Content and Scope: Louis F. Budenz (1891-1972), a well-known labor activist, was one of the most prominent members of the Communist Party in the United States from 1935 to 1945. He was labor editor of The Daily Worker, the Party organ, from 1935 to 1937, and president and managing editor from 1940 to 1945. After publicly returning to the Roman Catholic Church and renouncing Communism in 1945, Budenz became an active anti-Communist crusader, speaking before numerous civic and religious groups, lecturing at colleges, writing numerous books and articles, and testifying before several Congressional committees about Communist theory, strategy, and influence in the U.S. government. Correspondence, some with Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, deals largely with American Communism and with Budenz's activities as author and lecturer. Budenz also donated a large collection of books/pamphlets, periodicals, and U.S. government publications, which he had used as research for his many public appearances, testimonies and publications. These items, primarily dating from the post World War II era, including many foreign publications, cover virtually every aspect of the U.S. and international Communist movement.  (9,500 pieces)

Finding Aids: A published finding aid to the collection is available in the College Archives and Special Collections Department. This inventory can be purchased from the Department or borrowed through your local library. Check the catalog in your academic or public library for ownership of:

Providence College Phillips Memorial Library (comp.). An Inventory to the Louis Francis Budenz Collection , compiled by [the] Archives Staff. Providence, R.I.: Providence College, 1976.

A revised edition of the Inventory and additional finding aids are available in the Department.

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