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BUSINESS, LITERARY AND MISCELLANY COLLECTION

Finding Aid for the
SOCIALIST PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE LOCAL
RECORDS, 1894-1923
(MSS-113)

VOLUME: .20 cubic feet

ACQUISITION: [...]

ACCESS: Access to this record group is unrestricted.

COPYRIGHT: The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

Organizational History

Scope and Content Note

Box and Folder List

Socialist Party of the United States of America, Dover, New Hampshire Local
Organizational History

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The Dover, New Hampshire Local of the Socialist Party was first chartered in 1895 as an affiliate of the Socialist Labor Party. Twenty Dover residents, mostly skilled tradesmen and unskilled laborers, signed the initial charter of affiliation. Benjamin T. Whitehouse was the organizer. The Local held rallies, ran candidates for local, state and national office and distributed copies of The People, the Socialist Labor Party's national newspaper, to local labor organizations.

At the national level, the Socialist Labor Party was in turmoil during the years 1895-1900 as a faction supporting party boss Daniel De Leon fought with a faction supporting Morris Hillquit. In 1901 Hillquit's organization broke with the Socialist Labor Party and established itself as the Socialist Party of America. The Dover Local sided with this new party and became its local branch. The Local continued to exist throughout World War I and the early 1920s, when Socialists were persecuted for their opposition to the war. The last documented activity in this collection dates from 1923.

Socialist Party of the United States of America, Dover, New Hampshire Local
Scope & Content Note

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This collection contains the records of the Dover, New Hampshire Local of the Socialist Party. The majority of records date from the years 1895-1901, when the Local was affiliated with the Socialist Labor Party. A smaller quantity of records documents the years after 1901, when the Local was affiliated with the Socialist Party of America.

The collection includes a wide variety of records which document the various activities of the Local. An extensive file of letters to and from chapter organizer Benjamin T. Whitehouse documents the routine business of the Local, its contacts with other labor organizations and its participation in the factional conficts within the Socialist Labor Party. Numerous fliers and posters document the Local's political campaigns and public rallies, and a file of pamphlets explains the Socialist political platform in detail. Invoices and receipts record the financial transactions of the Local, while its social makeup is suggested by its 1895 and 1901 charters, in which members are listed by occupation.

The later activity of the local is documented by a record book for the years 1916-1923 which contains meeting minutes and other records of official business.

Socialist Party of the United States of America, Dover, New Hampshire Local
Box and Folder List

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Box 1
Folder
1. Correspondence to Benjamin T. Whitehouse, 1894-1903
2. Correspondence from Benjamin T. Whitehouse, 1896-1899
3. Record Book, 1916-1923
4. Charters, 1895 and 1901
5. Socialist Party of Dover, N.H. Business Correspondence, 1896-1898
6. Resolutions, 1902
7. Flyers and Posters, 1897-1904
8. Pamphlets, circa 1896
9. Socialist Party national publications, 1896-1901
10. Clippings, 1896-1898
11. Poem, undated
12. Photograph, undated
13. Financial Documents, 1895-1901