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The Rand School of Social Science was formed in 1906 in
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by adherents of the
Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...
. The school aimed to provide a broad education to workers, imparting a politicizing class-consciousness, and additionally served as a research bureau, a publisher, and the operator of a summer camp for socialist and trade union activists. The school changed its name to the "Tamiment Institute and Library" in 1935 and it was closely linked to the
Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...
after the 1936 split of the Socialist Party. Its collection became a key component of today's
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives The Tamiment Library is a research library at New York University that documents radical and left history, with strengths in the histories of communism, socialism, anarchism, the New Left, the Civil Rights Movement, and utopian experiments. The ...
at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
in 1963.


Institutional history


Forerunners

The idea of establishing new schools for the promotion of
socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
ideas in the United States emerged at the end of the 19th century, when a group of
Christian socialist A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Chr ...
s, organized as the Social Reform Union, established the correspondence school, College of Social Science in
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in 1899.Frederic Cornell, ''A History of the Rand School of Social Science, 1906 to 1956.'' Ph.D. dissertation. Columbia University Teachers College, 1976; pg. 8. Another similarly short-lived institution called the "Karl Marx School" was established in the city at the same time. Neither managed to leave much of a mark upon the historical record. A more successful effort at worker education was made in England with the establishment of
Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is a higher education institution and part of the University of West London, in Oxford, England. It is not a Colleges of the University of Oxford, college of Oxford University. Named ...
in
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, England, also in 1899. Three Americans were instrumental in the formation of this entity, Mr. and Mrs.
Walter Vrooman Walter Watkins Vrooman (1869 – 2 December 1909) was an American socialist educationalist who co-founded Ruskin College in Oxford with Charles A. Beard in 1899. He then returned to America, where he set up a second Ruskin College in Trenton, Miss ...
and
Charles A. Beard Charles Austin Beard (November 27, 1874 – September 1, 1948) was an American historian and professor, who wrote primarily during the first half of the 20th century. A history professor at Columbia University, Beard's influence is primarily due ...
, the latter a young graduate student at
Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...
. The trio soon returned to America, where they continued their interest and activity in adult worker education, although none of the three were directly responsible for the establishment of the Rand School. Shortly after the establishment of the
Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...
in August 1901 an effort was made to establish an institution called the Workmen's Educational League in New York City.Cornell, ''A History of the Rand School of Social Science'', pg. 10. This was soon renamed the Socialist Educational League, but the change of moniker did nothing to aid the school's survival and it, too, soon passed from the scene without leaving more than the faintest trace in the contemporary socialist press. A more serious and official effort at establishing a New York socialist training school came late in 1904, when the City Central Committee of Local Greater New York announced that between the first of the year and May 30, 1905 a socialist school would be established "especially for the instruction of speakers." Established through the initiative of party founders
Morris Hillquit Morris Hillquit (August 1, 1869 – October 8, 1933) was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side. Together with Eugene V. Debs and Congressman Victor L. Berger, Hillqu ...
and
Henry L. Slobodin Henry L. Slobodin was an American attorney, socialist activist and frequent candidate for public office from New York. Slobodin was active in the Socialist Labor Party of America before leaving in 1899 alongside other socialist activists like Mo ...
, party newspaper editor
Algernon Lee Algernon H. Lee (September 15, 1873 – January 5, 1954) was an American socialist politician and educator. In addition to serving as a member of the New York City Council (then the New York City Board of Aldermen) during World War I, Lee was on ...
, and ex-
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mayor John C. Chase, the training school conducted evening courses in history, economics, and philosophy over a 21-week period, offering lectures one night per week.Cornell, ''A History of the Rand School of Social Science,'' pg. 11. Secretary of this "Board of Instructors" was prominent socialist writer
John Spargo John Spargo (January 31, 1876 – August 17, 1966) was a British political writer who, later in life, became an expert in the history and crafts of Vermont. At first Spargo was active in the Socialist Party of America. A Methodist preacher, he t ...
, who used his home in
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as the corresponding office for this 1905 effort.


Formation

The idea of a permanent socialist school in New York City, which took form as the Rand School of Social Science, began with the Christian socialist minister, George D. Herron, and his mother-in-law and financial patron, the widowed lumber heiress Caroline (Carrie) A. Rand. After marrying Mrs. Rand's daughter (also named Carrie) in 1901 — regarded as scandalous owing to his divorce and abandonment of his first wife and family — the Herrons moved to New York City, where George became a prominent figure in the fledgling Socialist Party. The school was established in 1906, made possible by a $200,000 endowment by Mrs. Rand at the time of her sudden death in 1905.Francis X. Gannon, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Left: Volume 4.'' Boston: Western Islands, 1973; pg. 205. The fund was administered by Rand's daughter, Carrie Rand Herron, and
Morris Hillquit Morris Hillquit (August 1, 1869 – October 8, 1933) was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side. Together with Eugene V. Debs and Congressman Victor L. Berger, Hillqu ...
.''The American Labor Year Book, 1916.'' New York: Rand School of Social Science, n.d.
916 __NOTOC__ Year 916 ( CMXVI) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Sicilian Berbers in Agrigento revolt and depose the independent Emir Ahmed ibn Khorob. They offer Sicily to the Fatimid C ...
pp. 151-152.
A total of about 250 students were enrolled for courses during the school's first year.Algernon Lee, "The Story of the Rand School," i
''The Case of the Rand School.''
New York: Rand School of Social Science, July 1919; pg. 11.
In a letter to Morris Hillquit, Herron harmonized the use of the Rand fortune to finance the New York socialist school with the thinking of the elder Carrie Rand back in Iowa in the 1890s:
Mrs. Rand originally had under consideration the establishment of school of Social Science in connection with Iowa College. But when she became aware that it would be impossible to establish such foundation, especially following my enforced resignation, she gave up the thought of what she had in mind at Iowa College ... The school is, in fact, some such thing as Mrs. Herron and I had planned and talked about for many years, and to which I expected at the time, to give my own life personally, as a teacher and organizer of the same.George D. Herron to Morris Hillquit, February 14, 1907, Morris Hillqut papers, University of Wisconsin.
Operations of the Rand School were governed by an entity called the
American Socialist Society American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
, which included as board members Algernon Lee,
Job Harriman Job Harriman (January 15, 1861 – October 26, 1925) was an American minister who later became an agnostic and a socialist. In 1900, he ran for vice president of the United States along with Eugene Debs on the ticket of the Socialist Party of ...
,
Benjamin Hanford Benjamin Hanford (1861 – January 24, 1910) was an American socialist politician during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A printer by trade, Hanford is best remembered for his 1904 and 1908 runs for Vice President of the United States on ...
,
William Mailly William Mailly (November 22, 1871 – September 4, 1912) was an American socialist political functionary, journalist, and trade union activist. He is best remembered as the second National Executive Secretary of the Socialist Party of America and ...
,
Leonard D. Abbott Leonard Abbott (May 20, 1878 – March 19, 1953) was an anarchist and socialist best known for co-founding the Stelton Colony and related Ferrer Association in the 1910s. Life and activism Leonard Abbott was born in Liverpool on May 20, 187 ...
, and Henry Slobodin. Formal direction of the school was conducted by a Secretary, originally author and publicist
W. J. Ghent William James Ghent (April 29, 1866 – July 10, 1942) was an United States of America, American Socialism, socialist journalist and writer. His main focus was on socialism and on the history of the Westward Expansion of the early United States. ...
.Lee, "The Story of the Rand School," pg. 13. Ghent was succeeded late in 1909 by Algernon Lee. A reorganization in about 1911 replaced the position of Secretary with an Education Director and an Executive Secretary, both responsible to the Board of Directors. Lee was retained in the former role, while
Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...
graduate Bertha Howell Mailly was employed in the latter position.


Development

In its early years, the school conducted regular lectures and night courses. The first location of the school was at 112 East 19th Street — a one family house converted to use as a school."The Rand School, An Institution of Learning How," ''New York Call,'' vol. 12, no. 25 (Jan. 25, 1919), pg. 6. To help reduce overhead costs some of the rooms of this dwelling were rented out to tenants. The school remained in this
brownstone Brownstone is a brown Triassic–Jurassic sandstone that was historically a popular building material. The term is also used in the United States and Canada to refer to a townhouse clad in this or any other aesthetically similar material. Ty ...
for six years, before losing the lease and being forced to move to a similar building down the block at 140 East 19th Street in 1912.Lee, "The Story of the Rand School," pg. 10. Beginning in 1911–12, the Rand School implemented a full-time training course, in which students devoted themselves to the study of history, economics, public speaking, and socialist theory without interruption for a period of six months. During the first four years of the existence of the full-time course, 38 men and 8 women completed the program, with 15 others withdrawing before graduation. The Rand School maintained a close relationship not only with the
Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of America ...
proper, but also with the
Intercollegiate Socialist Society The Intercollegiate Socialist Society (ISS) was a socialist student organization active from 1905 to 1921. It attracted many prominent intellectuals and writers and acted as an unofficial student wing of the Socialist Party of America. The Societ ...
and such
trade union A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
s as the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers Union Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States trade union, labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Cong ...
and the
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union (ILGWU) was a labor union for employees in the women's clothing industry in the United States. It was one of the largest unions in the country, one of the first to have a primarily female membersh ...
. The school's Labor Research Department declared:
"The school had a very definite object — that of providing an auxiliary or specialized agency to serve the Socialist and Trade Union Movement of the United States in an educational capacity — to offer to the outside public an opportunity for studying the principles, purposes, and methods of this movement; and to offer to the adherents of the movement instruction and training along the lines calculated to make them more efficient workers for the Cause."
Starting in 1913, the Rand School established a Correspondence Department, conducting coursework by mail with socialists and sympathetic unionists around the country. Some 5,000 people took courses by mail from the Rand School by 1916. In addition to classes and public lectures, the Rand School also maintained a reading library. Instructors and occasional lecturers at the school included Algernon Lee, Scott Nearing,
Morris Hillquit Morris Hillquit (August 1, 1869 – October 8, 1933) was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side. Together with Eugene V. Debs and Congressman Victor L. Berger, Hillqu ...
,
Charles A. Beard Charles Austin Beard (November 27, 1874 – September 1, 1948) was an American historian and professor, who wrote primarily during the first half of the 20th century. A history professor at Columbia University, Beard's influence is primarily due ...
,
John Spargo John Spargo (January 31, 1876 – August 17, 1966) was a British political writer who, later in life, became an expert in the history and crafts of Vermont. At first Spargo was active in the Socialist Party of America. A Methodist preacher, he t ...
,
Lucien Sanial Lucien Delabarre Sanial (12 September 1835 – 7 January 1927) was a French-American newspaper editor, economist, and political activist. A pioneer member of the Socialist Labor Party of America, Sanial is best remembered as one of the earliest ec ...
,
James Maurer James Hudson Maurer (April 15, 1864 – March 16, 1944) was a prominent American socialist politician and trade unionist who twice ran for the office of vice president of the United States on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America. He served ...
, David P. Berenberg,
Anna A. Maley Anna Agnes Maley (January 6, 1872 – November 28, 1918) was an American school teacher, journalist, editing, newspaper editor, and activism, political activist. One of a small number of top female leaders of the Socialist Party of America dur ...
, and
August Claessens August "Gus" Claessens (June 17, 1885 – December 9, 1954) was a Swiss-born United States, American socialist politician, best known as one of the five New York State Assembly, New York Assemblymen expelled from that body during the First Red Sc ...
. In the fall of 1917, with the assistance of a significant financial gift from international gem merchant A.A. Heller, the Rand School moved into a new headquarters facility located a 7 East 15th Street in
Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
's Union Square neighborhood — a building which it purchased from the
YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...
.Gannon, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Left,'' vol. 4, pg. 208. The new "People's House," as it was called, was a six-storey rectangular building about 75 feet wide by 100 feet long. The lease was formally held by the Society of the Commonwealth Center, which sublet all of the 2nd and 3rd floors, as well as parts of the 1st, 4th, 5th, and 6th floors to the school. A restaurant and a bookstore said to be the largest radical bookstore in New York City were closely affiliated with the project, with proceeds from each churned back into the school to help offset its expenses. In 1918 the bookstore did more than $50,000 in gross sales, thereby generating a profit for the school of about $10,000. The size and success of the bookstore allowed the school to enter the market as a publisher of political books and pamphlets, launching a labor almanac called the ''American Labor Year Book'' in 1916 and publishing material by Morris Hillquit, Scott Nearing,
Louis Waldman Louis Waldman (January 5, 1892 – September 12, 1982) was a Ukrainain-born Jewish-American garment worker, engineer, lawyer and politician who was a leading figure in the Socialist Party of America from the late 1910s through the mid-1930s. A ...
, Harry W. Laidler,
Albert Rhys Williams Albert Rhys Williams (September 28, 1883 – February 27, 1962), commonly known by his middle name, pronounced "Reece," was an American journalist, labor organizer, and publicist. He is most famous for writing memoirs in favor of the 1917 Oct ...
, and N. Lenin among others. The school also sought to expand participation through the opening extension offices in the
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and Brownsville as well as across the
Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...
in
Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, most populous City (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, the county seat of Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, and a principal city of the New York metropolitan area. ...
during this period. The Rand School's annual operating budget for the 1918-19 academic year was approximately $45,000, of which tuition and fees covered about half.Lee, "The Story of the Rand School," pg. 12. Business operations, donations, and the small and diminishing legacy of Carrie Rand covered the rest of the deficit, which was further minimized by comparatively low rates of compensation for teachers and staff. Beyond its general educational purposes, the Rand School was envisioned as a mechanism for the training of dedicated cadres for the Socialist and trade union movements. An article in the Socialist ''New York Call'' likened the school to a "sociological seminary" in which "men and women prepare themselves to be evangelists of a new faith" in which they would go forth "not to fat parishes and prosperous careers, but to hardship, maybe to martyrdom." As such, the school drew close scrutiny during the years of World War I as part of government efforts to suppress opposition to the European war effort. American participation in
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
did not dampen the level of participation in the Rand School. The institution saw a record enrollment of about 4,000 students for one or more classes in the 1918 academic year and an additional gain of up to 50% was projected by Executive Secretary Bertha Mailly for 1919-20. Of these all but 30 were part-time students, with an additional 70 taking a full complement of courses spread out over a longer period, attending classes only 2 or 3 nights a week.


Mob attacks

Following the end of hostilities in Europe on November 7, 1918, the Rand School was the target of a series of four mob attacks involving demobilized soldiers. The first such incident came on November 25, 1918, during which a Canadian soldier led an organized group of his uniformed fellows in an effort to gain control of the building."Seeking to Silence Truth," in ''The Case of the Rand School.'' New York: Rand School of Social Science, July 1919; pg. 2. Windows in the building were broken in the assault, which followed a mass rally at
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
calling for the freedom of radical California labor leader
Tom Mooney Thomas Joseph Mooney (December 8, 1882 – March 6, 1942) was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It quickly became apparent that M ...
. The violent raiders were ultimately halted and dispersed by police reserves. Two more lesser incidents followed, neither of which gained sufficient critical mass to seriously threaten the building and its occupants. The fourth and final mob incident, and one of the most serious, occurred on
May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...
1919. Several hundred demobilized soldiers, many of whom were in uniform, attacked a series of Socialist Party and
Industrial Workers of the World The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), whose members are nicknamed "Wobblies", is an international labor union founded in Chicago, United States in 1905. The nickname's origin is uncertain. Its ideology combines general unionism with indu ...
headquarters buildings in New York City, including among their targets the Rand School. Doors to the building were locked against them, but raiders ascended the fire escapes outside and entered the 2nd floor Rand School library through the windows. Those who had gained entrance were dissuaded from violence by those inside the building and they peacefully exited without further incident.


Lusk Committee raid and prosecution

On June 21, 1919, mob action was replaced by a legal raid on the Rand School premises, in which representatives of New York's
Lusk Committee The Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Seditious Activities, popularly known as the Lusk Committee, was formed in 1919 by the New York State Legislature to investigate individuals and organizations in New York State suspected of sedition. ...
, appointed by the state legislature to investigate radicalism in the state, obtained a
search warrant A search warrant is a court order that a magistrate or judge issues to authorize Police, law enforcement officers to conduct a Search and seizure, search of a person, location, or vehicle for evidence of a crime and to Confiscation, confiscate an ...
that was served by 10 members of the state constabulary, assisted by 55 former members of the
American Protective League The American Protective League (1917–1919) was an organization of private citizens sponsored by the United States Department of Justice that worked with federal law enforcement agencies during the World War I era. Its mission was to identify sus ...
."Seeking to Silence Truth," pg. 3. A large number of books, papers, and documents were removed by the raiders — material which served to further the course of the Lusk Committee's investigation. Two days later, police officials returned and drilled open the safe belonging to the Commonwealth Center, Inc., owners of the Rand School building, and removed additional documents contained therein. The Rand School was prosecuted for alleged violation of the
Espionage Act The Espionage Act of 1917 is a United States federal law enacted on June 15, 1917, shortly after the United States entered World War I. It has been amended numerous times over the years. It was originally found in Title 50 of the U.S. Code ( ...
for publishing the radical anti-militarist pamphlet, "The Great Madness," written by
Scott Nearing Scott Nearing (August 6, 1883 – August 24, 1983) was an American radical economist, educator, writer, political activist, pacifist, vegetarian and advocate of simple living. Biography Early years Nearing was born in Morris Run, Tioga County ...
. In a sensational trial, conducted in 1919 after conclusion of the war itself, Nearing was acquitted of the charges against him, but the Rand School was found guilty for having distributed Nearing's work and was fined $3,000.Gannon, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Left,'' vol. 4, pg. 209. The Rand School was also raided in the summer of 1919 by the New York State Legislature's
Lusk Committee The Joint Legislative Committee to Investigate Seditious Activities, popularly known as the Lusk Committee, was formed in 1919 by the New York State Legislature to investigate individuals and organizations in New York State suspected of sedition. ...
, searching for evidence of connection to the
Communist Party of America The Communist Party USA (CPUSA), officially the Communist Party of the United States of America, also referred to as the American Communist Party mainly during the 20th century, is a communist party in the United States. It was established ...
. No prosecution followed from this raid although records were seized providing the names of students through the years.


Post-war development

In 1921, individuals close to the Rand School opened a summer school in the
Pocono Mountains The Pocono Mountains, commonly referred to as the Poconos (), are a geographical, geological, and cultural region in Northeastern Pennsylvania. They overlook the Delaware River and Delaware Water Gap to the east, Lake Wallenpaupack to the nort ...
of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...
called "
Camp Tamiment Tamiment, first known as Camp Tamiment, was an American resort located in the Pocono Mountains of Pike County, Pennsylvania, which existed from 1921 through 2005. Originally established by the Rand School of Social Science in New York City as ...
." The summer camp idea, pioneered by the
Fabian socialist The Fabian Society () is a British socialist organisation whose purpose is to advance the principles of social democracy and democratic socialism via gradualist and reformist effort in democracies, rather than by revolutionary overthrow. Th ...
movement in
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
, allowed socialists and trade unionists the opportunity to escape the summer heat in the city and to attend courses with their fellows in a pastoral setting. Among those teaching classes at Camp Tamiment over the years were
Norman Thomas Norman Mattoon Thomas (November 20, 1884 – December 19, 1968) was an American Presbyterian religious minister, minister, political activist, and perennial candidate for president. He achieved fame as a socialism, socialist and pacifism, pacifis ...
,
Jessie Wallace Hughan Jessie Wallace Hughan (December 25, 1875 – April 10, 1955) was an American educator, a socialist activist, and a radical pacifist. During her college days she was one of four co-founders of Alpha Omicron Pi, a national fraternity for university ...
, and
Stuart Chase Stuart Chase (March 8, 1888 – November 16, 1985) was an American economist, social theorist, and writer. His writings covered topics as diverse as general semantics General semantics is a school of thought that incorporates philosophy, philo ...
.Gannon, ''Biographical Dictionary of the Left,'' vol. 4, pg. 210. By 1924, the Rand School boasted a library with over 6,000 bound volumes, as well as a wide array of
pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a Hardcover, hard cover or Bookbinding, binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' ...
s, magazines, and newspapers. The school was responsible for the publication of an annual almanac of the labor movement entitled ''The American Labor Year Book'' and was instrumental in the establishment of the Labor Education Council, together with the Furrier's Union, the Amalgamated Knit Goods Workers, and other unions centered in New York. In 1935, the Rand School changed its name to the "Tamiment Institute and Library," although it continued to use the imprint "Rand School Press" for its printed publications.


The Rand School after the 1936 split

During the Socialist Party split of 1936, the Rand School of Social Science followed the
Old Guard faction The Old Guard faction was an organized group in the Socialist Party of America (SPA) that sought to retain the organization's traditional orientation towards electoral politics by fighting the Militant faction of generally-younger party members ...
out of the party and into the new
Social Democratic Federation The Social Democratic Federation (SDF) was established as Britain's first organised socialist political party by H. M. Hyndman, and had its first meeting on 7 June 1881. Those joining the SDF included William Morris, George Lansbury, James ...
. During this final interval the school was supported by an increasing percentage of the profits generated by Camp Tamiment, the SDF's country summer camp for trade union workers. by the late 1930s more than half of the Rand School's operating expenses were generated from the proceeds of Camp Tamiment, rising to more than 75% during the last years of the school's existence.Cornell, ''A History of the Rand School of Social Science,'' pg. 235. Indeed, as one historian of the Rand School has noted, "the School's continued existence was possible only as long as the Camp continued to pay the bills.:


Termination and legacy

In 1956, the economically failing school was purchased by the operators of Camp Tamiment, who formally terminated its educational operations while continuing to maintain its library, renamed after the camp's managing director, Ben Josephson. This status ended in 1963, when the Josephson Library was made a part of the special collections library at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, known today as the
Tamiment Library and Robert F. Wagner Archives The Tamiment Library is a research library at New York University that documents radical and left history, with strengths in the histories of communism, socialism, anarchism, the New Left, the Civil Rights Movement, and utopian experiments. The ...
.


Teachers


Instructors and lecturers (1915–1916)

The pamphlet ''The Rise and Decline of Christian Civilization'' by Scott Nearing includes mention of "Instructors and Lecturers. 1915–1916": * Samuel E. Beardsley *
Louis B. Boudin Louis B. Boudin (December 15, 1874 – May 29, 1952) was a Russian-born American Marxist theoretician, writer, politician, and lawyer. He is best remembered as the author of a two volume history of the Supreme Court's influence on American govern ...
*
August Claessens August "Gus" Claessens (June 17, 1885 – December 9, 1954) was a Swiss-born United States, American socialist politician, best known as one of the five New York State Assembly, New York Assemblymen expelled from that body during the First Red Sc ...
*
Morris Hillquit Morris Hillquit (August 1, 1869 – October 8, 1933) was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side. Together with Eugene V. Debs and Congressman Victor L. Berger, Hillqu ...
*
Scott Nearing Scott Nearing (August 6, 1883 – August 24, 1983) was an American radical economist, educator, writer, political activist, pacifist, vegetarian and advocate of simple living. Biography Early years Nearing was born in Morris Run, Tioga County ...
*
Juliet Stuart Poyntz Juliet Stuart Poyntz (originally 'Points') (25 November 1886 – c. 1937) was an American suffragist, trade unionist and communist spy. As a student and university teacher, Poyntz espoused many radical causes and went on to become a co-founder ...
* I. M. Rubinow *
James T. Shotwell James Thomson Shotwell (August 6, 1874 – July 15, 1965) was a Canadian-born American history professor. He played an instrumental role in the creation of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1919, as well as for his influence in promo ...
*
John Spargo John Spargo (January 31, 1876 – August 17, 1966) was a British political writer who, later in life, became an expert in the history and crafts of Vermont. At first Spargo was active in the Socialist Party of America. A Methodist preacher, he t ...
* N. I. Stone


Noted lecturer and teachers (1919)

''The Case for the Rand School'' (July 26, 1919) lists the following "noted lecturers and teachers": * From the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
: **
Meyer London Meyer London (December 29, 1871 – June 6, 1926) was a Lithuanian-born American politician from New York City. He represented the Lower East Side of Manhattan and was one of only two members of the Socialist Party of America elected to the Unit ...
(New York 12th district:
Socialist Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
) * New York Municipal Court: ** Judge
Jacob Panken Jacob Panken (January 13, 1879 – February 4, 1968) was a Ukrainian-born Jewish-American socialist politician, best remembered for his tenure as a New York City municipal court judge and frequent candidacies for high elected office on the ticket ...
* New York Assembly: **
August Claessens August "Gus" Claessens (June 17, 1885 – December 9, 1954) was a Swiss-born United States, American socialist politician, best known as one of the five New York State Assembly, New York Assemblymen expelled from that body during the First Red Sc ...
, member ** Abraham I. Shiplacoff, member * From the New York Board of Aldermen: ** B. C. Vladeck, member * From the Pennsylvania State Federation of Labor: **
James H. Maurer James Hudson Maurer (April 15, 1864 – March 16, 1944) was a prominent American socialist politician and trade unionist who twice ran for the office of vice president of the United States on the ticket of the Socialist Party of America. He served ...
, President * From Columbia University: **
Charles A. Beard Charles Austin Beard (November 27, 1874 – September 1, 1948) was an American historian and professor, who wrote primarily during the first half of the 20th century. A history professor at Columbia University, Beard's influence is primarily due ...
, historian ... now of the Bureau of Municipal Research ** Franklin H. Giddings ** Alexander Goldenweiser ** Benjamin B. Kendrick ** William P. Montague **
David Saville Muzzey David Saville Muzzey (1870–1965) was an American historian. His history textbooks were used by millions of American children. Along with Harold Rugg, he was accused of being a "bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radic ...
**
James Harvey Robinson James Harvey Robinson (June 29, 1863 – February 16, 1936) was an American scholar of history who, with Charles Austin Beard, founded New History, a disciplinary approach that attempts to use history to understand contemporary problems, which ...
** E. M. Sait **
James T. Shotwell James Thomson Shotwell (August 6, 1874 – July 15, 1965) was a Canadian-born American history professor. He played an instrumental role in the creation of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1919, as well as for his influence in promo ...
** Harry W. L. Dana ** Dorothy Brewster of the Teachers' College ** George R. Kirkpatrick of Albion College * From Brown University: ** Lester F. Ward, sociologist * From Stanford University: **
David Starr Jordan David Starr Jordan (January 19, 1851 – September 19, 1931) was the founding president of Stanford University, serving from 1891 to 1913. He was an ichthyologist during his research career. Prior to serving as president of Stanford Universi ...
, biologist * From New York University ** Willard C. Fisher, economist * From Wellesley College: ** Ellen Hayes ** Vida D. Scudder * From Chicago University: **
Charles Zueblin Charles Zueblin (1866–1924) was an American sociologist and promoter of civic reform. Biography Zueblin was born in Pendleton, Indiana on May 4, 1866. He was educated at the University of Pennsylvania, Northwestern University, Yale, and the ...
, lecturer and writer on municipal affairs * From Barnard College: **
Juliet Stuart Poyntz Juliet Stuart Poyntz (originally 'Points') (25 November 1886 – c. 1937) was an American suffragist, trade unionist and communist spy. As a student and university teacher, Poyntz espoused many radical causes and went on to become a co-founder ...
* From Princeton University: **
Evans Clark Evans Clark (1888–1970) was an American writer strongly committed first to Communist Party of the USA, Communist and Socialist Party of the USA, Socialist causes and then American liberalism, liberal socio-economic issues, served for a quarte ...
, specialist in municipal affairs * From Dartmouth College: ** Dr. G. B. L. Arner, statistician * From the American Museum of Natural History: ** Dr.
Robert Lowie Robert Harry Lowie (born '; June 12, 1883 – September 21, 1957) was an Austrian-born American anthropologist. An expert on Indigenous peoples of the Americas, he was instrumental in the development of modern anthropology and has been described a ...
, anthropologist * From the New York School of Philanthropy: ** John Fitch, industrial expert * From the Rockefeller Institute: ** Dr. Phoebus A. Levene, physiological chemists * From the Joint Board of Sanitary Control in the Garment Industry: ** Dr. George M. Price, authority on industrial hygiene * From the United States Commissioner of Immigration: ** Dr.
Frederic C. Howe Frederic Clemson Howe (November 21, 1867 – August 3, 1940) was a progressive reformer, author, lawyer, member of the Ohio Senate, a Georgist (advocate of a single tax), and Commissioner of Immigration of the Port of New York. He was also f ...
, authority on municipal affairs * Illinois State Federation of Labor: ** Duncan McDonald, President *
Women's Trade Union League The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) (1903–1950) was a United States, U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL pla ...
: **
Alice Henry Alice Henry (21 March 1857 – 14 February 1943) was an Australian suffragist, journalist and trade unionist who also became prominent in the American trade union movement as a member of the Women's Trade Union League. Henry Street in the ...
* From the
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America (ACWA) was a United States labor union known for its support for "social unionism" and progressive political causes. Led by Sidney Hillman for its first thirty years, it helped found the Congress of Indus ...
: **
Joseph Schlossberg Joseph Schlossberg (in Yiddish: יוסף שלאסבערג‎; May 1, 1875 – January 15, 1971) was a Belarusian-born Jewish-American garment worker, newspaper editor, labor leader, and politician who served as Secretary-Treasurer of the Amalgamat ...
, General Secretary * From the
International Association of Machinists The International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAM) is an AFL–CIO/ CLC trade union representing over 600,000 workers as of 2024 in more than 200 industries with most of its membership in the United States and Canada. Origi ...
: ** James H. Duncan * From the
International Jewelry Workers' Union The International Jewelry Workers' Union (IJWU) was a labor union representing workers involved in making jewelry in the United States and Canada. An International Jewelry Workers' Union of America was founded in 1900 with the merger of several loc ...
: ** Samuel E. Beardsley * From the National Consumers' League: **
Florence Kelley Florence Molthrop Kelley (September 12, 1859 – February 17, 1932) was an American social and political reformer who coined the term wage abolitionism. Her work against sweatshops and for the minimum wage, eight-hour workdays, and children's ...
* From the National Child Labor Committee: ** Owen R. Lovejoy * From the British Steel Workers' Union: ** John Jones * From the British
Women's Trade Union League The Women's Trade Union League (WTUL) (1903–1950) was a United States, U.S. organization of both working class and more well-off women to support the efforts of women to organize labor unions and to eliminate sweatshop conditions. The WTUL pla ...
: **
Mary Macarthur Mary Reid Anderson (née Macarthur; 13 August 1880 – 1 January 1921) was a Scottish suffragist (although at odds with the national groups who were willing to let a minority of women gain the franchise) and was a leading Trade Union, trades ...
* From the United States Children's Bureau: ** Helen L. Sumner (formerly of the American Association for Labor Legislation) * From the Brooklyn Ethical Culture Society: ** Dr.
Henry Neumann Henry Neumann Zayas (born December 12, 1950) is an attorney, and a former state senator for the District of San Juan (PNP-R) Former Secretary of Sports and Recreation of Puerto Rico. After finishing high school entered Georgetown University in ...
* From the Cooperative League of America: ** Dr. James P. Warbasse, President* From the Belgian Senate: **
Henri La Fontaine Henri La Fontaine (; 22 April 1854 – 14 May 1943), was a Belgian international lawyer and president of the International Peace Bureau. He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1913 because "he was the effective leader of the peace movement in Eur ...
, member * Others: ** Dr. I. M. Rubinow, statistician and authority on Social Insurance ** Dr. N. I. Stone, statistician and authority on tariffs and wage-rates ** Dr. I. A. Hourwich, statistician and authority on immigration and on Russian economic conditions ** Dr. Alexander Fichandler ** Dr. B. C. Gruenberg ** Jessie Wallace Hughan ** Miss Alma Kriger ** Dr. Gabriel R. Mason ** Max Schonberg ** Walter N. Polakov, prominent consulting engineer ** Dr. John Dillon, formerly New York State Commissioner of Food and Markets **
Morris Hillquit Morris Hillquit (August 1, 1869 – October 8, 1933) was a founder and leader of the Socialist Party of America and prominent labor lawyer in New York City's Lower East Side. Together with Eugene V. Debs and Congressman Victor L. Berger, Hillqu ...
, lawyer, publicist, and authority on scientific Socialism ** Dr.
W. E. B. DuBois William Edward Burghardt Du Bois ( ; February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a relative ...
, writer and lecturer on Negro affairs ** Lajpat Rai, Indian educator and publicist **
Francis Sheehy-Skeffington Francis Joseph Christopher Skeffington (later Sheehy Skeffington; 23 December 1878 – 26 April 1916) was an Irish writer and radical activist, known also by the nickname "Skeffy".Dara Redmond"Officer who exposed pacifist's murder", ''The Irish ...
, Irish publicist and historian **
William Butler Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...
, Irish litterateur **
Padraic Colum Padraic Colum (8 December 1881 – 11 January 1972) was an Irish poet, novelist, dramatist, biographer, playwright, children's author and collector of folklore. He was one of the leading figures of the Irish Literary Revival. Early life Co ...
, Irish litterateur **
Louis B. Boudin Louis B. Boudin (December 15, 1874 – May 29, 1952) was a Russian-born American Marxist theoretician, writer, politician, and lawyer. He is best remembered as the author of a two volume history of the Supreme Court's influence on American govern ...
, lawyer and writer on scientific Socialism **
John Spargo John Spargo (January 31, 1876 – August 17, 1966) was a British political writer who, later in life, became an expert in the history and crafts of Vermont. At first Spargo was active in the Socialist Party of America. A Methodist preacher, he t ...
, writer and lecturer on scientific Socialism ** Rev.
John Haynes Holmes John Haynes Holmes (November 29, 1879 – April 3, 1964) was an American Unitarian minister, pacifist, and co-founder of the NAACP and the ACLU. He is noted for his anti-war activism. Early life Holmes was born in Philadelphia on November 29, ...
of the Church of the Messiah **
Oswald Garrison Villard Oswald Garrison Villard (March 13, 1872 – October 1, 1949) was an American journalist and editor of the ''New York Evening Post.'' He was a civil rights activist, and along with his mother, Fanny Villard, a founding member of the NAACP. In ...
, publisher of ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper ...
'' ** Robert Ferrari, lawyer and criminologist ** Robert W. Bruere, writer on labor questions **
Jack London John Griffith London (; January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors t ...
, novelist ** John D. Barry **
Max Eastman Max Forrester Eastman (January 4, 1883 – March 25, 1969) was an American writer on literature, philosophy, and society, a poet, and a prominent political activist. Moving to New York City for graduate school, Eastman became involved with radica ...
** Charlotte Perkins Oilman ** Muriel Hope ** Fola La Follette ** John Ward Stimson ** Marion Craig Wentworth ** Eugene Wood ** Herman Epstein, composer and musical critic ** Eugene Schoen, architect and lecturer on art ** Mme. Aino Malmberg, authority on Finnish Affairs


Disambiguation

The Rand School is not related to the: *
New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...
, a separate and unaffiliated institution of higher learning also located in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
*
RAND Corporation The RAND Corporation, doing business as RAND, is an American nonprofit global policy think tank, research institute, and public sector consulting firm. RAND engages in research and development (R&D) in several fields and industries. Since the ...
, a non-profit global-policy
think tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...


See also

* Rose Gollup Cohen * George D. Herron *
Camp Tamiment Tamiment, first known as Camp Tamiment, was an American resort located in the Pocono Mountains of Pike County, Pennsylvania, which existed from 1921 through 2005. Originally established by the Rand School of Social Science in New York City as ...
* Workers Defense Union *
Work People's College Work People's College () was a radical labor college (a type of a folk high school governed by the worker's movement) established in Smithville (Duluth), then a suburb of Duluth, Minnesota, in 1907 by the Finnish Socialist Federation of the Sociali ...
(1907) *
Brookwood Labor College Brookwood Labor College (1921 to 1937) was a labor college located at 109 Cedar Road in Katonah, New York, United States. Founded as Brookwood School in 1919 and established as a college in 1921, it was the first residential labor college in the co ...
(1921) *
New York Workers School The New York Workers School, colloquially known as "Workers School", was an ideological training center of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) established in New York City for adult education in October 1923. For more than two decades the facility p ...
(1923): **
New Workers School The Lovestoneites, led by former General Secretary of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) Jay Lovestone, were a small American oppositionist Communism, communist movement of the 1930s. The organization emerged from a factional fight in the CPUSA in 19 ...
(1929) **
Jefferson School of Social Science The Jefferson School of Social Science was an adult education institution of the Communist Party USA located in New York City. The so-called "Jeff School" was launched in 1944 as a successor to the party's New York Workers School, albeit skewed mo ...
(1944) * Highlander Research and Education Center (formerly Highlander Folk School) (1932) **
Commonwealth College (Arkansas) Commonwealth College (1923–1940) was a college started to recruit and train people to take the lead in socio-economic reform and prepare them for unconventional roles in a new and different society. An outgrowth of Job Harriman's New Llan ...
(1923-1940) **
Southern Appalachian Labor School The Southern Appalachian Labor School, or SALS (pronounced like the possessive form of Sal) as it is abbreviated, is a non-profit organization that serves Fayette County, West Virginia. It was founded in 1977, initially to educate local workers a ...
(since 1977) *
San Francisco Workers' School The San Francisco Workers' School was an ideology, ideological training center of the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) established in San Francisco for Continuing education, adult education in 1934. "It was a typical specimen of a Communist school, su ...
(1934) **
California Labor School The California Labor School (until 1945 named the Tom Mooney Labor School) was an educational organization in San Francisco from 1942 to 1957. Like the contemporary Jefferson School of Social Science and the New York Workers School, it represent ...
(formerly
Tom Mooney Thomas Joseph Mooney (December 8, 1882 – March 6, 1942) was an American political activist and labor leader, who was convicted with Warren K. Billings of the San Francisco Preparedness Day Bombing of 1916. It quickly became apparent that M ...
Labor School) (1942) *
Continuing education Continuing education is the education undertaken after initial education for either personal or professional reasons. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada. Recognized forms of post-secondary learning activities within the d ...
*
Los Angeles People's Education Center LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significanc ...


References


Further reading

* Frederic Cornell, ''A History of the Rand School of Social Science, 1906 to 1956.'' PhD dissertation. Columbia University Teachers College, 1976. * Eugene V. Debs
"The Vision of the People's House,"
''New York Call,'' vol. 10, no. 245 (Sept. 2, 1917), pg. 8. * Rachel Cutler Schwartz, ''The Rand School of Social Science, 1906-1924: A Study of Worker Education in the Socialist Era.'' PhD dissertation. State University of New York at Buffalo, 1984. * Dorothy Swanson, "The Tamiment Institute/Ben Josephson Library and the Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives at New York University," ''Library Quarterly,'' vol. 59, no. 2 (April 1989), pp. 148–161
In JSTOR
* Thomas Wirth, ''A Beautiful Public Life: George D. Herron, American Socialism, and Radical Political Culture at the Rand School of Social Science, 1890-1956.'' PhD dissertation. Binghamton University, 2014.


External links


"The Tamiment Library"
by Andrew H. Lee, Autumn 2004, ''London Socialist Historians Group''.

The Taminent Library and Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives

Taminent Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Rand School of Social Science Socialist Party of America Labor schools Socialism in New York (state) 1906 establishments in New York City Educational institutions established in 1906 1935 disestablishments in New York (state) Educational institutions disestablished in 1935