Catalog Record:
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.
The records of the American Federation of Labor consisting of letterbooks of presidents Samuel Gompers and William Green were given to the Library of Congress by the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations in 1966 and 1969.
The records of the American Federation of Labor were processed in 1973. The finding aid was revised in 2003.
The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of the American Federation of Labor is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).
The records of the American Federation of Labor are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
A microfilm edition of these records is available on 341 reels. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division concerning availability for purchase or interlibrary loan. To promote preservation of the originals, researchers are required to consult the microfilm edition.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Volume or reel number, American Federation of Labor Records, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The records of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) consist of letterpress books of the correspondence of Samuel Gompers and William Green, presidents of the organization, and by other officials including James Duncan, Gabriel Edmonston, Frank Keyes Foster, and John McBride. The collection is arranged, filed, and numbered as received. Volumes 251, 310, and 313 were not received by the Library. Each volume contains an index of correspondents.
The records span the years 1883-1925 and relate to the formation of local unions, meetings, charters, bylaws, ethics, publicity, arbitration, the political principles of the AFL, communism, socialism, the anthracite coal strikes of 1897 and 1902, fund-raising, boycotts, the United Mine Workers, the American Railway Union, the International Association of Machinists, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the American Federationist, magazine of the AFL. Correspondents include Susan B. Anthony, Grover Cleveland, William Hugh Johnston, John L. Lewis, L. J. McGruder, P. J. McGuire, John Mitchell, John Morrison, Herman Robinson, Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919), Daniel Joseph Tobin, Henry White, and Woodrow Wilson.
The collection is arranged chronologically by volume, followed by an addition.
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 13,745
Available on microfilm. Shelf no. 16,178