McWilliams, Carey, 1905-1980

Carey McWilliams was born December 13, 1905 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He completed his Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California in 1927. From 1927-1938, McWilliams was an attorney at the law firm Black, Hammack in Los Angeles. In 1938, he was appointed as Chief of the Division of Immigration and Housing of the State of California, a position he kept until 1942. During the period from 1945-1955, he began his long association with The Nation, becoming successively contributing editor, associate editor, and then editorial director. From 1955-1975, he was The Nation's editor. In addition to his editorial duties, McWilliams was a prolific lecturer and writer, speaking on many subjects and contributing articles and essays to numerous publications. After his retirement from The Nation, he continued to write a regular column for that publication. His monographs include Ambrose Bierce, a biography (1929); Louis Adamic and shadow America (1935); Factories in the field: the story of migratory farm labor in California (1939); Ill fares the land: migrants and migratory labor in the United States (1942); Brothers under the skin (1943); Prejudice: Japanese-Americans, symbol of racial intolerance (1944); Southern California country: an island on the land (1946); A mask for privilege: anti-Semitism in America (1948); North from Mexico: the Spanish-speaking people of the United States (1949); California: the great exception (1949); Witch hunt: the revival of heresy (1950); and his autobiography The education of Carey McWilliams (1979). In the late 1970s, McWilliams was briefly a Regents Lecturer at the University of California Riverside and then taught one quarter at the University of California Los Angeles in the History Department. He died of cancer at the age of 74 on June 27, 1980 in New York, New York.

From the description of Correspondence, 1924-1975, bulk, 1924-1950. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 70014301

American author and journalist.

From the description of Carey McWilliams miscellaneous papers, 1941-1945. (Unknown). WorldCat record id: 754868202

Carey McWilliams was born December 13, 1905 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He completed his Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California in 1927. From 1927-1938, McWilliams was an attorney at the law firm Black, Hammack in Los Angeles. In 1938, he was appointed as chief of Division of Immigration and Housing of the State of California, a position he kept until 1942. During the period from 1945-1955, he began his long association with The Nation, becoming successively contributing editor, associate editor, and then editorial director. From 1955-1975, he was The Nation's editor. In addition to his editorial duties, McWilliams was a prolific lecturer and writer, speaking on many subjects and contributing articles and essays to numerous publications. After his retirement from The Nation, he continued to write a regular column for that publication. His monographs include Ambrose Bierce, a biography (1929); Louis Adamic and shadow America (1935); Factories in the field: the story of migratory farm labor in California (1939); Ill fares the land: migrants and migratory labor in the United States (1942); Brothers under the skin (1943); Prejudice: Japanese-Americans, symbol of racial intolerance (1944); Southern California country: an island on the land (1946); A mask for privilege: anti-Semitism in America (1948); North from Mexico: the Spanish-speaking people of the United States (1949); California : the great exception (1949); Witch hunt: the revival of heresy (1950); and his autobiography The education of Carey McWilliams (1979). In the late 1970s, McWilliams was briefly a Regents Lecturer at the University of California Riverside and then taught one quarter at the University of California Los Angeles in the History Department. He died of cancer at the age of 74 on June 27, 1980 in New York, New York.

From the description of Papers, 1894-1982 bulk 1921-1980. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 38272810

Carey McWilliams was born December 13, 1905, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to Jeremiah Newby and Harriet Casley McWilliams. Jeremiah McWilliams was elected to the State Legislature in 1910, and the family moved to Denver. Carey was enrolled in Wolfe Hall Military Academy, and graduated from there in 1921, three months after the death of his father.

From the description of Carey McWilliams papers, 1921-1980. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 84015086

Carey McWilliams was born Dec. 13, 1905 in Steamboat Springs, CO; JD, Univ. of Southern CA; attorney, Black, Hammack & McWilliams, Los Angeles, 1927-38; chief of Div. of Immigration and Housing, State of CA, 1938-42; contributing editor, assoc. editor, and editorial director, The nation, 1945-55; editor, The nation, 1955-1975; some of his books include: Ambrose Bierce, a biography (1929), Factories in the field : the story of migratory farm labor in California (1939), Ill fares the land : migrants and migratory labor in the United States (1942), Brothers under the skin (1943); Prejudice : Japanese-Americans, symbol of racial intolerance (1944), Southern California country : an island on the land (1946), A mask for privilege : anti-Semitism in America (1948), The education of Carey McWilliams (1979); died June 27, 1980 in New York, NY.

From the description of Papers, 1930-1940. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 41444202

American author. McWilliams was one of the key sponsors of the l936 Western Writers' Congress. The organizational meeting for the Congress was held in San Francisco, Nov. l3-l5, l936.

From the description of Papers relating to the Western Writers' Congress, 1936-1937. (University of California, Berkeley). WorldCat record id: 122370342

Carey McWilliams, 1905-1980, received a law degree from the University of Southern California in 1927, practiced labor law until 1939 when he was appointed California Commissioner of Immigration and Housing, edited the Nation magazine from 1955-1975, and wrote numerous books dealing with social injustice and discrimination.

From the description of War Relocation Authority records, 1919-1994 (bulk 1942-1946). (Claremont Colleges Library). WorldCat record id: 51834062

Editor of the Nation.

From the description of Honorable in all things oral history transcript : the memoirs of Carey McWilliams / interviewed by Joel Gardner, [1978]. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 215478373

Writer, editor.

From the description of Reminiscences of Carey McWilliams : oral history, 1963. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122620203

Biography

Carey McWilliams was born December 13, 1905, in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, to Jeremiah Newby and Harriet Casley McWilliams. Jeremiah McWilliams was elected to the State Legislature in 1910, and the family moved to Denver. Carey was enrolled in Wolfe Hall Military Academy, and graduated from there in 1921, three months after the death of his father.

McWilliams arrived in California to join his mother and brother in the spring of 1922. He received his J.D. from the University of Southern California in 1927. He passed the California bar and joined the law firm of Black and Hammack, which became Black, Hammack and McWilliams before his departure.

In 1930, McWilliams married Dorothy Hedrick, daughter of an eminent mathematician and UCLA administrator. Their son, Wilson Carey McWilliams, is a professor of political science. In 1941, they were divorced, and he married Iris Dornfield, the author. Their son, Jerry is an authority on the technology of recording equipment.

In 1938, McWilliams was appointed California's Commissioner of Immigration and Housing by Governor Cuthbert Olson. Stunned by the living conditions of migrant workers and by their treatment when they tried to organize labor unions, he became an enemy of the Associated Farmers, the greatest single power bloc in California politics at the time. When Earl Warren was elected governor in 1942, with support of the Associated Farmers, McWilliams was dismissed as Commissioner.

After leaving state government, McWilliams dedicated himself to social and political causes. Although primarily a writer and journalist, he applied his legal skills where he felt them to be appropriate. During the Zoot Suit riots of 1942 and 1943 in Los Angeles, he participated in the fight to free convicted teenagers in the Sleepy Lagoon case. He was also active with the Committee for the Foreign-Born to protect the rights of aliens during World War II.

McWilliams met Freda Kirchwey, editor of The Nation, in 1945. She appointed him contributing editor in 1948 and in 1951 asked him to come to New York to edit a special issue on civil liberties: he never left. After a year as associate editor and three years as editorial director, McWilliams became editor of the magazine in 1955 and retained that post until his retirement in 1975.

Author of more than 20 books, Carey McWilliams wrote in detail on the plight of migrant workers in California, Japanese-American internment during World War II, anti-Semitism and the status regarding several minority groups in America. He often mentioned that writing was his occupation, injustice his preoccupation. In his retirement, McWilliams continued to write and speak out against injustice. He died at University Hospital in Manhattan on June 27, 1980.

From the guide to the Carey McWilliams Papers, 1921-1980, (The Bancroft Library)

Biography / Administrative History

Carey McWilliams, editor of The Nation for 20 years, wrote several books dealing with social injustice and discrimination, such as Factories in the Field, Ill Fares the Land, and Brothers Under the Skin. He was born in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, in 1905, received a law degree from the University of Southern California in 1927, and published his first book, a biography of Ambrose Bierce, in 1929. He was a labor lawyer in Los Angeles, and was appointed California Commissioner of Immigration and Housing in 1939. Before he died in 1980, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Claremont Graduate School.

From the guide to the War Relocation Authority records, 1919-1994, (bulk 1942-1946), (Claremont Colleges. Library. Special Collections, Honnold/Mudd Library.)

Biography

Carey McWilliams was born December 13, 1905 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He completed his Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California in 1927. From 1927-1938, McWilliams was an attorney at the law firm Black, Hammack in Los Angeles. In 1938, he was appointed as chief of Division of Immigration and Housing of the State of California, a position he kept until 1942. During the period from 1945-1955, he began his long association with The Nation, becoming successively contributing editor, associate editor, and then editorial director. From 1955-1975, he was The Nation's editor. In addition to his editorial duties, McWilliams was a prolific lecturer and writer, speaking on many subjects and contributing articles and essays to numerous publications. After his retirement from The Nation, he continued to write a regular column for that publication. His monographs include Ambrose Bierce, a biography (1929); Louis Adamic and shadow America (1935); Factories in the field: the story of migratory farm labor in California (1939); Ill fares the land: migrants and migratory labor in the United States (1942); Brothers under the skin (1943); Prejudice: Japanese-Americans, symbol of racial intolerance (1944); Southern California country: an island on the land (1946); A mask for privilege: anti-Semitism in America (1948); North from Mexico: the Spanish-speaking people of the United States (1949); California: the great exception (1949); Witch hunt: the revival of heresy (1950); and his autobiography The education of Carey McWilliams (1979). In the late 1970s, McWilliams was briefly a Regents Lecturer at the University of California Riverside and then taught one quarter at the University of California Los Angeles in the History Department. He died of cancer at the age of 74 on June 27, 1980 in New York, New York.

From the guide to the Carey McWilliams Papers, 1894-1982 (bulk 1921-1980), (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)

Biography

Carey McWilliams was born December 13, 1905 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He completed his Juris Doctorate from the University of Southern California in 1927. From 1927-1938, McWilliams was an attorney at the law firm Black, Hammack in Los Angeles. In 1938, he was appointed as Chief of the Division of Immigration and Housing of the State of California, a position he kept until 1942. During the period from 1945-1955, he began his long association with The Nation, becoming successively contributing editor, associate editor, and then editorial director. From 1955-1975, he was The Nation's editor. In addition to his editorial duties, McWilliams was a prolific lecturer and writer, speaking on many subjects and contributing articles and essays to numerous publications. After his retirement from The Nation, he continued to write a regular column for that publication. His monographs include Ambrose Bierce, a biography (1929); Louis Adamic and shadow America (1935); Factories in the field: the story of migratory farm labor in California (1939); Ill fares the land: migrants and migratory labor in the United States (1942); Brothers under the skin (1943); Prejudice: Japanese-Americans, symbol of racial intolerance (1944); Southern California country: an island on the land (1946); A mask for privilege: anti-Semitism in America (1948); North from Mexico: the Spanish-speaking people of the United States (1949); California: the great exception (1949); Witch hunt: the revival of heresy (1950); and his autobiography The education of Carey McWilliams (1979). In the late 1970s, McWilliams was briefly a Regents Lecturer at the University of California Riverside and then taught one quarter at the University of California Los Angeles in the History Department. He died of cancer at the age of 74 on June 27, 1980 in New York, New York.

From the guide to the Carey McWilliams Correspondence, 1924-1975 (bulk 1924-1950), (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)

Biography

Carey McWilliams was born December 13, 1905 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado; JD, University of Southern California; attorney, Black, Hammack & McWilliams, Los Angeles, 1927-38; chief of Division of Immigration and Housing, State of California, 1938-42; contributing editor, associate editor, and editorial director, The Nation, 1945-55; editor, The Nation, 1955-1975; some of his books include: Ambrose Bierce, a Biography (1929), Factories in the Field: the Story of Migratory Farm Labor in California (1939), Ill Fares the Land: Migrants and Migratory Labor in the United States (1942), Brothers Under the Skin (1943); Prejudice: Japanese-Americans, Symbol of Racial Intolerance (1944), Southern California Country: an Island on the Land (1946), A Mask for Privilege: Anti-Semitism in America (1948), The Education of Carey McWilliams (1979); died June 27, 1980 in New York, New York.

From the guide to the Carey McWilliams Papers, 1930-1940, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)