John Sanford Martin papers, 1915-1958 and undated

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Summary

Creator:
Martin, John Sanford, 1886-1957
Abstract:
Newspaper editor from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Collection consists primarily of correspondence to and from John Sanford Martin, a newspaper editor from Winston-Salem, N.C. Letters from the 1930s to the 1940s provide information on economic and social problems in North Carolina from a number of committees on which Martin served. After 1940 there is much material on racial problems in Winston-Salem, and throughout North Carolina and the South. The correspondence from this period also reflects Martin's concern for the improvement of public education in North Carolina and his service on the North Carolina State Board of Education. Other papers relate to state and national politics, the New Deal, the Democratic Party, and the Baptist church. There are also some photographs in the collection. Significant correspondents include Josiah William Bailey, Joseph Melville Broughton, Josephus Daniels, Robert Lee Doughton, Drew Pearson, Strom Thurmond, and William Allen White.
Extent:
12 Linear Feet
Approx. 8,602 Items
Language:
Material in English
Collection ID:
RL.00853

Background

Scope and content:

The papers of John Sanford Martin, North Carolina newspaper editor and political figure, contain correspondence, 1912-1951, relating, for the most part, to Martin's long career as editor of the Journal and Sentinel, newspapers of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Letters pertaining to national and state politics form an important part of this correspondence and concern the presidential election of 1928 and the split in the Democratic Party in North Carolina over the candidacy of Alfred E. Smith of New York; opposition to the state sales tax in North Carolina in the 1930s; Martin's leadership in s the liberal wing of the Democratic Party in North Carolina and his attempts to bring the state party in line with the New Deal; state and national contests in the elections of 1936; an attempt by Martin and liberal Democrats to keep conservative Democrats from obtaining a federal license for a radio station in Winston-Salem; and pressures put on North Carolina Democrats to join the Dixiecrats in 1948.

Martin's professional papers, 1936-1937, deal with the purchase of the Piedmont Publishing Company, owner of the Journal and the Sentinel by the Gordon Gray family of Winston-Salem, leaders of North Carolina's conservative Democrats; the decision to retain Martin as editor of the papers; and the establishment of a working relationship between Martin and Gordon Gray.

Correspondence from the period of World War II concerns the debate over the entry of the United States into the war, politics in North Carolina during the war, activities at home, and discussions about American policy after the war, including a confidential transcript of an interview with President Harry S. Truman in 1945 on future relations with the Soviet Union and the United Nations.

Letters from the 1930s to the 1940s provide information on economic and social problems in North Carolina from a number of committees on which Martin served. After 1940 there is much material on racial problems in Winston-Salem, and throughout North Carolina and the South. The correspondence from this period also reflects Martin's concern for the improvement of public primary and secondary education in North Carolina and his service on the North Carolina State Board of Education. The collection also includes the minutes of the board of education, 1943-1953, and memoranda on school finance, legislation, integration, curricula, teacher certification and salary, textbooks, school lunches, and student loans.

Material reflecting Martin's interest in the Baptist Church includes correspondence concerning various fund raising drives within the church, Wake Forest College and its relocation in WinstonSalem, Campbell College, North Carolina Baptist Hospital, and the purchase of the Biblical Recorder by the North Carolina State Baptist Convention, 1938-1939.

Printed material in the collection pertains to temperance, the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, Wake Forest University, Baptists in North Carolina, politics in North Carolina and the United States, and societies of professional journalists. There are a large number of Martin's speeches and editorials covering all aspects of his career.

Acquisition information:
The John Sanford Martin papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library as a purchase in 1959.
Processing information:

Processed by Rubenstein Library staff

Encoded by Matthew Warren, February 2012

Accession from 1959 is described in this inventory.

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

Using These Materials Links:

Using These Materials

Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. There may be a 48-hour delay in obtaining these materials.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], John Sanford Martin Papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.