Henry Spira Papers A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2017 Contact information: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact Additional search options available at: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms017017 LC Online Catalog record: http://lccn.loc.gov/mm00084743 Prepared by Colleen Benoit, Karen Linn Femia, Nate Scheible with the assistance of Jake Bozza Collection Summary Title: Henry Spira Papers Span Dates: 1906-2002 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1974-1998) ID No.: MSS84743 Creator: Spira, Henry, 1927-1998 Extent: 120,000 items; 340 containers plus 6 oversize ; 140 linear feet ; 114 digital files (3.838 GB) Language: Collection material in English Location: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Summary: Animal welfare advocate and political activist. Correspondence, writings, notes, newspaper clippings, advertisements, printed matter, and photographs, primarily relating to Spira's work in the animal welfare movement after 1974. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. People Douglas, William Henry James. Fitzgerald, Pegeen. Gitano, Henry, 1927-1998. Grandin, Temple. Kupferberg, Tuli. Rack, Leonard. Rowan, Andrew N. Singer, Peter, 1946- Singer, Peter, 1946- Ethics into action : Henry Spira and the animal rights movement. 1998. Spira, Henry, 1927-1998--Political and social views. Spira, Henry, 1927-1998. Trotsky, Leon, 1879-1940. Trull, Frankie. Trutt, Fran. Weiss, Myra Tanner. Organizations American Museum of Natural History. American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Animal Aid (Society : Tonbridge, England) Animal Liberation Front. Animal Rights International. Bristol-Myers Company. Coalition to Abolish the LD50. Coalition to Abolish the Metcalf-Hatch Act. Coalition to Stop Draize Rabbit Blinding Tests. Colgate-Palmolive Company. Cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association. Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Haaren High School (New York, N.Y.)--Faculty. Humane Society of the United States. John Morrell & Co. Johns Hopkins Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing. Kentucky Fried Chicken (Firm) Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Henry Spira Papers 2 McDonald's Corporation. National Anti-Vivisection Society (Great Britain) National Maritime Union of America. New York (State). Metcalf-Hatch Act of 1952. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PepsiCo, Inc. Perdue Farms. Ralston Purina Company. Revlon, Inc. Soap and Detergent Association. Socialist Workers Party. Texas A & M University. United States. Federal Bureau of Investigation. Subjects Abuse of administrative power--United States. African Americans--Civil rights. African Americans--Social conditions. Animal experimentation--Law and legislation--United States. Animal experimentation--Moral and ethical aspects. Animal industry--Law and legislation--United States. Animal industry--Moral and ethical aspects. Animal rights activists--Legal status, laws, etc. Animal rights activists. Animal rights movement. Animal rights. Animal welfare--Law and legislation--United States. Animal welfare--Moral and ethical aspects. Animal welfare. Cattle--Marking--Mexico. Cattle--Marking--United States. Civil rights movements. Civil rights. Consumer education. Cosmetics--Testing. Ecoterrorism. Education--New York (State)--New York. Euthenics. Household supplies--Testing. Household supplies--Toxicology. Human rights movements. Human rights. Internal security--United States. Laboratory animals. Merchant mariners--Labor unions--United States. Rabbits as laboratory animals. Socialism--United States--Periodicals. Socialism--United States. Socialism. Terrorism. Vegetarianism. Places Cuba--History--Revolution, 1959. United States--Politics and government--20th century. Henry Spira Papers 3 United States--Social conditions--20th century. Titles Call for union democracy. Militant. Occupations Animal rights activists. Political activists. Administrative Information Provenance The papers of Henry Spira, animal welfare advocate and political activist, were given to the Library of Congress by Peter Singer between 2000 and 2011. Additional items were given by Andrew N. Rowan in 2003. Transfers Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Some periodicals have been transferred to the Serial & Government Publications Division. Audiovisual materials were transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. All transfers are identified as part of the Henry Spira Papers. Other Repositories Other papers of Henry Spira can be found in the Parks Library of Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. Copyright Status The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Henry Spira is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.). Access and Restrictions Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division for information concerning these restrictions. In addition, many collections are stored-off site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use. Digital Format Digital files were received as part of the papers of Henry Spira. Reference copies were created from the original digital media. Advanced notice is required for access to digital content; consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division for more information. Preferred Citation Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or digital ID number, Henry Spira Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note Henry Spira Date Event 1927 June 19 Born, Antwerp, Belgium 1939 Immigrated with family to Panama 1940 Immigrated with family to the United States Henry Spira Papers 4 1945-1952 Seaman, United States Merchant Marines. Blacklisted from serving in 1952 as "inimical to the security of the United States government" 1952-1954 Private, United States Army, Troop Information and Education, Berlin, Germany 1950-1958 Attended Brooklyn College intermittently, New York, N.Y. Circa 1955-circa 1964 Contributor, the Militant, the Socialist Workers Party newspaper 1955-1956 Line worker, General Motors automotive assembly plant, Linden, N.J. 1958 B.A., Brooklyn College, New York, N.Y. 1959-1966 Seaman, United States Merchant Marines. Removed from blacklist in 1959. Circa 1964-1972 Editor and contributor, The Call for Union Democracy, National Maritime Union of America 1966-1982 English teacher, Haaren High School, New York, N.Y. 1968 M.A., City College of New York, New York, N.Y. 1974 Attended Peter Singer's course "Animal Liberation," New York University, New York, N.Y. Founded Animal Rights International 1974-1998 Coordinator, Animal Rights International 1998 Sept. 12 Died, New York, N.Y. Chronology of Animal Rights International Campaigns Date Event 1975-1977 Campaign against the American Museum of Natural History's experimentation on cats, New York, N.Y. 1977-1979 Campaign against Amnesty International's experimentation on pigs 1978 Coalition to Stop Draize Rabbit Blinding Tests; ongoing campaign 1978 Coalition to Abolish Classroom Dissection; ongoing campaign 1978-1979 Coalition to Abolish the Metcalf Hatch Act, New York State 1981 Coalition to Abolish the LD50 1987 Coalition to Abolish Veal Crating; ongoing campaign 1987- circa 1993 Campaign against Perdue Farms 1993 Coalition for Non-Violent Food; ongoing campaign 1993-1994 Campaign against the United States Department of Agriculture's practice of face branding Mexican cattle Henry Spira Papers 5 Scope and Content Note The papers of Henry Spira (1927-1998) span the years 1906 to 2002, with the bulk of the material dating between 1974 and 1998. The papers are organized into the following series: Personal File, Correspondence, Political File, Animal Rights International, Laboratory Animal Welfare, Farm Animal Welfare, Animal Welfare Organizations, Alphabetical File, Digital Files, Restricted, and Oversize. The collection primarily focuses on Spira’s work as an activist in the animal welfare movement and as the founder and coordinator of Animal Rights International from 1974 until his death in 1998. The papers chronicle Spira’s activities and philosophies and document the strategies he employed to advance the animal welfare agenda. Represented to a lesser extent are materials reflecting Spira’s political activism as a supporter of the Socialist Workers Party and member of the National Maritime Union of America in the years before he became involved in the animal welfare movement. Evidence of Spira’s focus on the significant role of the individual and "power of one" is found throughout the collection and marks an important aspect of his personal philosophy. There is little documentation of Spira’s life before he emigrated from Europe. Many of the file groupings and folder titles were created and maintained by Spira. As a result, the collection is highly interconnected with related topical files found in multiple locations within and across series. Cross references between related topics with differing folder titles were noted where possible. The Personal File comprises documentation of Spira’s life and work between the years 1937 and 2000. This series includes an