Political Literature: Collection Strengths

Each of the following individuals is the author of a body of materials in the collection.  Those preceded by an asterisk (*) were American communists or socialists.  Search UCI Library Search by the individual author to find these publications.

• Aptheker, Herbert, 1915-2003
  "An American Marxist historian and political activist"
• *Bittelman, Alex, 1890-1982
  "A Jewish Russian-American Marxist theorist, communist political activist, writer, and influential theoretician of the Communist Party USA"
• * Browder, Earl 1891-1973
  "American politician, communist activist and leader of the communist party USA".
• Castro, Fidel, 1926-2016
  "Cuban revolutionary, established the first communist state in the Western Hemisphere, Prime Minister and President of Cuba for over 50 decades"
• * Davis, Benjamin J. 1903-1964
  "Civil rights lawyer, former NYC councilman, author, editor, Marxist theoretician, and leader of the communist part USA".
• * De Leon, Daniel, 1852-1914
  "Curacao-born American socialist and one of the founders of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)".
• * Dennis, Eugene, 1905-1961
  "Communist politician, union organizer, and leader of the Communist Party USA"
• Engels, Friedrich, 1820-1895
  "German philosopher, historian, political theorist, revolutionary socialist, and critic of political economy".
• * Flynn, Elizabeth Gurley, 1890-1964
  "American labor organizer for the Industrial Workers of the World, advocate for women's rights, and helped found the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)".
• * Foster, William Z., 1881-1961
  "American labor organizer, communist politician, and general secretary of the communist party USA".
• Gorbachev, Mikhail Sergeevich, 1931-
  "Former soviet politician, 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union, and general secretary from the Communist Party of the Soviet Union".
• Kim, Il-song, 1912-1994(Korean)
• "North Korea politician, founder of North Korea, leader of Workers' Party of Korea, and held the positions of Premier and President".
• Lenin, Vladimir Il, 1870-1924
  "Russian Communist revolutionary, theorist, and head of the Bolshevik Party"
• Mao, Zedong, 1893-1976
  "Founder of the People's Republic of China, Chinese communist revolutionary, chairman, and president of China".
• Marx, Karl, 1818-1883
  "German philosopher, journalist, historian, political theorist, revolutionary socialist, critic of political economy, and best known for his work: The Communist Manifesto".
• Molotov, Vyacheslav M., 1890-1986
  "Russian politician and diplomat, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Soviet Union, old Bolshevik, chairman of People's Commissars".
• * Nearing, Scott, 1883-1983
  "American radical economist, pacifist, educator, writer, political activist, advocate of simple living, and socialist".
• * Petersen, Arnold, 1885-1976
  "National Secretary of the Socialist Labor Party of America".
• Stalin, Joseph, 1879-1953
  "General Secretary of the communist party and dictator of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)"
• * Strong, Anna Louise, 1885-1970
  "American journalist, activist, and supporter of the Soviet Union and People's Republic of China".

Archival and manuscript collections are described in detail in searchable, online finding aids in the Online Archive of California. Follow the links below to view the complete finding aids. Numerous archival collections documenting political issues in Orange County, California, are also found in the Orange County collection, described separately on this site.

• The courage to remember: the Holocaust, 1933-1945: posters
  A set of forty published posters based on a Simon Wiesenthal Center traveling exhibition about the Holocaust.
• New York Workers School materials, 1926-1935
  Materials documenting courses offered by the New York Workers School of the Communist Party USA.
• Orange County Holocaust Oral Project Interviews
  Videorecorded interviews with residents of Orange County, California, who are survivors of the Holocaust. This collection is not yet organized; please contact us for more information.
• OSPAAAL poster collection
  Posters published between 1967 and 1997 by the Organization in Solidarity with the People of Africa, Asia, and Latin America (OSPAAAL).
• Paris Revolt
  Documents the protests and general strike that took place in France in 1968 when Parisian students and workers protested against American involvement in Vietnam, as well as for a better educational system and working class rights. This collection is not yet organized; please contact us for more information.
• Times Change Press political posters, 1970-1974.
  Collection consists of seven posters published by Times Change Press (New York City) on a variety of national political issues, including political activism, voting, demonstrating against the Vietnam War, Ho Chi Minh and Che Guevara. This collection is not yet organized; please contact us for more information.
• United Farm Workers Information Fair collection
  Fliers, newsletters, photographs, and ephemera used at a United Farm Workers (UFW) fair held in 1969.  Documents the UFW and its formation, the Delano Grape Strike (1965-1966), migrant agricultural workers’ living and working conditions, and other topics.