes Johnson’s materials on faculty, committees, awards, and lectures while a professor. The series spans 1962-1982. 5 Series V, Writing and Research, has been divided into three subseries. Subseries 1, Publications, includes drafts and published versions of articles, book reviews, and books written by Johnson. Subseries 2, Speeches and Lectures, contains seminar lectures and lecture invitations. Subseries 3, Research, includes notes, articles, and maps relating to Johnson’s various research interests. Series VI, Adlai Stevenson, contains files compiled by Johnson while preparing The Papers of Adlai Stevenson. Subseries 1, Research, includes newspaper clippings, articles, and general notes regarding Adlai Stevenson’s life, death, and legacy. Subseries 2, Correspondence, contains letters from Johnson to or regarding various notable public figures, acquaintances, and politicians regarding the life and letters of Adlai Stevenson. Series VII, Political Activities documents Johnson’s involvement in Chicago political campaigns in the 1930s and 1940s and as a participant and observer of campus and national activism in later decades. The series is divided into three subseries. Subseries 1, 1939 Campaign by Paul Douglas for Alderman of the 5th Ward, contains correspondence, speeches, and campaign literature concerning Paul Douglas’s campaign (1939) for alderman of the Fifth Ward. The subseries spans 1938-1942. Subseries 2, 1943 Aldermanic Campaign, 5th Ward-Chicago, includes correspondence, expenditures, newspaper clippings, speeches, campaign literature, and voter lists for Johnson’s bid for Alderman in 1943. The subseries spans 1942-1962. Subseries 3, contains campaign literature, articles, and information pertaining to Civil Rights, campus activism, conferences, and independent committees. The subseries