Charles James Hendley PapersAnn: a new guide at Tamiment
The Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives announce the opening of the Charles James Hendley Papers. With the assistance of a grant from the New York State Archives Documentary History Program, this collection has been fully processed and is now open for research.
Charles James Hendley (1881-1962) was a teacher, education reform advocate, political activist and union leader. A member of the Teachers Union of the City of New York from 1921 until his death, he served as its president from 1935-1945. The collection provides a glimpse into Hendley's personal life, career and political interests, but also gives a detailed look at the Teachers Union of the City of New York, tracing its history, internal and external conflicts, changing affiliations, and its efforts to bring about school reform and improve wages and working conditions for its members. Correspondence, meeting minutes, financial and administrative documents, memoranda, newsletters and extensive files of Hendley's editorials and other writings are included in the collection.
Hendley, who had been a Socialist Party member for many years became disillusioned with the SP in the late 30s. Among his writings is a handwritten statement entitled "Why I Joined the Communist Party."
The materials document educational issues of the 1930s, 40s and 50s; the impact of the Depression and World War II on New York City schools; the relationship of the teachers with other unions, the civil rights movement, Popular Front political organizations and the American Labor Party; and aspects of the Rapp-Coudert Committee investigations of the early 1940s and post-war anti-subversive campaigns which led to the harassment and firing of some New York teachers. The guide to the collection can be found at:
[url]http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/tamwag/cjhendley.html[/url]
Gail Malmgreen
Associate Head for Archival Collections
Tamiment Library/ Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, NYU 70 Washington Square South, NY, NY 10012
(212)998-2636
[mailto]gail.malmgreen@nyu.edu[/mailto]