American Immigration Conference Board Records
Scope and Contents
The American Immigration Conference Board Papers, taken from the files of the periodicalUncensored, consists of the correspondence, writings, and printed materials relating to the question of the immigration and deportation of aliens. Active in the late 1930s, the aims of the Board were to severely limit immigration, both legal and illegal, limit relief benefits only to United States citizens, deport alien criminals and aliens who were continuously on relief, and to "give American Jobs to Americans First". The Board accordingly gave support to the Reynolds-Starnes Bills, sponsored by Congressman Joe Starnes and Senator Robert R. Reynolds, and opposed passage of the Dies Alien Deportation Bill, which permitted a number of aliens, otherwise subject to deportation, to remain in the United States. The A.I.C.B. was also strongly anti-communist and opposed the nomination of Thomas R. Amlie to the Interstate Commerce Commission because of his "Communist leanings". It also urged the deportation of John P. Strachey, member of the Executive committee of the British Communist Party. The materials have been arranged into the following four series.
CORRESPONDENCE is arranged alphabetically by category and alphabetically by the name of the person or organization corresponding with the A.I.C.B. within each category. For the most part, the correspondence is between officials of the A.I.C.B. (in particular John Cecil, the president, and Lester M. Gray, the executive secretary) and members of the public who sponsored their policies. There are letters regarding petitions to the 76th Congress concerning the various bills mentioned above, letters concerning the fund-raising activities of the A.I.C.B., and concerning lectures given by John Cecil.
AMERICAN IMMIGRATION CONFERENCE BOARD contains materials directly related to the work of the organization, such as minutes, statements of aims and objectives, petitions and resolutions, and financial materials.
WRITINGS AND PUBLICATIONS contains addresses and articles by John Cecil and Robert R. Reynolds, as well as several articles probably written by A.I.C.B. members. In addition, there are copies of various parts of theCongressional Recordand reports and publications by other organizations pertaining to the question of immigration, including material from the Commission on Immigration and Naturalization. The series is arranged alphabetically by category; material within each category is arranged alphabetically by the name of the author, organization, or publication.
SPECIAL FILES consists of miscellaneous materials, such as lists of names, notes, newspaper clippings, and a report on the "Humane Refugee Aid Society".
Dates
- 1929-1939
Creator
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research.
Existence and Location of Copies
A copy of this material is available in digital form from Manuscripts and Archives. Contact Manuscripts and Archives at beinecke.library@yale.edu to request access to the digital copy.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.
Arrangement
Extent
0.75 Linear Feet (2 boxes)
Language of Materials
English
Catalog Record
A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog
Persistent URL
Abstract
Correspondence, writings, printed materials, clippings, and other papers of the American Immigration Conference Board, an anti-communist organization devoted primarily to severely limiting immigration. The papers also contain materials relating to various immigration legislation during the 1930s.
Biographical / Historical
Active during the 1930s; aimed to limit immigration into the U.S., deport aliens, limit relief benefits to U.S. citizens; strongly anti-communist.
- American Immigration Conference Board
- Anti-communist movements
- Antisemitism
- Cecil, John
- Conservatives -- United States
- Emigration and immigration
- Emigration and immigration law -- United States
- Giles, John, 1855-1913
- Gray, Lester M.
- Rey, Robert, 1943-
- Reynolds, Robert Rice, 1884-1963
- Rice, Robert, 1949-
- Uncensored
- United States -- Politics and government
- Title
- Guide to the American Immigration Conference Board Records
- Status
- Under Revision
- Author
- compiled by Joy Pitman
- Date
- September 1971
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Created In Accordance With Manuscripts And Archives Processing Manual
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English.
Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)
beinecke.library@yale.edu
Location
Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511