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David Schankler Papers on the Vietnam Antiwar Movement
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Manuscripts Division. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
David Schankler was an undergraduate at Princeton University from 1967 to 1971, and a member of SDS (Students for a Democratic Society). He participated in the 1967 March on Washington (Confront the Warmakers) and the following week was arrested at an antiwar, IDA demonstration in Princeton. Over the course of the next three years, Schankler was an active member of SDS attending national conventions in Ann Arbor, Austin, and Chicago. He also participated in numerous left-wing demonstrations on the east coast including New York City (Panther 21), Newark (Draft Resistance), Mahwah (Wildcat Strike of Ford autoworkers), Fort Dix (supporting the coffee house, the trial of the antiwar soldiers, and the march on Ft. Dix) and Washington DC (the Moratorium of 1969) as well as numerous demonstrations on the Princeton campus. He was also a member of the 1970 strike committee. The following fall (1970) Princeton SDS fractured along the lines that first developed at the Chicago SDS convention in 1969. Schankler became the titular head of the RYM faction (Revolutionary Youth Movement), known as the May Day Movement at Princeton, but spent most of his junior year running the Axe coffeehouse. During his time at Princeton, Schankler was also a member of the UGA (Undergraduate Assembly), the University Council and the Commission on the Future of the College. Information provided by David Schankler.
This collection consists of various literature, ephemera, correspondence of Princeton alumni and antiwar activist David Schankler '71 concerning the anti-war movement of the period 1967-1971 broadly as well as related events and activities at Princeton University while he was a student.
More than half of the collection includes pamphlets, newsletters, articles and essays, clippings, zines, calls for protests, petitions, position papers, and other writings and ephemera of a national scope. The remaining part of the collection includes similar materials documenting student activism on Princeton's campus as well as a couple of confiscated files relating to IDA (Institute for Defense Analysis) and the JASON Defense Advisory Group and correspondence concerning Schankler's involvement in two specific demonstrations. Also included in the collection is a video interview with former Maryland State Representative Jimmy Tarlau and Schankler conducted by filmmaker Brad Mays' for his independent documentary "I Grew Up in Princeton."
Most of this information was provided by the donor.
Materials were primarily maintained in the order in which they were received by the Library.
Gift of David Schankler '71 in 2021 (AM 2022-078).
This collection was processed by Faith Charlton in 2022. The born-digital materials in this collection have been processed according to Princeton University Library's Born-Digital Processing Workflows. For more information on the workflow, please read our full Born-Digital Processing Information Note.
No materials were removed from the collection during 2022 processing beyond routine appraisal practices.
People
Organization
Subject
- Publisher
- Manuscripts Division
- Finding Aid Author
- Faith Charlton
- Finding Aid Date
- 2022
- Access Restrictions
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The collection is open for research.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. No further duplication of copies of material in the collection can be made when Princeton University Library does not own the original. Inquiries regarding publishing material from the collection should be directed to Special Collections Public Services staff through the Ask Us! form. The library has no information on the status of literary rights in the collection and researchers are responsible for determining any questions of copyright.
Collection Inventory
Includes pamphlets newsletters, typescript articles and essays, clippings, zines, and other writings and ephemera of a national scope that cover topics such as imperialism, the anti-war movement, civil rights, national liberation struggles, and the women's movement.
Physical Description4 folders
Includes pamphlets, newsletters, clippings, petitions, calls for protest, and other writings and ephemera of related to activities and events at Princeton University. These include copies of the Princeton Notice, The Dissenter (the local SDS newsletter), position papers by the SDS Revolutionary Youth Movement Princeton chapter about IDA (the Institute for Defense Analysis), and others. A list of those active in the movement at Princeton is also included.
Physical Description1 folder
A couple of files with information regarding IDA and JASON. A Princeton student and SDS member confiscated these files from the office of Princeton physics professor Harold Lewis (1923-2011) who chaired the JASON Defense Advisory Group from 1966 to 1973.
Physical Description1 folder
Includes a lettter from H. Walter Dodwell offering to accompany Schankler to his hearing regarding his arrest at a demonstration at IDA in the fall of 1967. Schankler was 18 at the time and Princeton University was operating under the notion of "in loco parentis." There is also correspondence from the Judicial Committee of the Princeton University Community regarding Schankler's involvement in a demonstration during a visit in 1970 by Secretary of the Interior Walter Hickel, referred to as the "Hickel Heckle," for which Schankler was placed on disciplinary probation.
Physical Description1 folder
An mv4 file of filmmaker Brad Mays' over 40-minute interview with Tarlau and Schankler for the independent documentary, "I Grew Up in Princeton."
Physical Description1 digital file.44 GB