You are here: American University University Library Archives Finding Aids Myra MacPherson Research Collection on I.F. Stone

VOLUME: 14 linear feet

ACCESS: This collection is open to the public upon request.

COPYRIGHT: Please consult the archivist for information about duplication or publishing of any materials from this collection.

Biographical Note
Isidor Feinstein (I.F.) or "Izzy" Stone was born in Philadelphia on Dec. 24, 1907. Over the course of Stone's career, he wrote for a variety of newspapers and magazines including the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Record, the Camden Courier-Post, the New York Post, the Nation, PM (Picture Magazine), the New York Star, the Daily Compass, and the New York Review of Books. Along with the assistance of his wife, Esther Roisman, he also self-published I.F. Stone's Weekly from 1957 to 1971. In 1998, he wrote The Trial of Socrates. I.F. Stone died in 1989.

Myra MacPherson started out as a journalist. She wrote for a number of papers including the Detroit Free Press, the Washington Evening Star, the Washington Post, and the New York Times. She has written books and articles about I.F. Stone, journalism, feminism, and the Vietnam War.

Scope and Content Note
This collection contains Myra MacPherson's research on I.F. Stone for her book, All Governments Lie, including interviews (1988 - 1995), Stone's FBI files (1936 - 1972), articles by and about Stone (1922 - 1980), and a small amount of Stone correspondence. This collection also contains a subject file and drafts of her book (1992 - 2006).

There are 5 series: 1.Biographical (1944 - 2004), 2.I.F. Stone's FBI File (1936 - 1972), 3.Subject Files (1920 - 2005), 4.I.F. Stone Writings (1922 - 1984), and 5.Myra MacPherson Writings (1975 - 2006).

Provenance
Myra MacPherson donated this collection in two installments, in 2011 and 2014.

Processing Note
The archivist organized the collection into five series. The series have been arranged alphabetically for accessibility. Oversized and audio items are located in separate boxes. A small number of cassette tapes have been digitized for access.

Series Descriptions & Box and Folder Listing

Series 1: Biographical (1944 - 2004)
2 Linear Feet

This series consists of interviews Myra MacPherson conducted with friends and relatives of I.F. Stone, including cassette tapes, interview transcripts (1985 - 2004, undated), and articles about Stone (1960 - 1995).

Box 1
Articles, 1960 - 1971
Blin - includes Kalugin interview, 1944 - 2003
A Conversation with I.F. Stone: National Press Club, undated
The Family: Where and when it began, undated
Feinstein family flyers, 1990
Haddonfield, New Jersey, undated
I.F. Stone

  • A Portrait, undated
  • Biographies, 1972, undated
  • Documentary transcript, undated
  • Obituaries, 1989
  • Photos, 1977, 1988, undated

"The I.F. Stones: Marking 50, Still Going like Sixty," 1979
I.F. Stone's Weekly (The Movie) script, undated
Interview Cassettes See: Cassette boxes 1 & 2

  • Agronsky, Martin, undated
  • Bagdikian, Ben, undated See also: Bagdikian, Ben, 1990, undated
  • Bailey, Bill, undated
  • Baskin, Harriet // Haddonfield and family history, undated
  • Bernstein, Al and Sylvia, undated
  • Bick, Barbara, undated
  • Boudin, Jean, undated
  • Boudin, Leonard memorial service, undated
  • Cunniff, Bob, on I.F. Stone
  • Cox, Arthur (2 tapes), undated See also: Cox, Arthur, undated
  • Dudman, Dick, undated
  • Dudman, Dick // Moursand, Andy, undated See also: Moursand, Andy, 2004
  • Editorial writers Miami talk, 1983
  • Epstein, Ethel, undated
  • Feiffer, Jules, undated
  • Gary Hart speech // Glenn, John, 1983
  • Gitlin, Todd, undated
  • Gitlin, Todd and I.F. [Stone], 1985
  • Gitlin, Todd // Rosen, Ruth, undated
  • Grafton, Sam // Amgott, Madeline, undated
  • Healy, Dorothy // Reston, James "Scotty," undated
  • Heller, Joseph // Thompson, Dale, 1992
  • I.F. Stone Memorial - Dick Dudman, Christopher Stone, Celia Gilbert, 1989
  • I.F. Stone National Press Club (3 tapes), 1988
  • I.F. Stone weekly documentary, undated
  • Ivins, Molly, undated
  • Johannison, Phoebe, undated
  • Kimball, Pen, undated
  • Kleiner, Bernt, undated
  • Knoll, Erwin, undated
  • Lown, Dr., 1996 See also: Lown, Dr. Bernard, 1980 - 1985
  • Meyer, Karl, undated
  • Miller, Ken, undated
  • Mintz, Morton, undated
  • Moose, Richard, undated
  • Moursand, Andy, undated See also: Moursand, Andy, 2004
  • Nathanson, Chuck, undated
  • The Nation Institute and The New School present a Conversation with IF Stone, undated
  • Nossiter, Bud, undated
  • Pearson, Luvvie, undated
  • Pearson, Luvvie - Bravo Program on Communist Movement, undated
  • Pierpoint, Bob, undated
  • Prensky, David, 1992
  • Pringle, Peter and Eleanor Randolph, undated
  • Rauh, Joseph (3 tapes), undated See also: Rauh, Joseph, 1964, 1971, 1984
  • Salisbury, Harrison, 1991
  • Smallberg, Ruth, undated
  • Smith, Hit, 1992
  • Stempton, Murray, undated
  • Stone, Christopher, and Jessica, 1991
  • Stone, Judy (3 tapes) - one redone garbled part, undated
  • Stone, Lou, 1990, undated
  • Stone, Lou and Dina, undated
  • Thomas, Helen, undated
  • Vanderchek, John, undated

Interview transcript notes and missing pages, 1985, 1994, undated
Interview transcripts

  • Agronsky, Martin, undated
  • Alperovits, Gar, undated
  • Amgott, Madeline, undated
  • Amgott, Madeline and Traube, Mildred, undated
  • Armstrong, Scott, undated
  • Bagdikian, Ben, undated See also: Bagdikian, Ben, 1990, undated
  • Bailey, Bill, undated
  • Bernstein, Al and Sylvia, undated
  • Bick, Barbara, undated
  • Boudin, Jean, undated
  • Cox, Arthur, undated See also: Cox, Arthur, undated
  • Cunniff, Bob, undated
  • Dudman, Dick, undated
  • Feiffer, Jules, 1990, 2004
  • Galbraith, John Kenneth, 1996 See also: Galbraith, John Kenneth, 1992 - 1995
  • Gilbert, Celia, 1978
  • Gitlin, Todd, 1978, 1991, undated
  • Gitlin, Todd and Rosen, Ruth, undated
  • Grafton, Sam, 1990, undated
  • Heller, Joseph, 1992
  • Ingersoll, Toby, 1990
  • Ivins, Molly, undated
  • Karnow, Stanley, undated
  • Katzander, Shirley, undated
  • Kempton, Murray, undated
  • Kimball, Pen, undated
  • Kleiner, Bernt, undated
  • Knoll, Erwin, undated
  • Lown, Dr. Bernard, 1996 See also: Lown, Bernard, 1980 - 1985
  • Lydon, Chris, undated
  • MacPherson, Myra, undated
  • Mintz, Morton, 1988, undated
  • Moose, Richard, undated
  • Moursand, Andy, undated See also: Moursand, Andy, 2004
  • Nathanson, Chuck, undated
  • Navasky, Victor, undated
  • Nossiter, Bud, 1991
  • Osnos, Peter, undated
  • Pearson, Luvvie, undated
  • Pierpoint, Bob, undated
  • Raskin, Marc, undated
  • Salisbury, Harrison, 1991
  • Sherrill, Robert, undated See also: Robert Sherrill: Journalism his way, 1985
  • Smallberg, Ruth, 1992
  • Stone, Christopher, undated (2 folders)
  • Stone, Judy, undated
  • Stone, Lou, undated
  • Sweezy, Paul, undated
  • Thomas, Bill, undated
  • Thomas, Helen, undated
  • Thompson, Dale, 1992
  • Vanderchek, John, undated
  • Vanderkiek, John, 1990

"Izzy on Izzy," 1978
KGB and I.F. Stone, 1991 - 1995
MacPherson, Myra - Stone speeches, undated
National Press Club, 1981, 1990
Outside Advantage, 1989
Portrait of a Man Reading: I.F. Stone interview, 1971
The Secret War against I.F. Stone - MacPherson, Myra, 1994
The Shield yearbook excerpt - Haddonfield Memorial High School, undated
The Stone family - incoming correspondence, 1989 - 1991
Stone family tree, undated
Stone's Biweekly: The end, undated
The Trial of Socrates reviews, 1988, undated

Series 2: I.F. Stone's FBI File (1936 - 1972)
5 linear feet

This series contains I.F. Stone's FBI file that Myra MacPherson requested under the Freedom of Information Act. After her initial request, MacPherson filed several appeals which resulted in duplicates with different redactions and notes. Included in this series are declassified FBI documents from the Washington Metropolitan Field Office (WMFO), New York Office, and FBI headquarters (1936 - 1972).

Box 1 (continued)
126: J. Edgar Hoover's Official Documents - Claude D. Pepper See also: Pepper, Claude, 1989, 2000
65-60654: sections 1-4 (2 folders)

Box 2
100-22286: Sec. sub A
100-22286: Sec. 1
100-22286: Sec. 6 (2 folders)
100-22286: Sec. 10 (2 folders)
100-22286: Sec. 10A (3 folders)
100-22286: Sec. 11
100-22286: Sec. 12
100-22286: Sec. 13
100-22286: Sec. 14 (2 folders)
100-22286: Sec. 15
100-22286: Sec. 16
100-22286: Sec. 18
100-22286: Sec. 19
100-22286: Sec. 20 (2 folders)
100-22286: Sec. 21
100-22286: Sec. 22 (2 folders)

Box 3
100-22286: Sec. 23
100-22286: Vol. 1 C sub B
100-22286: Vols. 1-2, sub C
100-37078: Sec. sub A
100-37078: Sec. 1
100-37078: Sec. 1 (amended)
100-37078: Sec. 2 (2 folders)
100-37078: Sec. 2 [copy] (2 folders)
100-37078: Sec. 2 (amended) (2 folders)
100-37078: Sec. 3 (2 folders)
100-37078: Sec. 3 (amended)

Box 4
100-37078: Sec. 4 (2 folders)
100-37078: Sec. 4 (amended)
100-37078: Sec. 5 (2 folders)
100-37078: Sec. 5 (amended)
100-37078: Sec. 6
100-37078: Sec. 6
100-37078: Sec. 6 (amended)
100-37078: Sec. 7
100-37078: Sec. 7 [copy]
100-37078: Sec. 7 (amended)
100-37078: Sec. 8 (2 folders)
100-37078: Sec. 8 (amended)
100-37078-72: Central Intelligence Agency referral to FBI
100-HQ-37078 (3 folders)
100-HQ-37078-28 correlation summary
100-90640
100-90640: Sec. sub A
100-90640: Sec. 1 (2 folders)
100-90640: Sec. 1 sub B (2 folders)
100-90640: Sec. 2
100-90640: Sec. 2 sub B (2 folders)
100-90640: Sec. 3
100-90640: Sec. 4
100-90640: Sec. 5
100-90640: Sec. 6
100-90640: Sec. 7
100-90640: Stone, I.F. in New York, undated

Box 5
100-90640: Sec. 7
100-90640: Sec. 10 (2 folders)

Series 3: Subject Files (1920 - 2005)
4 linear feet

This series consists of articles and book excerpts regarding communism, famous journalists, the George Polk murder (1952 - 2004), the Hitler-Stalin pact (1939 - 1940), the holocaust, Nazism, refugees (1935 - 1943), and the Truman Doctrine.

Box 5 (continued)
A.J. Liebling: The Wayward Pressman as Critic, 1974
The Age of Suspicion, 1953
America in Crisis, undated
American Cassandra: The Life of Dorothy Thompson, 1990 (2 folders)
The American Journalism of Marx & Engels, part one, 1966
The American Mercury, 1932 - 1940, undated
The Annenbergs, 1982
Armenia, 1988 - 1990
Bagdikian, Ben, 1990, undated See Also: Interview cassettes and transcripts
Behind the Wall, 1943
Bellagio Study and Conference Center, 1992, undated
A Bernard Fall Retrospective, undated
Big Bill Haywood and the Radical Union Movement, 1969, 1972
Boudin, Kathy, 2003
Boudin, Michael, undated
The Brass Check: A Study of American Journalism, 1970
Build the United People's Front, 1936
Business Week, 1939
Casablanca Conference, 1943 See also: Oversized box 1
The Case against Dexter White: Still Not Proven, 2000
China, 1989, 2003, undated
The Christian Science Monitor, 1938 - 1944 See also: Oversized box 1
Civil rights, undated
The Civil War in Spain, undated
Clifford, Clark, 1991
Cloak and Gavel, undated
Cold War and communism articles, 1937 - 1951
Cold War International History Project, 1993 - 1995 (3 folders)
Commitment in Spain: 1936 - 1939, undated
The Commonweal, 1934
Communist Party Movement program transcript, undated
The Conquest of Bread, 1972
The Constitution and Loyalty Programs, 1954
The Cooing of the Doves: LBJ's Critics Stand Out, 1964
Costigan-Wagner Bill, 1935
Counter-Subversion seminar, The American Legion, 1947
Cox, Arthur, undated See also: Interview cassettes and transcripts
The Daily Compass, 1949 - 1952
The Daily Worker
, 1952
The Decline of Socialism in America, 1967
Deranty, Walter, 1990, undated
A Desk with a View, undated
The Education of Carey McWilliams, undated
The Effete Conspiracy, undated
Faulk, John Henry, 1990
Feature writing outline, undated
The First Casualty: From the Crimea to Vietnam, 1975
F.D.R. and The Press, undated
Galbraith, John Kenneth, 1992 - 1995 See also: Interview transcripts
Germ warfare, 1952
The Great Depression and the New Deal, 1935, 1977, 1993
The Great Fear: The Anti-Communist Purge under Truman and Eisenhower, 1978
Hammer, Armand, 1989
The Herald Tribune, 1935 See also: Oversized box 1
The Heyday of American Communism, 1984
A History of Judaism, undated
Hitler-Stalin pact, 1939 - 1940 See also: Oversized box 1
Holland, Max - CIA FOIA correspondence, 1990
How Reagan Controls his Coverage, 1984
The Impossible Dream: The Politics of Duplicity, undated
"Invasion Most Costly," 1995
Joe McCarthy and the Press, 1981
Judd, Walter - Meet the Press transcription, 1992

Box 6
The Kingdom and the Money, 1991
Korean War, 1949
Lerner, Max, undated
Linsky, Marty - Media, Government and Society syllabus, 1985
Lippman, Walter, undated
Lost Haddonfield, 1989
Lown, Bernard, 1980 - 1985 See also: Interview cassettes and transcripts
Loyalty and Security in a Democratic State, 1977
"The Marketplace" - Gilbert, Celia, undated See: Oversized box 1
McCarthyism, 2003 - 2004
McNamara, Robert, 1995, 2002
Memoirs of a Maverick, 1962
Milton, John, 1967, 1970
Mississippi Burning Trial chronology: 1963 - 1974, 2005
The Moscow Trials, undated
Moursand, Andy, 2004 See also: Interview cassettes and transcripts
Movers and Shakers, 1986
The Muckrakers, 1972
Naming Names articles, 1956 - 1957
The Nation, 1934, 1965 - 2003 (2 folders) See also: Oversized box 1
Nazism, 1935 - 1943
The New Journalism, undated
The New Republic, 1920 - 1938
New York Post, 1934 - 1936 (2 folders) See also: Oversized box 2
New York Review of Books
, 1969, 1992, 2002
The New York Times, 1934 -1935 See also: Oversized box 3
The New Yorker, 1942 See: Oversized box 3
O'Neil, William, undated
Odets, Clifford, 1935, 1992
Odyssey of a Friend, 1969
Oil and the Middle East, 1987
On Bended Knee: The Press and the Reagan Presidency, 1988
Our Democracy is in Danger of Being Paralyzed, 2004
Out of Step, 1987
Out of this Furnace, 1976
Packaging the News, undated
Pegler: Angry Man of the Press, undated
Pepper, Claude, 1989, 2000 See also: 126: J. Edgar Hoover's Official Documents - Claude D. Pepper
Philadelphia Record, 1932 - 1933 See: Oversized box 3
Photos, 1934, undated
Picture Magazine (PM), 1943 See also: Picture magazine, 1944 - 1947, and oversized box 3
Picture Magazine (PM) - about, 1940, 1986, undated
The Politics of Rescue, 1970
Polk, George, 1952 - 2004
Presidents and Press: The Nixon Legacy, 1984
Press Time, undated
Public Journal: Marginal Notes on Wartime America, 1945
The Question of Socialism, 1989, undated
The Radical Papers, 1966
Radical Visions & American Dreams, undated
Rauh, Joseph, 1964, 1971, 1984 See also: Interview cassettes
The Red Network, 1934
Refugees, 1933 - 1943
The Remarkable Muckraker, undated
Resurgence of the Right, undated
Robert Sherrill: Journalism his way, 1985 See also: Interview transcripts
The Romance of American Communism, 1978, undated
Roosevelt, Franklin D., undated
The Russian Revolution, 1966
The Saturday Evening Post, 1939
Schindler, Deborah - artistic Stone print, 1991
Seldes, George, 1982, 1991
The Silencers Among us, 1984
Socialism and War, 1972
Smith Act, 1994
Spencer, Herbert, 1945
Starting out in the Thirties, 1965
Stone, Jeremy - features and the news, 1976
Thirty Years of Treason, 1971
Thomas, Norman, 1970, 1976
Time, 1938
Venona, 1995 - 2003
Voices of Protest: Huey Long, Father Coughlin &the Great Depression, 1982
"Was Collapse of CPSU Inevitable? A Polemical Essay," 1993
The Washington Post, 1993 See also: Oversized box 3
The Watergate Myth book review, 2004
The Wayward Pressman as Critic, 1974
Writers and Partisans, 1968
Writers on the Left, undated

Box 7
"Yippies and yuppies," 1968, 1985

Series 4: I.F. Stone Writings (1922 - 1984)
2.5 linear feet

This series contains I.F. Stone's articles from Picture Magazine (PM) (1944 - 1947), The Daily Compass (1949 - 1952) and other publications, as well as issues of I.F. Stone's Weekly (1953 - 1971). Also included are a few letters (1948 - 1984).

Box 7 (continued)
Business as Usual: The First Year of Defense, 1941
Correspondence - incoming and outgoing, 1948 - 1957, 1984
The Court Disposes, 1937
The Daily Compass, 1949 - 1952 (4 folders)
I.F. Stone's Weekly

  • 1953 (2 folders)
  • 1954 (2 folders)
  • 1955 (2 folders)
  • 1956 (2 folders)
  • 1957 (2 folders)
  • 1958 (2 folders)
  • 1959 (2 folders)
  • 1960 (2 folders)
  • 1961 (2 folders)
  • 1962
  • 1963

Box 8
I.F. Stone's Weekly (continued)

  • 1964
  • 1965 (2 folders)
  • 1966 (2 folders)
  • 1967
  • 1969
  • 1970
  • 1971

The Killings at Kent State: How Murder went Unpunished, 1971
Los Angeles Times, 1975
The Nation, 1940
New York Review of Books, 1969 - 1973
The New York Times, 1981, 1987, 1996
Newsday, undated
"The Other Zionism," undated
Picture Magazine (PM), 1944 - 1947
The Progress - Haddonfield Memorial High School, 1922
The Southern Review, 1939
Vintage Stone, undated
Washington Post, 1971, 1985
The Washington Star, 1980

Series 5: Myra MacPherson Writings (1975 - 2006)
0.5 linear feet

This series documents Myra MacPherson's research process for her book, All Governments Lie. It contains partial manuscripts (1992 - 2006), research notes (undated), and correspondence regarding interviews, publishing, and FOIA requests (1987 - 2002). Included are MacPherson's resume, photograph, and a few writings not related to Stone (1975 - 2001).

Box 8 (continued)
All Governments Lie

  • Bibliography, 2003
  • Book proposal, undated
  • Drafts (paper and electronic), 1992 - 2006, undated (4 folders)
  • File list, 1991 - 2003
  • Research notes, undated (2 folders)

Correspondence, 1991 - 1999
FOIA correspondence, 1987 - 2002 (2 folders)
Interview correspondence, 1989 - 2006
MacPherson, Myra - includes photo, 1975, undated
Publisher correspondence, 1990 - 2000
Writings, 2001, undated