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Allard K. Lowenstein Papers [preliminary description] (1924 - 1995)
RepositoryUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, Wilson Library Special Collections [preliminary]
Collection ID#04340
Size327 linear feet
Collection Description
Political activist Allard Kenneth Lowenstein (1929-1980) was a lawyer, teacher, speaker, author, U.S. congressman from New York, and U.S. representative to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. He played a leadership role in the civil rights, anti-apartheid, anti-war, and human rights movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
Born in Newark on January 19, 1929, he was the son of Gabriel A. and Augusta Lowenstein. Gabriel Lowenstein was born in Lithuania and emigrated to the U.S. in 1906 to join his older brothers. A keen student, he graduated from Columbia University in 1913, went on to earn a PhD in biochemistry in 1917, and became an instructor at his alma mater. He married Augusta Goldberg, the daughter of Newark garment workers, and the couple settled in her native city. After the birth of their first son, Bert, Gabriel regretfully left teaching to join his brothers in the restaurant business. Another son, Larry, and a daughter, Marie followed. Only a year after Allard was born in 1929, Augusta died of cancer. Gabriel, heartbroken, soon moved his family to New York, where he remarried. Allard, still an infant, bonded closely with his stepmother, Florence, but renewed ties with his Goldberg relatives in Newark later in life.
Allard Lowenstein graduated from the University of North Carolina (1949) and Yale Law School (1954). After serving in the U.S. Army for two years he went on to teach at Stanford University, North Carolina State University, and the City College of New York. He worked with Eleanor Roosevelt in 1957 at the American Association for the United Nations and in 1959 became foreign policy assistant to Senator Hubert H. Humphrey. In 1963 and 1964, Lowenstein mobilized white college students at Yale and Stanford to volunteer for the "Freedom Summer" in Mississippi where they joined African Americans fighting for the right to vote. He again galvanized students in a campaign to end the Vietnam War and was a principal organizer of the movement that forced President Lyndon Johnson not to seek reelection in 1968.
Lowenstein was married to Jennifer Lowenstein (née Lyman, later Littlefield) from 1966 to 1977 and the two had three children.
He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1960, 1964, and 1968 and served as a Democratic congressman from Long Island from 1969 until 1971, when he became chairman of Americans for Democratic Action. He unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Republican Congressman John Wydler in a largely Republican district on Long Island in 1974 and 1976, but received crucial support and endorsements from some conservative Republicans, including William F. Buckley, Jr. His narrow defeat with 48 percent of the vote in 1974 was the strongest showing of any Democrat in that Congressional district, thanks in part to the impact of Watergate scandal..
On March 14, 1980, Lowenstein was murdered in his Manhattan office by a mentally ill gunman, Dennis Sweeney, someone he had met and befriended in the mid-1960s when he briefly served as dean of Stern Hall, then a men's dormitory at Stanford University. At his memorial in Manhattan Lowenstein was eulogized by William F. Buckley, Jr. and Senator Edward Kennedy. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Born in Newark on January 19, 1929, he was the son of Gabriel A. and Augusta Lowenstein. Gabriel Lowenstein was born in Lithuania and emigrated to the U.S. in 1906 to join his older brothers. A keen student, he graduated from Columbia University in 1913, went on to earn a PhD in biochemistry in 1917, and became an instructor at his alma mater. He married Augusta Goldberg, the daughter of Newark garment workers, and the couple settled in her native city. After the birth of their first son, Bert, Gabriel regretfully left teaching to join his brothers in the restaurant business. Another son, Larry, and a daughter, Marie followed. Only a year after Allard was born in 1929, Augusta died of cancer. Gabriel, heartbroken, soon moved his family to New York, where he remarried. Allard, still an infant, bonded closely with his stepmother, Florence, but renewed ties with his Goldberg relatives in Newark later in life.
Allard Lowenstein graduated from the University of North Carolina (1949) and Yale Law School (1954). After serving in the U.S. Army for two years he went on to teach at Stanford University, North Carolina State University, and the City College of New York. He worked with Eleanor Roosevelt in 1957 at the American Association for the United Nations and in 1959 became foreign policy assistant to Senator Hubert H. Humphrey. In 1963 and 1964, Lowenstein mobilized white college students at Yale and Stanford to volunteer for the "Freedom Summer" in Mississippi where they joined African Americans fighting for the right to vote. He again galvanized students in a campaign to end the Vietnam War and was a principal organizer of the movement that forced President Lyndon Johnson not to seek reelection in 1968.
Lowenstein was married to Jennifer Lowenstein (née Lyman, later Littlefield) from 1966 to 1977 and the two had three children.
He was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1960, 1964, and 1968 and served as a Democratic congressman from Long Island from 1969 until 1971, when he became chairman of Americans for Democratic Action. He unsuccessfully challenged incumbent Republican Congressman John Wydler in a largely Republican district on Long Island in 1974 and 1976, but received crucial support and endorsements from some conservative Republicans, including William F. Buckley, Jr. His narrow defeat with 48 percent of the vote in 1974 was the strongest showing of any Democrat in that Congressional district, thanks in part to the impact of Watergate scandal..
On March 14, 1980, Lowenstein was murdered in his Manhattan office by a mentally ill gunman, Dennis Sweeney, someone he had met and befriended in the mid-1960s when he briefly served as dean of Stern Hall, then a men's dormitory at Stanford University. At his memorial in Manhattan Lowenstein was eulogized by William F. Buckley, Jr. and Senator Edward Kennedy. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
Collection Contents
The collection includes a wide variety of materials documenting the life and career of Allard K. Lowenstein. It has been arranged in ten series: Correspondence, 1940-1980; Activities Files, 1935-1980; Political Campaigns, 1942-1980; United States Congress, 1969-1970; Writings, 1943-1985; Research Files, 1940-1980; Public Appearances, 1944-1980; Scheduling Files, 1942-1980; Personal Papers, 1924-1985; and Audio-Visual Materials, 1929-1982. There are also several additions to the collection, arranged as separate series. NOTE: Some politically sensitive material in the collection is restricted, and some unprocessed material is not yet available.
Newark-related material is likely to be found in the following series:
Series 9, Personal Papers, 1924-1985, contains personal, business, and miscellaneous records of Lowenstein and his family, some dating prior to his birth. Box 187 includes correspondence and a diary belonging to Allard's mother, Augusta Goldberg Lowenstein of Newark (d. 1930); biographical sketches, clippings, and other materials that belonged to his father, Gabriel Lowenstein; and material on other family members.
Series 10.1 contains family photographs. Image Folder 1-8 includes some photos of Allard Lowenstein as a child. Image Folder 9-13, includes images of Augusta Lowenstein, childhood photos of Allard and his brothers and sisters, and extended family photos (1923-1978). Additional early family photos are in Image Folder 35-41, and a photo of the Lowenstein home (Newark?) is in Image Folder 58-61.
Addition Series 4, Photographs, 1929-1980, contains more family photos, including a childhood album.
Addition Series 3.1, Columbia University Oral History Project, 1988-1994 (in Boxes 205-207), consists of transcripts of interviews conducted by William H. Chafe in preparation for writing his book, "Never Stop Running: Allard Lowenstein and the Struggle to Save American Liberalism." The interviews contain descriptions of Lowenstein's relationships and activities through all stages of his life. The originals form part of the Allard K. Lowenstein Oral History Project at the Columbia University Oral History Research Office. Included is a transcript of an interviews with Lowenstein's aunt, Ruth Goldberg of Newark.
Newark-related material is likely to be found in the following series:
Series 9, Personal Papers, 1924-1985, contains personal, business, and miscellaneous records of Lowenstein and his family, some dating prior to his birth. Box 187 includes correspondence and a diary belonging to Allard's mother, Augusta Goldberg Lowenstein of Newark (d. 1930); biographical sketches, clippings, and other materials that belonged to his father, Gabriel Lowenstein; and material on other family members.
Series 10.1 contains family photographs. Image Folder 1-8 includes some photos of Allard Lowenstein as a child. Image Folder 9-13, includes images of Augusta Lowenstein, childhood photos of Allard and his brothers and sisters, and extended family photos (1923-1978). Additional early family photos are in Image Folder 35-41, and a photo of the Lowenstein home (Newark?) is in Image Folder 58-61.
Addition Series 4, Photographs, 1929-1980, contains more family photos, including a childhood album.
Addition Series 3.1, Columbia University Oral History Project, 1988-1994 (in Boxes 205-207), consists of transcripts of interviews conducted by William H. Chafe in preparation for writing his book, "Never Stop Running: Allard Lowenstein and the Struggle to Save American Liberalism." The interviews contain descriptions of Lowenstein's relationships and activities through all stages of his life. The originals form part of the Allard K. Lowenstein Oral History Project at the Columbia University Oral History Research Office. Included is a transcript of an interviews with Lowenstein's aunt, Ruth Goldberg of Newark.
FormatsAudio materials; Moving images; Photographic materials; Textual materials
SubjectsJewish-American History; Politics and Government
Time Period20th Century
LanguageEnglish
Access policyOpen for research
ProcessedYes
Finding AidYes
Finding Aid URLhttp://www2.lib.unc.edu/mss/inv/l/Lowenstein,Allard_K.html