Rockwell Kent & the International Workers Order

Introduction by the Editor

Rockwell Kent’s involvement with the International Workers Order was one of the most consequential of his life. Yet it is also one of the least understood or appreciated. Kent began as a regular member of the IWO in the 30s, eventually rising to be President of the Order in the late 1940s until its dissolution by the Insurance Department of the State of New York in 1954.

The purpose of this section in the Rockwell Kent Forum is not to provide a history of the IWO. Rather, we are attempting to gather into one place material concerning Kent and the IWO. Our primary desire is to place before the public in a digital format Kent’s editorial writings for FRATERNAL OUTLOOK, the house magazine of the IWO. From January 1948 until 1950 Kent contributed an opinion piece to every issue. Entitled, “We Hold These Truths,” they are important statements of Kent’s political and philosophical beliefs. The January 1948 piece contains Kent’s endorsement of Henry Wallace for President, an endorsement that would have immediate and devastating effects on Kent. The remainder of that year’s articles concern the aftermath of the endorsement, the campaign and Wallace’s eventual defeat. Moving on to 1949 Kent discusses in great detail the Paris Peace Conference of that year and his involvement in it. That involvement was one of the precipitating events in the decision by the State Department to deny Kent a passport. That event precipitated “The Passport Case,” still studied in law school Kent v. Dulles. The two columns from 1950, provided by my friend Scott Ferris, have Kent discussing nuclear war and his concerns about it.

FRATERNAL OUTLOOK is incredibly difficult to find. Early on in my collecting career I was lucky to acquire bound volumes of the 1948 and 1949 issues. The digitized columns are from my collection. Very few libraries even have it, and only one issue to my knowledge has been digitized. Kent’s editorials are an important biographical, historical and cultural resource. I am proud to bring them to a new audience.

This special section contains other items as well. The late Professor Arthur Sabin’s book Red Scare in Court is essential reading on the court case that liquidated the IWO. Most large libraries will carry it and it is easily available on the internet for purchase. My book review is found here, as well as Professor Sabin’s article on Kent and the IWO. We also are republishing a recent article on the IWO from PEOPLE’S WORLD. Ifound it pretty interesting. We also have a link to the Library of Congress, where people interested in the IWO can find a free electronic copy of A road to peace and freedom: the International Workers Order and the struggle for economic justice and civil rights, 1930-1954 by Professor Robert Zecker.

This is an expanding section. Our desire is that more information will become available about Kent and the IWO that we can publish here. I am particularly interested in seeing photos of Kent at IWO events, copies of fundraising letters, or other ephemera.

Rockwell Kent & the International Workers Order

Introduction by the Editor

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