Guide to the Rubinstein Collection 1964-1988 MG 1629

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Descriptive Summary
Historical Note
Scope and Content Note
Access Points
Related Material
Administrative Information
Bibliography

Container List

Memberships cards, programs, posters, and newspapers. 1964-1988 (Bulk 1967-1970)


Guide to the Rubinstein Collection
1964-1988
MG 1629
The New Jersey Historical Society
52 Park Place
Newark, New Jersey 07102
Contact: NJHS Library
(973) 596-8500 x249
library@jerseyhistory.org
https://www.jerseyhistory.org
© 2004 All rights reserved.
The New Jersey Historical Society, Publisher
Inventory prepared by Douglas Baldwin.

Finding aid encoded by Julia Telonidis. December 2004.Production of the EAD 2002 version of this finding aid was made possible by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Finding aid written in English.


Descriptive Summary

Creator: Rubinstein family
Title: Rubinstein Collection
Dates 1964-1988
Abstract: This collection contains student anti-war newspapers and protest announcement posters relating to the Vietnam War during the 1960s and 1970s.
Quantity: 1.18 linear feet
Collection Number: MG 1629

Historical Note

This collection contains student anti-war newspapers and protest announcement posters relating to the Vietnam War during the 1960s and 1970s. American involvement in the country of Vietnam (formerly French Indochina), from advisors to military presence, can be dated back to the late 1940s during the beginnings of the Cold War. In the 1950s, the U.S. sent supplies, weapons, and advisors to the South Vietnamese, to aid in their efforts to stop the North Vietnamese communists from taking the southern half of the country, which was divided at the infamous 38th parallel. However, the escalation of U.S. military presence under the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, coupled with the increasing number of American casualties, began a rift in American public opinion regarding our presence there.

In 1965, colleges and universities held teach-ins to protest our involvement in Vietnam. These teach-ins were held by college professors, who used them as opportunities to engage the student population in dialogue about the war. Rutgers University, in fact, was one of the first universities to hold a teach-in (in 1965). However, in spite of rising anti-war sentiments during this early period, the majority of the country still supported the war in 1965.

However, in 1968, the Tet Offensive occurred in which the North Vietnamese engaged in a large scale military action against U.S. and South Vietnamese forces on the Vietnamese holiday of Tet. American and South Vietnamese forces were caught by surprise, and as a result large numbers of casualties were inflicted. This pivotal event during the war did much to invigorate the anti-war movement back home.

It was at this time that many colleges all over the country produced newspapers spreading the anti-war message through editorials, satirical cartoons, and announcements detailing when and where protests would occur. During this same period, the civil rights movement was gaining momentum. Many of these student produced newspapers that promoted an anti-war stance, supported the civil rights movement and as such also contained stories, articles and protest announcements that backed this movement. Many campuses also hosted civil rights speakers who came to discuss and promote different aspects of the movement. Some of the posters in this collection relate to such activities.

Alongside the anti-war and civil rights movements were general anti-establishment sentiments emerging from much of the youth culture. These sentiments were heavily anti-authoritarian and specifically targeted the policies and actions of the federal and local governing bodies and police. These sentiments were clearly evident in the student-produced newspapers of the period.

In October 1969, hundreds of colleges and universities across the U.S. participated in a nationwide ‘Vietnam Moratorium’ that was designed as a large-scale protest of the war. Rutgers University, Montclair State University, William Paterson College, Jersey City State College (now New Jersey City University) and the newly opened Essex County College all participated in the moratorium.

From the Newark Sunday News (Oct 12, 1969): “New Jersey college students with public officials and high school students will march, pray, and sing in protest of Vietnam…a majority of 100,000 students from 56 colleges in New Jersey are expected to participate in the National Vietnam Moratorium.”

More than 2 million people participated in moratoriums across America.

One of the participating colleges, Essex County College opened in 1968, and was plagued with various controversies from its start. The campus was heavily involved in both the anti-war and civil rights movements and had two presidents retire from their positions within a five-year period. The second president retired under a firestorm of controversy surrounding allegations by college professors of racism. However, the college did survive its troubled fledgling years, and continues today with campuses located in Newark and Verona, N.J.

There are some items in this collection related to the Howard Savings Bank. ‘The Howard’ as it would come to be known was opened May 5, 1857 in Newark, N.J. during the age of robber barons and railroads. The bank maintained its corporate office in Newark through the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century. The bank opened new branches throughout northern New Jersey, and continued to operate through World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II. The bank continued to operate into the 1980s when it began to diversify its services to include commercial and residential mortgages, commercial real estate development, and finance. While at first ‘The Howard’ profited enormously from its new ventures, it would eventually prove to be its downfall. The savings and loan scandals of the late 1980s and early 1990s sent the bank into a downward spiral from which it could not recover. The bank was bought out by First Fidelity Bank in 1992.
Return to the Table of Contents


Scope and Content Note

This collection contains a variety of different items including posters, newspapers, and other printed materials. The smaller printed materials in this collection include several maps and calendars, a high school ID and program of study, flyers and announcements, as well as a program from the National Association of Accountants.

This collection also contains numerous posters advertising concerts, protests, plays and other social functions. Furthermore, there are four newspapers that contain anti-war rhetoric and satirical cartoons, music reviews, announcements for concerts and social engagements, as well as editorials covering the Vietnam War, police brutality, juvenile rights and justice, and civil rights. There are also several copies of a poster produced for an auto show, in 1969, at the Teaneck Armory.

There are some articles related to The Howard Savings Bank, as well as the road and highway schematics from the NJ State Highway Department.

One of the posters in this collection is a handwritten announcement for the activities at Essex County College in regards to the nationwide Vietnam Moratorium held in 1969. Also of interest are some of the music reviews and bullet news written for the newspapers in this collection that reference the Woodstock Music and Peace Festival, as well as acts such as Derek and the Dominos, The Beatles, and Jim Morrison of The Doors.
Return to the Table of Contents


Access Points

The entries below represent persons, organizations, topics, forms, and occupations documented in this collection.
Subject Names:
Bond, Julian, 1940-
Gladys Knight and the Pips
Subject Organizations:
Essex County College (N.J.)
Howard Savings Institution (Newark, N.J.)
New Jersey State Highway Department
Rutgers University
Subject Topics:
Anti-war movements
Vietnam Moratorium, October 15, 1969
Vietnam War, 1961-1975
Subject Places:
East Orange (N.J.)
Newark (N.J.)
West Orange (N.J.)
Document Types:
Calendars
Posters
Schematic drawings
Student newspapers and periodicals

Return to the Table of Contents


Related Material

Items from this collection given to museum collection — Museum ID 2004.34.1-4

Return to the Table of Contents


Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

This collection should be cited as: Manuscript Group 1629, Rubinstein Collection, The New Jersey Historical Society.

Acquisition Information

Donated by Shirley and Irving Rubinstein to the New Jersey Historical Society in August 2002.
Portions of this donated collection were non-manuscript items, and have been transferred to the Museum Collection.

Processing Information

There are four newspapers/newsletters within this collection that should be handled with extreme care due to their brittle nature. One of the newspapers has significant tearing among several of its pages. While most of the posters are printed on cardboard, and therefore reinforced, there are a few posters that are handwritten on thin paper, and like the newspapers, should be handled with care. Finally, in the first box in this collection, there are several loose items of ephemera not contained within folders (due to either their bulk or size), yet are housed within the box itself. These items should be carefully restored to the box is the similar positions in which they were stored to ensure the safety of both the loose items, as well as the documents contained within folders.

Return to the Table of Contents


Bibliography

WWW.English.UIUC.edu/maps/Vietnam/antiwar.html

“Fall of Howard: Real Estate Loans Sent Bank Crashing” Star Ledger, Oct 4, 1992.

“First Fidelity won Howard in Tight Bidding Competition” Star Ledger, Oct 29, 1992.

“Employees Sad to Witness End of Howard Years” Star Ledger, Oct 4, 1992

“NJ Set for Viet Protest” Newark Sunday News, Oct 12, 1969.

Rutgers University digital on-line collection of issues of its student newspaper, The Daily Targum, from 1965 during the Rutgers teach-in
The website is: WWW.SCC.Rutgers.edu/njh/1960/index.htm

Return to the Table of Contents


Container List

Memberships cards, programs, posters, and newspapers.1964-1988 (Bulk 1967-1970)

Box Folder Title Date
OS 1 Membership card for Barry Rubinstein for the West Orange Youth Center in West Orange, NJ 1967-1968
OS 1 Student identification card for Barry Rubinstein for West Orange Mountain High School in West Orange, NJ 1968
OS 1 Program for 19th Annual Spring Concert by the South Orange Community Orchestra held at South Orange Junior High School 1968 Mar 23
OS 1 Athletic schedule for Essex County College Fall/Winter 1969-1970
OS 1 Program of Studies East Orange High School 1964 Sept.
OS 2 Portion of ‘The ‘Y’ Classified Guide
OS 2 Member list for the Bridge Division Club, Inc. (of which Irving Rubenstein was, at the time, president) 1967-1968
OS 2 Poster advertising the ‘Art and Environment’ lecture series at the Newark College of Arts and Sciences – Rutgers, The State University 1968 Apr 9-30
OS 3 Issue of newsletter entitled All You Can Eat (volume 2, number 2) 1971 Aug 27
OS 3 Issue of newspaper entitled The Aquarian Weekly (Volume 2, number 3) 1970 Feb 18 – Mar 11
OS 3 Issue of newspaper entitled The Aquarian Weekly (Volume 3, number 4) 1970 Nov 4 – 18
OS 3 Issue of newsletter entitled S.T.P. (Serve the People, Stop the Pigs) (Volume 1, number 1) 1969
OS 3 New Jersey State Highway Department Standard Details Manuel (schematics and diagrams for various road/highway structures and measurements) 1961 Mar
OS 3 The Mutual Benefit Corporate Mission Statement
OS 3 Poster advertising: Thee Muffins at the Coronet (Intercollegiate dance) 1967 Apr 7
OS 3 Poster advertising: Masterwork Chorus performing Orff’s ‘Carmina Burana’ at Carnegie Hall 1967 Apr 29 1961 Mar
OS 3 Poster advertising: Richard Cataldo Day Benefit Dance 1967 May 12
OS 3 Poster advertising: Amateur boxing at the West Orange Armory 1967 May 12
OS 3 Three (3) identical posters advertising: Julian Bond at Symphony Hall 1969 Oct 17
OS 3 Poster advertising: Annual Ski Spree! At Lake George 1969 Dec 27-28
OS 3 Poster advertising : Gladys Knight and the Pips ‘Blackness in the Groove’ at the Terrace Ballroom 1969 Dec 30
OS 3 Poster advertising : Barefoot in the Park at the Paper Mill Playhouse
OS 3 Poster advertising: Free the Fort Dix 38 demonstration 1969
OS 3 Poster advertising acts to perform at the Verona Theatre
OS 3 Two (2) identical posters advertising: Claude Kipnis and his Mime Theatre ‘Men and Dreams, Humor and Fantasy’ at the Maurice Levin Theatre
OS 3 Poster advertising Free People Rock- n-Roll Festival at the Rutgers Campus Center
OS 3 Four (4) identical posters advertising: Up with People! The World Famous Sing-Out Explosion 1969
OS 3 Poster advertising: Black Arts / Soul Culture Series featuring Spirit House Movers 1969
OS 3 Poster advertising: Negotiations, The Story of a Two Year Community College at the RKO Proctor Theatre 1969
OS 3 Poster advertising : New Jersey Folk Festival in Verona Park 1969
OS 3 Recruiting poster for Essex County College (Newark, NJ) 1969
OS 3 Poster advertising : Jazz – The Personal Dimension featuring Gary Burton Quartet at Carnegie Recital Hall
OS 3 Poster advertising : The Tony Lawrence ‘Love Festival’
Box Folder Title Date
DOS 1 Poster for The Howard Savings Bank 1983
DOS 1 Four (4) posters advertising the 9th Annual Custom Auto Show
DOS 1 Handwritten poster advertising a ‘Vietnam Memoriam’ at Essex County College with various scheduled speakers, as well as films and a rally in Military Park (Newark, NJ) 1983

Return to the Top of Page

Print Friendly, PDF & Email