Overview
Correspondence, drafts, notes, etc., of Helen Boyden Lamb, economist.
Dates
- Creation: 1937-1975
Language of Materials
Materials in English.
Access Restrictions:
Access. Collection is open for research. An appointment is necessary to use any audiovisual material.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright. Copyright in the unpublished papers created by Helen Boyden Lamb is held by the President and Fellows of Harvard College for the Schlesinger Library. Copyright in other papers in the collection may be held by their authors, or the authors' heirs or assigns.
Copying. Papers may be copied in accordance with the library's usual procedures.
Extent
4.17 linear feet ((10 file boxes) plus 1 oversize folder, 1 folio+ folder, 3 audiotapes)The collection includes some personal papers and correspondence with relatives and friends; correspondence and publications connected with Helen Boyden Lamb's work on Indian economics and on Vietnam; and some material on other political issues, including China, Cuba, and women's rights. There are also several folders of advertisements and reviews of books that interested Lamb. The largest part of the collection pertains to Lamb's work on Vietnam. In addition to correspondence with individuals and organizations in the United States and abroad, there are papers relating to her published writing on Vietnam, including interviews with Vietnamese political exiles in Paris for an article in The Nation (August 10, 1963) and notes, correspondence and advertising for her widely-distributed pamphlet, "The Tragedy of Vietnam" (1964) and her book, Vietnam's Will to Live: Resistance to Foreign Aggression from Early Times Through the Nineteenth Century (1972). There are extensive drafts of chapters for Vietnam's Will to Live that were not used. Also in the collection are notes and invitations for speeches given by Lamb, mostly from 1963 to 1966, as well as copies and newsclippings of open letters she signed and letters to the editor she wrote from 1962 to 1974. There are several folders of flyers, announcements and other ephemera which reflect major anti-war activities from 1963 to 1972, primarily in the New York area. There is some background material on Vietnam, but most of Lamb's Vietnam literature has been given to the Indochina Resource Center in Washington, D.C.
BIOGRAPHY
Helen Elizabeth Boyden was born on May 31, 1906, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, to Walter Lincoln and Elizabeth Boyden. She majored in history at Radcliffe College, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and graduated in 1928; her senior thesis was entitled "Metics in Athens." In 1936 she married Robert Keen Lamb (1905-1952), an economist and Harvard graduate. From 1938 to 1947 the Lambs lived in Washington, D.C., where Helen was a research analyst for the Foreign Economic Administration, working on the United States Government Guide Program for the American occupation of Japan, while Robert was a special investigator for various Congressional committees, and later a lobbyist for the United Steel Workers of America. Lamb received her Ph.D. from Radcliffe in 1943, writing an important dissertation on "Industrial Relations in the Western Lettuce Industry." In 1947 the Lambs returned to Cambridge, where Lamb joined the Center for International Studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to do research on India's economy. Robert Keen Lamb taught in MIT's Division of Humanities and Social Sciences until his death from cancer on August 25, 1952. Lamb remained in Cambridge, working at MIT and raising her three children, Robert Boyden Lamb (Robin), Roland William Boyden Lamb (Billy), and Albert Boyden Lamb (Al).
In 1962 Lamb moved to New York and married Corliss Lamont (Corliss Lamont), author and philosopher, who had been director of the American Civil Liberties Union from 1932 to 1954. About this time she became concerned with the growing United States involvement in Vietnam and began to study the conflict there. She campaigned actively against the war, giving speeches, writing about the war from an academic viewpoint, giving money to anti-war organizations, participating in demonstrations and marches -- and was thus instrumental in bringing the war to the attention of the American public. Her efforts were notable enough to earn her a place on President Nixon's Enemies' List of 1973. She died in New York City on July 21, 1975.
ARRANGEMENT
The collection is arranged in four series:
- Series I. Biographical, Personal Correspondence and Miscellaneous.Folders 1-33.
- Series II. India. Folders 34-38.
- Series III. Vietnam. Folders 39-139.
- Series IV. Other Political Material. Folders 140-150.
Physical Location
Collection stored off site: researchers must request access 36 hours before use.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Accession numbers: 75-377, 76-16, 76-119, 76-133, 76-316, 76-412
The papers of Helen Boyden Lamb Lamont were given to the Schlesinger Library in November 1975 and between January and December 1976 by Corliss Lamont.
CONTAINER LIST
- Box 1: 1-17
- Box 2: 18-33
- Box 3: 34-51
- Box 4: 52-66
- Box 5: 67-77
- Box 6: 78-90
- Box 7: 91-106
- Box 8: 107-14
- Box 9: 115-131
- Box 10: 132-150
- Oversize folder: 1o
- Folio+ folder
Index of Individuals
- Adams, Taylor la, 8,40,89,90,98,142
- Aldrich, Betty 8,105
- Alper, Ben 16
- Alper, Ethel 16,39,88,89
- Arnett, Katharine M. 65
- Bain, Joe S. 34
- Bao, N.B. 100,118
- Barron, Harriet 65
- Bartlett, Sen. E.L. 98
- Berkeley, Edmund 8,39,90,118,142, 150
- Berkeley, Sue 8
- Bodde, Derk 90, 143
- Bofman, Albert 86
- Book, Helen Houston 7
- Boudin, Jean 8
- Boyden, Candace 7
- Boyden, Cynthia 6
- Boyden, Elizabeth B. 2,6,22
- Boyden, Linclon 6
- Boyden, Roland 6,73
- Branfman, Fred 58
- Braverman, Harry la,103,104
- Brimmer, Andrew 8,34
- Browne, Robert S. 84, 98
- Bundy, McGeorge 42
- Cameron, Angus 3
- Chesnaux, Jean 43,93
- Choamsky, Noam 39
- Church, Sen. Frank 92
- Clark, Cynthia 96
- Cleveland, Francis Grover 8
- Clubb, O. Edmund 39,98,117
- Cramer, Doughten 3,8,16
- Crane, John O. 8
- Crane, Sylvia E. la,8
- Davis, Jerome 39,90,92,142
- Devillers, Philippe 43,93,116
- Dhar, Sheila 9,16
- Diamond, Sigmund 9,91,102
- Dighe, V.G. 9,34
- Durr, Clifford 9
- Durr, Virginia 9,16
- Ellender, Sen. Allen J. 98
- Ellis, Alice 9,16,34
- Evarts, John 9
- Fairbank, John King 3,34
- Fairbank, Wilma Cannon 9
- Fall, Bernard 117
- Feild, Robert 9,16
- Filho, Cesar Dacorso 84,92,98
- Fishel, Wesley R. 43,92
- Francois Le Quang 43,44,93
- Fritchman, Stephen H. 18, 39, 90
- Fulbright, Sen. J. William 42
- Gage-Colby, Ruth 39
- Galbraith, Kitty 9
- Geismar, Maxwell la,105
- Gellhorn, Walter 65
- Genovese, Eugene D. 150
- Gessner, Peter 20
- Goldburg, Robert E. 16,92
- Gordon, Jesse la,16,89,104,106
- Gough, Kathleen 41,150
- Greene, Felix 92,142
- Gruening, Sen. Ernest 101
- Gumbo, Judy 1o
- Hamel, Bernard 87
- Hassler, Alfred 60,61
- Hendry, James B. 39
- Hester, Brig. Gen. Hugh B. 92, 106
- Hinton, Carmelita 10,65
- Hinton, William 10
- Ho Chi Minh 44
- Ho Thong Minh 50,93
- Hoang, Xuan Han 43,44,93
- Holland, William Lancelot 38
- Howes, Elizabeth Boyden 7,16
- Huger, Louise P. 85
- Hughes, Everett Cherrington 3,9,34
- Humphrey, Sen. Hubert Horatio 98
- Hunebelle, Danielle 43,118
- Huynh, Kim Khanh 39
- Irish, Mary 105
- Jafferis, George 7
- Jafferis, Katherine 7
- James, Alice Runnels 3
- Johnson, Oakley C. 100
- Kannappan, Nancy and Subbiah 10
- Kennedy, Sen. Robert Francis 42
- King, William 2,10
- Lamb, Albert la,4
- Lamb, Elizabeth Scott 7,16
- Lamb, Robert Keen la,3
- Lamb, Robin la,4,140
- Lamb, Rosemarie Wittman 136
- Lamb, William la,4
- Lamont, Anne 7
- Lamont, Beth 7
- Lamont, Christopher 7
- Lamont, Corliss 1,la,2,3,5,40-42,44,61,84-86,88,89,91,96,98-100,104,106,123, 141,148
- Lamont, Hayes C. 7
- Lamont, Juliet 7
- Lattimore, Owen 144
- Laub, Levi 63
- Le Thanh Khoi 43,44,93
- Lester, Anthony 11
- Lindbergh, Anne Morrow 11
- Lodge, Henry Cabot 43
- Luce, Phillip Abbott 19,40
- Luscomb, Florence H. 11
- McAvoy, Clifford 11
- McAvoy, Muriel 11,16
- McGovern, Sen. George 99
- McNamara, Robert S. 42
- McWilliams, Carey 127
- Magnuson, Sen. Warren G. 99
- Manning, Robert J. 42
- Mansfield, Sen. Mike 42
- Marbury, Virginia 42,95,96,123
- Marcuse, Herbert 17,105
- Markovic, Mihailo 11
- Marr, David 58
- Masefield, John 5
- Mead, Margaret 11,35
- Mehta, G.L. 35
- Meillon, Gustave 94
- Millet, Stanley 117
- Mumford, Lewis 17
- Nash, Ernest T. 142
- Nghiem Van Tri 43,44,94
- Ngo Dinh Diem 46
- Ngo Vinh Long 52
- Nguyen De 94
- Nguyen Huu Tho 46
- Nguyen Khac Vien 43,94,105
- Nguyen Manh Ha 44,46,47,94,99
- Nguyen Ton Hoan 43,94
- Nguyen Van Chi 43,94
- Nguyen Van Luy 40
- Nguyen Van Sao 44
- Nguyen Van Thoi 94
- Nixon, Russ 40,99
- Olds, Elizabeth 12
- Olmsted, Mildred Scott 65
- Paffrath, Leslie 127
- Pappenheimer, Fritz 12
- Pauling, Ava Helen 90
- Peck, Jim 54,55
- Perry, Bernard 12,102
- Peterson, Esther 12
- Pham Duong 43,44
- Pham Huy Co 48,49,94
- Pham Van Dong 44
- Porritt, Ruth K. 105
- Ratcliffe, John 12
- Remar, S. Roy 84,92
- Riesman, David 12
- Roberts, Holland 99, 105
- Rogers, Elizabeth Schlosser Cousins 40
- Rosen, George 12
- Rosner, Jean Hinton 12
- Roy, Jules 94
- Russell, Bertrand 99
- Ryan, Rep. William F. 42
- Sambath, Huot 40
- Schell, Orville 54,55
- Schoenman, Joan Mellen 13
- Schoenman, Ralph 57
- Schuman, Frederick L. 13
- Scott, Larry 13
- Singer, Milton 35,38,40
- Smith, Jessica 86,99,106
- Sondergaard, Gale 99
- Sparkman, Sne. John 99
- Stetler, Russell, Jr. 63,99
- Stewart, Ella Winter see Winter, Ella
- Strong, Anna Louise 11
- Sweezy, Alan and Sue 13
- Sweezy, Nancy la,18,150
- Sweezy, Paul la,13,18,103,150
- Talmadge, Sen. Herman E. 99
- Taylor, Paul 16
- Thich Nhat Hanh 61,117
- Thorner, Alice and Daniel 14,16
- Thrupp, Sylvia 35
- Tran Van Huu 39,46,47,94
- Tran Van Tung 51
- Tyler, Gus 40
- Uhrie, Albert 19,41,138
- Van de Graaf, Catherine 16
- Vo Thanh Minh 43,99,118
- Walsh, J. Raymond 15
- Ward, Richard 106
- Weber, Palmer 15,16
- Williams, William Appleman 92
- Worthy William 41,142
- Winter, Ella 3,13,136
Index of Organizations
- American Humanist Association 18
- Americans for a Democratic Peace in Vietnam 90
- Association for Asian Studies 17
- Bay Area Institute 54
- Committee for Peace and Reconstruction 46,47
- Committee for a Review of Our China Policy 142
- Committee of Concerned Asian Scholars 55,56
- Committee of Struggle Against U.S. Imperialists Stooges' Persecution of Intellectuals in South Vietnam 44,53
- Democratic Republic of Vietnam 100
- Emergency Civil Liberties Committee 18
- Far Eastern Association 17
- Fellowship of Reconciliation 60,61,69
- Fund for Public Information 100
- House Un-American Activities Committee 89,141
- Humanist Association of America 148
- Indochina Resource Center 58,59
- Inter-University Committee for Public Hearings on Vietnam 77
- Jane Addams Peace Association, Inc. 65
- Jeannette Rankin Brigade 62,80
- Marlboro College 6,73
- May 2nd Movement 63,70
- National Committee for a Citizens' Commission of Inquiry on U.S. War Crimes in Vietnam 57
- National Coordinating Committee to End the War in Vietnam 20, 138
- National Council of the Vietnamese Revolution 48,49
- Newark Community Union Project 20
- Pour le Viet-Nam 50
- Radcliffe College 1
- South Vietnam National Liberation Front 100
- Tundra Films, Inc. 20
- U.S. Committee Against Militarization 86
- Vietnam Democratic Party 51
- Vietnam News Agency 53,89,100,118
- Vietnam Resource Center 52
- Vietnam Women's Union 44,64,125
- Women Strike for Peace 62,64
- Women's Emergency Coalition 62
- Women's International League for Peace and Freedom 65,66
- Xunhasaba 43,44
Processing Information
Processed: July 1976
By: Anne Whittington
Subject
- Durr, Virginia Foster (Person)
- Title
- Lamb, Helen Boyden. Papers of Helen Boyden Lamb, 1937-1975: A Finding Aid
- Author
- Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America
- Language of description
- eng
- EAD ID
- sch00686
Repository Details
Part of the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute Repository
The preeminent research library on the history of women in the United States, the Schlesinger Library documents women's lives from the past and present for the future. In addition to its traditional strengths in the history of feminisms, women’s health, and women’s activism, the Schlesinger collections document the intersectional workings of race and ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and class in American history.