Samuel Gompers Papers

The manuscript and microfilm collections that provide primary material for the Samuel Gompers Papers offer a rich portrait of working-class life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. However it is often difficult to zero in on particular subjects of interest. The Samuel Gompers Letter Books, for instance, include a name index in every volume, but there is no easy way to locate letters that shed light on issues like minority workers, immigration, or industrial unionism. And while the guides to the AFL Records do offer a good introduction to the range of material covered by particular reels of film, subject access is limited.

In an effort to make it easier for researchers to discover the wealth of material hidden in these collections, The Samuel Gompers Papers project has produced a few, preliminary, subject guides. These guides are a work-in-progress: They are the product of our selection process for Volumes 9, 10, 11, and 12, and include reel numbers, dates, correspondents, and frame or page number. Although some of the material appears in the published volumes of the Samuel Gompers Papers, most of it does not.