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Guide to the Bert James Loewenberg (1927-1974) Papers
RG 10.3

Summary Information

Repository
Sarah Lawrence College Archives
Creator
Loewenberg, Bert James, 1905-1974
Title
Bert James Loewenberg (1905-1974) Papers
ID
RG 10.3
Date [inclusive]
undated, 1888, 1914-1980
Extent
2.0 linear feet 2 record cartons
Language

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Administrative Information

Publication Information

Sarah Lawrence College Archives June 1998/April 2005

Sarah Lawrence College Archives
1 Mead Way
Bronxville, NY, 10708
914-395-2480
archives@sarahlawrence.edu

Revision Description

 Finding Aid entered in Archivists' Toolkit by Alayna Barrett. July 2014

Conditions Governing Access note

The majority of the collection is open to researchers without restriction. Folders with restricted material are labeled as such in the finding aid and on the folder itself. See the College Archivist for further assistance.

Acquisition note

The collection was donated to the Sarah Lawrence College Archives by the Loewenberg Family in 1975.

Processing Information note

Originally processed by Mary Reynolds in June, 1998. Reprocessed and finding aid updated by Rocio De La Rosa Campos in April, 2005.

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Biographical note

Bert James Loewenberg was born in Massachusetts on December 24, 1905. At Clark University, he earned a B.A. in 1926 and a M.A. in 1927. Three years later, he received an additional M.A. from Harvard University, where he also finished his Ph.D. in 1934.

From 1935 to 1937, Loewenberg acted as Assistant State Director of the Massachusetts Federal Writer’s Project, a position he left when the opportunity to teach arose at the University of South Dakota. He also had the opportunity to teach at the University of Missouri, Rochester, Cornell, Northwestern, Ruskin, Oxford, the Salzburg Seminar in American Studies, and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Loewenberg was Fulbright professor in England at Leeds and Cambridge and a visiting professor of American Culture under the auspices of the State Department at the Colegio de Mexico, the Instituto Nacional de Antropologia e Historia, and the Banco of Mexico. In 1942, he joined the Sarah Lawrence College history faculty where he remained until his retirement in 1971 when he was named Esther Raushenbush Professor of History Emeritus. In addition to teaching on the history faculty, Loewenberg was Director of the Center for Continuing Education from 1965 to 1969. During his tenure at Sarah Lawrence, Loewenberg received numerous grants and fellowships from foundations and organizations including the Society for American Studies, Rockefeller Foundation, Social Science Research Council, Newberry Library, and American Council of Learned Societies. He also holds an honorary degree from Clark University.

A prolific writer, Loewenberg published several important texts including Darwin,  Wallace and the Theory of Natural Selection, Religion in Public Schools, Charles Darwin: Evolution and Natural Selection, the Making of American Democracy (co-author) and  American History in American Thought. He also published many articles in the  American Historical Review, Journal of Modern History, Isis, The Nation, New Republic, American Scholar, and many others.

Bert Loewenberg died in August, 1974 at his home in Orange, Connecticut, at the age of 69. He was survived by his wife, Anne, and their three children: Judith Lewis, Sarah Levine, and Robert Loewenberg.

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Scope and Contents note

The collection consists largely of the professional papers of Dr. Bert James Loewenberg during his years at Sarah Lawrence College from 1941 to 1971. Some of the material relates to articles, reviews and correspondence before he joined the Sarah Lawrence College faculty. The papers represent Loewenberg’s personal and official records and correspondence while teaching at the College. These include publications, manuscripts, lectures notes, articles, reviews, correspondence, lectures, meeting minutes, press releases, and syllabi. The collection is divided into two series:

All newspaper clippings and fragile, acidic, brittle paper were preservation photocopied and the originals discarded. The majority of the folders are arranged chronologically from earliest to latest date. Some of the folders are arranged alphabetically and are marked as such in the folder title.

The first two unidentified manuscripts in Series II were originally housed with the  Great Lives Observed manuscript. It is unclear which manuscripts they are a part of. A third unidentified manuscript titled “The Great Agassiz”, Chapter VI, was originally housed with  Social and Intellectual History of the American People manuscript. It is also unclear which manuscript it belongs to.

Partially restricted folders are marked as such in the finding aid and on the folder itself. Generally, folders are restricted due to the information contained within the folder relating to former SLC students. Photocopies are not allowed for these particular documents. Please ask the College Archivist for further assistance.

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Series Description

Series I. Sarah Lawrence College is dated from 1927 through 1974 and contains general biographical information on Loewenberg including clippings, correspondence with Sarah Lawrence College faculty and administration, lecture notes, minutes of committee meetings, press releases, and syllabi. The series is divided into eight sub-series:  Sub-series A. Biographical; Sub-series B. Clippings; Sub-series C. Correspondence; Sub-series D. Lecture Notes; Sub-series E. Lectures; Sub-series F. Minutes; Sub-series G. Press Releases; Sub-series H. Courses.

Series II. Publications and Research is dated from 1935 through 1973 and includes book reviews, correspondence with publishers and Loewenberg’s co-authors, manuscripts, articles, and publications. The series is divided into four sub-series:  Sub-series A. Miscellaneous; Sub-series B. Correspondence; Sub-series C. Manuscripts, Articles; Sub-series D. Publications.

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Related Materials

See Also

Center for Continuing Education Records and the Syllabus/Course Assignment Collection for additional syllabi in the SLC Archives. The Bert James Loewenberg Papers on Charles Darwin are housed at the American Philosophical Society Library.

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Controlled Access Headings

Genre(s)

  • Clippings (information artifacts)
  • Correspondence
  • Manuscripts (document genre)
  • Outlines and syllabi

Subject(s)

  • United States--History--20th century

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Collection Inventory

Inventory titles and locations

Series I. Sarah Lawrence College 

Sub-series A. Biographical 

Title Carton

Biographical and Curriculum Vitae undated 

1

Faculty Sheet 1942 

1

Sub-series B. Clippings (Chronological) 

Title Carton

Civil Liberties 1947 

1

Truman Doctrine 1947 

1

BJL 1966-1971 

1

Sub-series C. Correspondence (Alphabetical) 

Title Carton

A.C. Crombie, Oxford University 1964-1965 

1

Approaches to Religion course 1965-1966 

1

Arthur Schlesinger, Harvard University 1942-1946 

1

Asa Briggs, University of Sussex 1961-1962 

1

BJL's Father 1943 

1

BJL's Nephew 1950 

1

BJL's Memorial Service 1974 

1

Center for Continuing Education 1965-1969 

1

Charles DeCarlo, President, SLC 1969-1973 

1

Constance Warren, President, SLC 1938-1945 

1

Encampment for Citizenship 1948-1951 

1

Esther Raushenbush, President, SLC 1965-1969 

1

Fulbright Controversy, include press releases 1959-1960 

1

Graduate Program for College Teaching and Ideas in America Seminar 1964-1973 

RESTRICTED

Restricted indefinitely. See Archivist for further information.

1

Harold Taylor, President, SLC 1945-1959 

1

Helen Lynd 1927 

1

Ideas in America course 1964-1967 

1

Jackie Mattfeld, Dean, SLC 1967-1969 

1

Paul Ward, President, SLC 1960-1965 

1

Salary, SLC 1965-1971 

1

SLC's trip to TVA and Segregation 1951 

1

University Seminar in American Civilization, Columbia University 1962 

1

Sub-series D. Lecture Notes (Alphabetical) 

Title Carton

1775-1783, Growth of Democracy undated 

1

1776-1825, Awakening of National Consciousness undated 

1

1789-1815 undated 

1

1898-1954 undated 

1

1919-1930, Curve of Regression undated 

1

1825-1885, Age of the Common Man undated 

1

Burr Conspiracy undated 

1

Canada undated 

1

Confederation undated 

1

Corporate Revolution undated 

1

Emerson undated 

1

Henry Adams, 1838-1918 undated 

1

Outlines undated 

1

Prelude to Depression undated 

1

Romanticism in America Thought undated 

1

Slavery undated 

1

Thomas Jefferson undated 

1

Westward Expansion undated 

1

World War I undated 

1

Sub-series E. Lectures (Chronological) 

Title Carton

"Questions involved in President Truman's Speech on Greek-Turkish Loan" undated 

1

"Religion in the History of American Ideas" 1957 

1

"Darwin, Darwinism and History," AHA Meeting 1957 

1

"Darwin, Darwinism and History," Poster 1958 

1

"Henry Adams, Leopold Von Ranke, and Frederick Jackson Turner" 1958 

1

"A Historian's Preface to a Conference on Social Change" 1959 

1

"Humanism and Science," SU of Iowa 1962 

1

"History in the Liberal Arts College: Its Purposes and Values" 1965 

1

Fairfield Alumni Association 1968 

1

Sub-series F. Minutes (Chronological) 

Title Carton

Minutes, First Teaching Seminar, SLC 1966 

1

Minutes, Advisory Committee on Appointments 1971 

1

Minutes, Board of Trustees Meeting 1972 

1

Sub-series G. Press Releases (Chronological) 

Title Carton

BJL's Lectures 1949-1964 

1

Sarah Lawrence College 1953-1969 

1

Sub-series H. Courses (Chronological) 

Title Carton

Course Readings undated 

1

History SC8b (syllabus) undated 

1

History 312b, "Intellectual History of the US" (syllabus) undated 

1

History 25 1940-1952 

1

History 26 1940-1947 

1

"Ideas in America" 1950 

1

"American Life and Thought" 1961-1966 

1

"Approaches to Religion" 1965 

1

"Approaches to Religion" 1966 

1

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Series II. Publications and Research 

Sub-series A. Miscellaneous 

Title Carton

Review - "Toward a New Birth of Freedom" undated 

1

Book Reviews, by BJL undated 

1

Clippings, Re: Massachusetts: A Guide to its Places and People Controversy 1937 

1

Bibliography, "Darwin Year" 1959 

1

Book Review, American History in American Thought by Irving Goldman and G.D. Lillibridge 1972 

1

Sub-series B. Correspondence (Alphabetical) 

Title Carton

Carey Williams, The Nation 1951-1952 

1

Darwin, Wallace and the theory of Natural Selection 1957-1962 

1

Edward and Nancy Lurie 1956-1962 

1

F.S. Crofts and Co. Publishers 1935 

1

General, Professional 1935-1949 

1

General, Professional 1950-1959 

1

General, Professional 1961-1971 

1

Gerry Stearn, Prentice-Hall Publishing 1970 

1

Harvey Cinamon, Husmail Press 1958 

1

Houghton Mifflin Co. 1943 

1

John Cook Wyllie, University of Virginia 1953 

1

Jerry ? undated 

1

Joseph Roucek, University of Bridgeport 1949 

1

MacMillan Co. 1935-1947 

1

Merle Curti, University of Wisconsin 1946-1950, 1971 

1

Michael Millgate, Leeds University 1953-1962 

1

National Endowment for the Humanities 1974 

1

Pauline Kling, Mount Holyoke College 1950 

1

Ray Billington, Smith College 1943-1950 

2

Rinehart Publishers 1943-1952 

2

Sam Brockunier, Wesleyan University 1941-1961 

2

The Guide to Historical Literature 1957 

2

Thomas Carruthers, Princeton University 1949-1950 

2

Sub-series C. Manuscripts, Articles (Chronological) 

Title Carton

Notes undated 

2

"Darwinism: Reaction or Reform?" Rinehart and Co. undated 

2

"Democratic Orientation" undated 

2

Great Lives Observed, Part I; Chapter 1A-1C (edited by BJL) undated 

2

Great Lives Observed, Part I; Chapter 2A-2C undated 

2

Great Lives Observed, Part I; Chapters 3A-3E undated 

2

Great Lives Observed, Part I; Chapters 4, 5A-5B undated 

2

Great Lives Observed, Part II; Chapters 6-9 undated 

2

Great Lives Observed, Part II; Chapters 10-13 (Includes Afterword and Bibliography) undated 

2

Unidentified Manuscript, Chapter 1-3 undated 

2

Unidentified Manuscript, Chapter 4-5 undated 

2

Unidentified Manuscript, Chapter 6-7 undated 

2

Unidentified Manuscript, Chapter 8-9 undated 

2

Unidentified Manuscript, Chapter 10 undated 

2

Unidentified Manuscript, Chapter X undated 

2

"The Lie Detector: Science and Public Policy" undated 

2

"On the Advancement of Political Learning" undated 

2

"Desegregation of the American School System" undated 

2

"Sociology and History" undated 

2

"This I Believe" - C.B.S. Radio Broadcast undated 

2

"Darwin and Darwin Studies, 1959-1963" undated 

2

"Learning through Philosophy" undated 

2

"The Louisville and Nashville Railroad" undated 

2

"Darwin and the Tragic Vision: An Essay Review" undated 

2

"Social Views of Scientific School of American Historians: John William Burgess" undated 

2

Unidentified Manuscript, "The Great Agassiz", Chapter VI undated 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, (Outline and Prospectus) 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, Chapter I; Sec. 4-5 (Includes III, 2. Comm. Man. Pg. 2-13) 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, Chapter II; Sec. 1-4 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, Chapter III; Sec. 1-4, 6, 7, 10 & 11 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, Chapter V 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, Chapters VI, VII & VIII 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, Chapters X, XI, XIII & XIV 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, Chapter XVI 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, Chapters XVII & XVIII 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, Chapters XIX & XXI 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People, Chapter XXV 1941 

2

Social and Intellectual History of the American People (Publisher Pages) 1942 

2

"American History in College Education" 1950 

2

Untitled 1952 

2

"1964 Election" (Also published in SLC Alum magazine) 1964 

2

"Charles Darwin," International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences 1965 

2

"Curved and Rendered by Reason" 1965 

2

"Dwight D. Eisenhower," Herald Statesman 1965 

2

"Winston Churchill, 1874-1965" Herald Statesman 1965 

2

"American Women Speak" - Play 1966 

2

"The President, the Primaries and the Possibilities" 1968 

2

"American Negro Women" 1969 

2

Negro Women in America, Arthur Pine Associates 1971 

2

"Nixon and Watergate" 1973 

2

Sub-series D. Publications (Chronological) 

Title Carton

"Darwin Scholarship of the Darwin Year" undated 

2

"The Darwin Book of the Darwin Year" undated 

2

"A Charter of Democracy" - The Standard undated 

2

"The Controversy over Evolution in New England" undated 

2

"Historical Scholarship in American Culture" undated 

2

"Edwin Mims, Jr." by Bert Loewenberg undated 

2

"Efforts of the South to Encourage Immigration, 1865-1900" 1934 

2

"Darwinism comes to America, 1859-1900" 1941 

2

"The Coming of the American Civil War" 1941 

2

"The History of Ideas: 1935-1945, Retrospect and Prospect" 1947 

2

"Some Problems raised by Historical relativism" 1949 

2

"The Process of Democracy and Political Parties" - Labor and Union 1951 

2

"Power and American Ideals," The Standard 1951 

2

"A Democratic Program for Psychological Warfare" 1952 

2

"John William Burgess, the Scientific Method, and the Hegelian Philosophy of History" 1955 

2

"The Mosaic of Darwinian Thought," Victorian Studies 1959 

2

The Newberry Library 1959 

2

Research Notes, Darwin 1960 

2

"Darwin and the Tragic Vision" 1962 

2

"The Heroic Historians - Prescott, Motley, Parkman" 1968 

2

"American Negro Women: Four 19th Century Selections" SLC Journal, co-written with Ruth Bogin 1969 

2

"Women in America" 1971, 1972 

2

"Upsurge in Colonial Thought: The Creation of a Democratic Tradition, 1764-1781" (NEH Grant Application) 1973 

2

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