David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery Papers 1870-1958 (bulk 1917-1940) MS.1986.167 http://hdl.handle.net/2345/4438 Archives and Manuscripts Department John J. Burns Library Boston College 140 Commonwealth Avenue Chestnut Hill 02467 library.bc.edu/burns/contact URL: http://www.bc.edu/burns Table of Contents Summary Information .................................................................................................................................... 3 Administrative Information ............................................................................................................................ 4 Related Materials ........................................................................................................................................... 5 Biographical note: David Goldstein .............................................................................................................. 6 Biographical note: Martha Moore Avery ...................................................................................................... 7 Scope and Contents ........................................................................................................................................ 9 Arrangement ................................................................................................................................................. 10 Collection Inventory ..................................................................................................................................... 11 I: David Goldstein papers ......................................................................................................................... 11 II: Martha Moore Avery papers .............................................................................................................. 127 David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery Papers MS.1986.167 - Page 2 - Summary Information Creator: Goldstein, David, 1870-1958 Creator: Avery, Martha Moore, 1851-1929 Title: David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery papers ID: MS.1986.167 Date [inclusive]: 1870-1958 Date [bulk]: 1917-1940 Physical Description 148.75 Linear Feet (143 boxes) Language of the Materials in this collection are primarily in English, with small Material: amounts of French, German, Portuguese, and Spanish. Abstract: The David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery papers relate mainly to their association with and disavowal of the Socialist Party, their conversion to Catholicism, and their subsequent lecture tours. The bulk of the material consists of Goldstein's professional papers, with a smaller amount of his personal papers and of Avery's papers. The collection includes artifacts, correspondence, financial records, pamphlets and clippings, photographs, scrapbooks, subject files, and writings. Preferred Citation Identification of item, Box number, Folder number, David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery Papers, MS.1986.167, John J. Burns Library, Boston College. David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery Papers MS.1986.167 - Page 3 - Administrative Information Publication Information Processed by Xaviera Flores, Holly Salter, and Annalisa Moretti in December 2014. This finding aid was produced using ArchivesSpace. Restrictions on access Collection is open for research. Some scrapbooks are too fragile to be used without supervision; please consult the Archivist. Restrictions on use These materials are made available for use in research, teaching and private study, pursuant to U.S. Copyright Law. The user must assume full responsibility for any use of the materials, including but not limited to, infringement of copyright and publication rights of reproduced materials. Any materials used for academic research or otherwise should be fully credited with the source. The original authors may retain copyright to the materials. Provenance Gift of the David Goldstein estate, 1958. Custodial History These papers were left to Boston College by David Goldstein as a bequest in his will. The collection was stored in a commercial warehouse before being transferred to Boston College Libraries in November 1976, which may account for the poor condition of some materials, such as scrapbooks and newspaper clippings. Processing Information This collection has been arranged in order received where possible, and where order existed. The titles of Goldstein's subject files reflect his original folder titles and organization. A small number of textiles and personal items such as a comb, mittens, and a single spat were deaccessioned due to poor condition. Three limited runs of newspapers -- Christian Socialist (1911-1912); Common Sense (1950, 1954-1955); and National Civic Federation Review (1906-1909) -- were also deaccessioned due to poor condition and availability on microfilm. David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery Papers MS.1986.167 - Page 4 - Related Materials Related Materials MG.10.4, Martha Moore Avery and Family, 1873-1955, Beaton Institute, Cape Breton University. Separated Materials Books and published materials in this collection that were not part of the subject files have been transferred to the John J. Burns Library book collections. David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery Papers MS.1986.167 - Page 5 - Biographical note: David Goldstein David Goldstein was a Jewish Socialist-turned-Catholic evangelical author and public speaker. He was born on July 27, 1870 in London, England, to Anna and Isaac Goldstein, a cigar maker. In 1871 his family immigrated to New York, where he attended Henry Street Public School, Fifth Street Public School, the Hebrew Free School, and the Spanish Jewish Synagogue. When he was 11 years old, he left school to help support the family, working first as a cashier and later a cigar maker. He became a member of the Cigar Makers' International Union, and these meetings introduced him to public speaking and propagandizing. He retained a lifelong membership in the union and steadfastly supported organized labor. In the early 1880s, he met and was influenced by Samuel Gompers and Henry George, whom Goldstein supported for mayor of New York City in 1886. Goldstein and his family moved to Boston in 1888, and he became affiliated with the Socialist Labor Party. He was impressed by the party's well-read and passionate members, but ultimately found it to be morally devoid. According to Goldstein, it was through his participation in party activities in 1896 that he met Martha Moore Avery, who would later influence his decision to leave the party and convert to Catholicism. While still members of the Socialist Labor Party, he and Avery regularly held "free-speech meetings," a tactic they would also employ as Catholic campaigners. After a disagreement with the leadership, Goldstein left the Socialist Labor Party in 1900 and joined the Socialist Party. However, following a public scandal that erupted when prominent Socialist leader George Herron left his wife and family in favor of a younger woman and justified it by citing Socialism's belief in free love, Goldstein began to seriously question the morality of Socialism, specifically concerning the family and religion. Once the party rejected his and Avery's call to include a focus on religious and moral teachings, Goldstein began to lessen his involvement with Socialism. He and Avery left the Socialist Party in early 1903. Goldstein and Avery spent the next few months writing and publishing their book, Socialism: The Nation of Fatherless Children (1903). Goldstein converted to Catholicism in 1905, citing Avery and her daughter, Katherine, as major influences in his decision. He found Catholic teaching on marriage and divorce particularly appealing, coming to believe that the Catholic Church was the safeguard of the future of civilization. In 1910, he was asked by Boston Cardinal William Henry O'Connell to give public lectures on Catholic teachings to working-class Catholics around the city. Goldstein's position as an educated, pro-union, Anti-Socialist who was able to talk to working-class people was considered a major asset to American Catholic leaders. He began going on annual national tours, sponsored by the Catholic Central Verein and the Knights of Columbus. He founded the Catholic Truth Guild (later known as Campaigners for Christ) with Avery in 1917 and devoted himself to defending the Catholic Church against attack, using the oratory and persuasion skills he learned as an active Socialist. In 1917, Goldstein and Avery were given permission by Cardinal O'Connell to give lectures on Catholic social teaching nationwide through the Catholic Truth Guild. The first was given on Boston Common on July 4, 1917. He and Avery had a model-T Ford customized for their lecture tours, the first of many cars commissioned for their lectures. It was painted yellow and white (papal colors), and a portable podium and sounding platform were installed. The second car, a Buick David Goldstein and Martha Moore Avery Papers MS.1986.167 - Page 6 - purchased in the early 1930s, had louder speakers to reach a larger audience. Goldstein depended on these unusual vehicles to attract a crowd as he toured. He went on lecture tours from 1917 until 1941, seeking to show that Catholic teachings were compatible with American values and could be held by an intelligent, educated person. He often lectured on the relationship between Catholicism and controversial current events, including women's suffrage, birth control, and divorce. After Avery's death in 1929, Goldstein struggled to find and train a successor, and when combined with the