Today’s post is Christmas themed. Below is a poster titled “Will You Be Free To Celebrate Christmas In The Future?” from 1957 distributed by The Allen-Bradley Company of Milwuakee, Wisconsin, which still exists today and manufactures automation equipment for factories. The poster contains the testimony of a Dr. Frederick Schwarz before the House Un-American Activities Committee of the House of Representatives which mostly covers his views on the dangers of Communism. I have also included some close ups from the poster which is rather large.

Happy Holidays! This will be the last post for a couple weeks.

Allen Bradley Christmas Poster (1957)

Close Up 1

Close Up 2

Close Up 3

Close Up 4

The Marxist-Lenninst Party, USA was an anti-revisionist communist group founded in 1967 out of the Cleveland Draft Resistance Union.[1] Anti-revisionist groups were created as a counter to many existing groups as a return to “orthodox Marxism-Leninism.”[2] The MPL would probably most closely be representative of a Maoist group in the US. The group dissolved in 1993 without ever having a huge following. Typical of many left wing groups the MPL was affiliated with many groups and also had many splinter groups including, Communist Voice Organization, U.S. Marxist-Leninist Organization, and the American Communist Workers’ Movement (Marxist-Leninist). The group dissolved in 1993.

May Day Poster (Unknown Date)

The National White American Party also known as the American States Rights Party has a somewhat confusing history. A version of the group was started in the 1950s before becoming part of the National States Rights Party[1], only to splinter from the NSRP in 1966 with Jerry Dutton as the leader. The NWAP would most accurately be described as a racist, anti-Semetic white supremacist political party. The NAWP was defunct by the 1970s and Dutton became involved with David Duke[2] and the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan and then later after a contentious split with Duke, Bill Wilkinson‘s Invisible Empire, Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.[3]

The White American Front Cover (1966)

The White American Back Cover (1966)

Overthrow was a publication associated with the Yippie movement founded by Dana Beal.  The paper, originally called The Yipster Times was started in 1972  and became known as Overthrow in 1979.

The Yippies or  the Youth International Party was founded in 1967 and commonly used street theatre and pranks to make political statements. Somewhat related to the anti-war movement of the 1960s the Yippies were a counterculture group known to buck the establishment and focused on issues ranging from free speech, drug legalization, and the creation of counterculture cooperatives.

Dana Beal is best known for his efforts to legalize marijuana. He is currently incarcerated on drug related charges in Nebraska although he should be released sometime this month.

Over Throw Cover (1981)

Over Throw Back Cover (1981)

The Quicksilver Times was a Washington, D.C. based underground newspaper that published somewhat sporadically from 1969 until 1972.  Founded by Terry Becker Jr. wrote in support of civil rights, feminism and gay rights.[1] Additionally the paper supported communist movements as seen in the edition highlighted in this post with a quote from Mao Zedong and an ad for the National Liberation Front in Vietnam on the back cover.

Quicksilver was also the subject of a CIA investigation during its run. [2]

There are only a handful of copies of the Quicksilver Times in the Hall Hoag Collection Part II.

Quicksilver Times Cover (December 1970)

Quicksilver Times Back Cover (December 1970)

The Chicago Seed was an underground newspaper founded by Don Lewis and Earl Segal in the Old Town neighborhood of Chicago and was printed from 1967 to 1973.  The Seed, edited for years by Abe Peck, was a member of the Underground Press Syndicate.[1] Although the paper was far left leaning, it was known for its independence and impartiality on left wing issues, not subscribing to a particular ideology, which was unusual for the time. Along with political commentary and editorials “it featured freeform poetry, music and movie reviews, reports on area rock concerts, and a fairly detailed Dope on Dope listing of the current street prices of drugs like LSD, marijuana and hashish.”[2]

The addition highlight in this post was printed following the 1968 National Democratic Convention and depicts a pig in a Chicago Police uniform and Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley’s face.

Chicago Seed Cover (September 1968)

Chicago Seed Back Cover (September 1968)

The Young Americans for Freedom was founded in 1960 and still exists today. Ideologically the group follows the Sharon Statement developed at the home of William F. Buckley in Sharon Connecticut, which emphasizes the importance of free will, the free market, national defense and the importance of the Constitution and the U.S. Government in upholding those principals.

The group was most prominent in the 1960s and past members are a who’s who in the conservative movement including:

• U.S. President Ronald Reagan, former YAF Honorary National Chairman
• U.S Vice President Dan Quayle;
• U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions;
• Former U.S. Senator and U.S. Court of Appeals Judge James Buckley

There are ~400 items from The Young Americans for Freedom and its main publication The New Guard in the Hall Hoag Collection Part II.

Young Americans For Freedom Pamphlet Cover (1964)

Young Americans For Freedom Pamphlet Inside (1964)

One Magazine was published by One, Inc., a gay rights organization founded in 1952 by Antonio Reyes, Martin Block and Dale Jennings in Los Angeles. The group started publishing One Magazine in 1953 making is the first gay rights magazine in the United States. One, Inc. won a law suit against the U.S. Post Office in 1954 after it refused to deliver the magazine on the grounds that it was obscene. Although the magazine is no longer published the organization still exists to create exhibits.[1]

Below are some of the many issues of One in the Hall-Hoag Collection from the 1950s and 1960s.

One Magazine (1950s -1069s)

For more information:

One, Inc. Records at The University of Southern California: http://www.onearchives.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/NEH-Project-Guide-2012.pdf

An Index of One Issues: http://www.tyleralpern.com/one.html