Mary W. Dewson Papers, 1898-1961 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

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Collection Overview

Title: Mary W. Dewson Papers, 1898-1961

Primary Creator: Dewson, Mary W. (1874-1962)

Extent: 12.61 Cubic Feet

Arrangement: The Dewson Papers have been arranged in four series.

Languages: English

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection documents Molly Dewson's work in the 1930s leading electoral campaigns for the Democratic National Committee and serving in the Roosevelt Administration on the Social Security Board. Her papers reflect her deep interest in social equality, minimum wage and labor reform, New Deal women's political networking, and women's enfranchisement more generally. The papers include a great deal of personal and professional correspondence reflecting her relationships with many of the major figures of the New Deal and women's political organizing.

Collection Historical Note

Mary Williams Dewson, usually known as "Molly," was born in Quincy, Massachusetts on February 18, 1874. At 17, she startled her New England Republican family by supporting Grover Cleveland for President. She continued to display her independence by seeking a college education at a time when this was a rare goal for a woman.

After graduation from Wellesley College in 1897, she did research for the Women's Educational and Industrial Union in Boston. She compiled statistics on women's wages and hours and also wrote a "Family Budget Book." From 1900 to 1912 she served as Superintendent of the Girls' Parole Department of Massachusetts. Her statistical studies were widely published and she became a nationally recognized reformer in the field of social work research.

In 1911, she accepted an assignment as Secretary of the Committee on Minimum Wage Legislation for the State of Massachusetts. This committee's report contained recommendations for what became the first minimum wage law and later served as a model for other states.

Both Molly Dewson and her partner, social worker Mary ("Polly") Porter, were activists in the Boston area women’s suffrage movement. Through this activist network they met and worked with several major figures who later became influential in the New Deal. After departing from the Parole Department where they both worked, Dewson and Porter spent five years running a dairy farm in Berlin, Massachusetts and then in 1917 went to France to serve as administrators with the American Red Cross.

When World War I ended, Dewson returned to the United States, sold the farm and took a job as a Research Secretary for the National Consumers League. There she continued her activities for minimum wage legislation. She wrote the factual parts of the briefs on minimum wage legislation for the Supreme Court and the State of California. She resigned from the position in 1924 but maintained her interest in the League for the rest of her life.

From 1924 to 1927, she worked with a number of social reform organizations including the New York Women’s City Club. At some point during this period she met Eleanor Roosevelt and the two became friends and frequent collaborators. It was Mrs. Roosevelt who asked her to help with the Democratic Campaign in 1928 starting Dewson’s political career. Ms. Dewson worked for Franklin D. Roosevelt during his second gubernatorial campaign in 1930. She was Chair of the Women's Division of the Democratic National Campaign Committee in 1932, Director of the Women's Division, 1933-34; Director of the General Advisory Committee of the Women's Division, 1934-36 and Vice Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, 1936-37.

During this time Dewson worked alongside many labor reform leaders including Frances Perkins, whom she eventually recommended to FDR as Secretary of Labor. Dewson, herself, was asked by President Roosevelt to serve on the Advisory Council of the President's Committee on Economic Security. The recommendations of this committee were later incorporated in the Social Security Act.

Molly Dewson’s leadership in the DNC proved crucial to FDR’s successful reelection as President in 1936. Dewson devised what she named the “Reporter Plan,” an information campaign designed to build local networks of women across the nation who would act as informed citizens to educate their neighbors, clubs, churches, and even households about the benefits of New Deal programs. The plan leveraged personal networks and trusted relationships among women, demystified complex and even experimental government information, and effectively mobilized whole communities to vote.

Molly Dewson was always interested in the role of women in government and industry. She firmly believed that at least one woman should be appointed to the Social Security Board but the members of the first Board were all men. In 1937, Molly Dewson, herself, became the first woman to serve on the Social Security Board. She was concerned with improving the image of Social Security and in expanding coverage to include domestic workers and farm laborers and also widows and dependent children. Not all of these goals were accomplished during her tenure on the Board, however.

Due to health concerns, in 1938, Molly Dewson retired from government service and, with Mary Porter, went to live in what had previously been their summer home in Castine, Maine. Even in retirement, she kept in touch with former colleagues. She served as Director of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Fund and as Vice President of the National Consumers League. She died in October 1962, in Castine.

Administrative Information

Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Access Restrictions: This collection is available for use by the general public.

Use Restrictions: Literary Property Rights in these papers have not been donated to the United States Government.

Acquisition Source: Mary W. Dewson

Acquisition Method: The papers were donated to the FDR Library by Mary W. Dewson.

Related Materials: Files in the President's Papers including PPF 5689 (Mary W. Dewson) , OF 300 (Democratic National Committee), OF 1710 (Social Security Board), and OF 1086 (Committee on Economic Security), Papers of Eleanor Roosevelt, Democratic National Committee Papers, Papers of the Democratic National Committee - Women's Division and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial Foundation Papers.

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: General Correspondence Files, 1924-1961],
[Series 2: Subject Files],
[Series 3: Speech, Article and Miscellaneous Files, 1912-1956],
[Series 4: Letter Books, Scrapbooks, Mauscript Materials],
[All]

Series 1: General Correspondence Files, 1924-1961

Incoming and outgoing personal, business, and political correspondence arranged alphabetically by subject or surname of correspondent. In many cases, the files have been annotated by Miss Dewson. The dates given in the shelf list are the inclusive dates for the materials in the file. Related material is found in the Subject Files (see below).

Box 1

A (General)
Abbott, Grace, 1937-1938
Aiken, Paul, 1937
Akin, Stella, 1936, 1949
Allen, Florence, 1932-1959
Altmeyer, Arthur J., 1937-1957
B (General)
Beyer, Clara, 1937-1958
C (General)
Carr, Charlotte, 1929
Coffin, Jo, 1936-1937
Cohen, Wilbur, 1958-1960
D (General)
Dewson, Mary W. - Personal and Biographical Material
Douglas, Paul H., 1954-1956
Dubord, F. Harold, 1937-1947
E (General)
Eben, Mary, 1945-1947 and undated
Edwards, India, 1937, 1946-1958
Elliot, Harriet, 1935-1945
Engle, Lavinia, 1935-1936
Ernst, Morris, 1956
Evans, May, 1936-1946

Box 2

F (General)
Farley, James A., 1934-1948
Frankfurter, Felix, 1921-1954
Furman, Bess, 1948-1952
G (General)
Grady, Henry F. and Lucretia, 1949-1960 and undated
H (General)
Hickok, Lorena, 1941-1954
Honeyman, Nan, 1937-1958
Hopkins, Harry, 1936
Howe, Louis M., 1932-1954
Hull, Cordell, 1936
Ickes, Harlod, 1937, 1948
J-K (General)
Kerr, Harriet Allen, 1933-1958
L (General)
Lehman, Herbert, 1934-1956
Loucheim, Katie, 1954-1958
Lubin, Isador, 1957-1958
Mc (General)
McAllister, Thomas and Dorothy, 1937-1960

Box 3

M (General)
Magee, Elizabeth, 1946-1954
Mason, Lucy Randolph, 1937-1951 and undated
Michelson, Charles, 1937
Mitchell, Stephen A., 1953
Murphy, Frank, 1937
N-O (General)
Norton, Mary T., 1946-1956
O'Mahoney, Joseph C., 1946-1956
Owen, Ruth Bryan, 1936
P-Q (General)
Perkins, Frances, 1924-1947
Picking, Elsie, 1935-1938
R (General)
Reed, Stanley and Win, 1928-1959
Roche, Josephine, 1937, 1957
Roosevelt, Anna Eleanor, 1925-1936
Roosevelt, Anna Eleanor, 1937-1958 and undated

Box 4

Roosevelt, Franklin D., 1928-1944
Roosevelt, Elliott, Franklin Jr., James and John, 1937-1949
S (General)
Schlesinger, Arthur, Jr., 1947-1959
Smith, Alfred E., Correspondence re 1928 campaign
T (General)
Tate, Richard and Liz, 1945-1957
Taylor, Paul, 1948, 1953
Tillett, Gladys, 1936-1961 and undated
Truman, Harry S., 1946-1953
Tully, Grace, 1949-1951
U-Z (General)
Wallace, Henry A., 1947-1948
Welles, Sumner, 1937, 1954
White, Sue S., 1931, 1936
Whitney, Florence, 1935-1936
Wolfe, Carolyn, 1933-1958
Woodward, Ellen, 1936-1960

Series 2: Subject Files

Contains files on topics of particular interest to Miss Dewson. There is a large amount of material on political campaigns, particularly the 1936 Campaign. Material relating to some of the subjects is also found in the General Correspondence Files (see above).

Box 5

Buenos Aires Conference, 1936
Campaign of 1936: Articles, Drafts and Correspondence
Campaign of 1936: Correspondence with State Leaders: Arkansas-Kansas
Campaign of 1936: Correspondence with State Leaders: Maine-Missouri
Campaign of 1936: Correspondence with State Leaders: Nebraska-Oregon
Campaign of 1936: Correspondence with State Leaders: Pennsylvania-Washington
Campaign of 1936: Form Letters
Campaign of 1936: Meetings with State Leaders

Box 6

Campaign of 1936: News Digest
Campaign of 1936: Peace Plank
Campaign of 1936: Program Materials
Campaign of 1936: Publicity, General
Campaign of 1936: Radio Publicity
Child Labor Amendment, 1937
Civil Service Matters
Committee on Civil Service Restrictions in Employment of Older Workers, 1937-1938
Committee on Economic Security, 1934
Constitutional Amendments, 1936-1937
Correspondence with State Leaders, Alabama-Illinois, 1937

Box 7

Correspondence with State Leaders, Indiana-Massachusetts, 1937
Correspondence with State Leaders, Michigan-New Jersey, 1937
Correspondence with State Leaders: Tennessee-Wyoming, 1937
Democratic Digest
Democratic National Committee, Lists, 1934-1937
Democratic National Committee, Women's Division, 1928-1941
Democratic National Convention, 1936
Dewson, Mary-Western Trips, 1931-1936

Box 8

Equal Rights Amendment, 1937-1946
Home Defense Administration, 1940
National Consumers League, 1933-1959
National Consumers League, Correspondence on Labor, 1934, 1937
Reporter Plan, 1934-1937, 1942
Social Security Board, 1937-1938
Supreme Court Bill, 1937
Women in New Deal Positions
Women Speakers

Series 3: Speech, Article and Miscellaneous Files, 1912-1956

Contains speeches, articles and reports by Miss Dewson and her colleagues. When the person involved was someone other than Miss Dewson, this fact is indicated in the shelf list. This series also contains newspaper clippings roughly arranged by year . The bulk of the clippings are from 1936. In addition, there are campaign materials from 1932 and 1936; a chart on Social Security, apparently used for publicity; and a copy of Jim Farley's Story.

Box 9

"Pay Rolls and Profits" The Survey, November 9, 1912
"What Campaign Issues Mean to Women", 1928
"Working for Labor Standards", 1933
Speech to the Cuyahoga Women's Democratic Club, May 25, 1933
Speech to the Young Democrats in Convention at Kansas City, August 17, 1933
"Women Voters of Pennsylvania it's Up to You" Pennsylvania Survey, November 1933
Untitled Talk on the Election, 1934
"The Human Aspects of the New Deal" The Christian Register, March 1, 1934
Untitled Speech on Democratic Women, 1935?
Speech at First Regional Conference at Richmond, Virginia, January 28, 1935
Introduction to series of Broadcasts sponsored by Women's Division-Mrs. James F. Wolfe, September 10, 1935
Radio Address-Mrs. Ellen Woodward, September 10, 1935
Introduction to Radio Broadcast-Mrs. James F. Wolfe, September 17, 1935
Radio Address-MRs. Emily Blair, September 17, 1935
Discussion on AAA-Mrs. C. Nelson Beck and Mrs. James F. Wolfe, September 24, 1935
Discussion on Credit Agenices-Mrs. Basil Manly and Mrs. J. F. Wolfe, Ocotber 3, 1935
Radio Address on Taxation-Mrs. Blair Banister, October 10, 1935
Radio Address on the U.S. Employment Service-Miss Mary LaDame, October 17, 1935
Address on Crime Prevention-Miss Stella Akin, October 31, 1935
Speech to Beekman Neighbors on the New Deal, November 5, 1935
Radio Speech on the Social Security Act, November 7, 1935
"The Reporter Plan" - Station WMAQ, Chicago, Illinois and at Newton, New Jersey, November 16, 1935
"Campaign of 1936 - Work of the Women's Division", 1936
Notes for Informal Speech, 1936
Statement regarding Taxes, 1936?
Notes on Work of the Woman Campaign Director, 1936
Article "Democratic Women in Politics" Democratic Campaign Book, 1936
Article on Director of Publicity, 1936
"Duties of State Vice Chairman", 1936
Talk on the New Deal, 1936?
"Democratic Women of Pennsylvania - The Campaign is On", 1936
"To the Women Democratic Leaders", 1936
Radio Talk on Social Security, 1936
Radio Talk - "Recovery - Its Price and Premium", 1936
Radio Talk - "A Home With Hope", 1936
Radio Talk - "A Future For the Farm Family", 1936
Radio Talk - "Belief in Relief", 1936
Speech Before the Institute of Government, Charleston, West Virginia - Mrs. James F. Wolfe, January 14, 1936
Radio Speech - "Women and Government", February-March 1936
Speech Used on Western Trip, February-March 1936
"What Has Relief, Recovery and Setting Our House in Order Cost Us?" Democratic Women's Regional Conference, Onandaga Hotel, Syracuse, New York, Portions also used for radio talk, April 30, 1936
"Our Government and Insurance" - Radio Address, May 15, 1936
Speech to Young Democrats, Phila. Pa., May 15, 1936
Article for N.E.A., May 20, 1936
Message to Young Voters in New York City, 1937
Article on Michigan, February 10, 1937
"Little Grains of Sand", February 24, 1937
"What Next for Democratic Women?" Regional Conference, New London, Conn., June 15, 1937
"New Frontiers for Old" Address at Wellesley College Commencement - Josephine Roche, June 21, 1937
Speech at Lewiston, Maine, August 1937
"Politics As A Career" - Wellesley Club News, October 1937
"What Social Security Act Means to Women" Speech before the National Radio Forum, October 11, 1937
"Mrs. Glendower Evans" Memorial Speech at Ford Hall, Boston, January 28, 1938
"This Social Security - What is it?" Women's City Club, Boston, Mass., February 17, 1937
"An Amateur's Views on Education" Wellesley Club of New York, NY, February 26, 1938
"Next Steps in Social Security Legislation", March 1938
"Social Security - What and Why" The Federated Woman, April 1938
Article for The Church Woman, April 1938
"Social Security - What Is It?" Radio Address, April 5, 1938
"Fifty Years of Progress Toward Social Security" State Convention of Affiliated Young Democrats, New York City, May 21, 1938
"Public Assistance . . . A New Way of Meeting Old Responsibility" Radio Interview, June 2, 1938
"The Crisis in Democracy" - Radio Address by Mrs. Emily Blair, October 21, 1938
Press Release regarding women as Candidates for Office, October 25, 1938
"Working Women and Old-Age Insurance" Labor Information Bulletin, October 1938
Untitled Speech on the Women's Division, 1940
Radio Speech - Mrs. Anthony Biddle, 1940
"Industry and Agriculture at the Gates of a New Decade" - Address by James A. Farley, January 1940
Speech at Dinner Honoring Women who Hold High Office in the New Deal, May 5, 1940
"Women in Politics and Government" - WJZ Radio Program, May 20, 1940
"Do Political Parties Educate?" - William Hard at "America's Town Meeting of the Air", May 23, 1940
"Advance of Democratic Women" Democratic Digest, June 1940
Speeches by and about James A. Farley - Printed in the Congressional Record, July 22, 1940
Speech to Convention of Young Democrats of Maine - F. Harold Dubord, October 27, 1940
"The Roosevelt Road to Peace" - Radio Broadcast, November 3, 1940
Radio Speech - F. Harold Dubord, November 4, 1940
"Shall We Sell Our Birthright for A Mess of Potage?" The Democratic Digest, January 1942
Letter to the New York Times, April 9, 1942
Handwritten Speech Draft on the New Deal, Undated
"What is this Social Security?", Undated
Radio Speech on the Social Security Act, Undated
"The Weaker Vessels and Politics" Democratic Digest, Undated
"The Sanity of the General Federation" Lola Gingrick Article, Undated
"The Fruits of Experience", Undated
"Should Women of the Leisure Class Follow Gainful Occupations?", Undated
Regional Conferences Report, Undated
"Mary Chamberlain", Undated
"Elections are Won Between Campaigns", Undated

Box 10

"The Hours of Labor in Domestic Service" Women's Educational and Industrial Union of Boston, October 1898
Twentieth Century Expense Book, 1900
Labor Bulletin of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts No. 13, February 1900
The Woman Republican Vol. 2, No. 17, December 1924
Bulletin of Women's City Club of New York, June 1926
Acceptance Speech before the Democratic National Convention - Franklin D. Roosevelt, July 2, 1932
Inaugural Address, March 4, 1933
"Report to the Industrial Commissioner on the Effect of Directory Order No. 1 on the Wages of Women and Minors in Laundries in New York State and the Need for Mandatory Wage Order Governing Laundry Occupations", July 2, 1934
"Reportof the Advisory Council to Committee on Economic Security", December 18, 1934
"Federal Departments and Agencies Supervising Projects or Collaborating in Carrying on the Program Under the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935", May 10, 1935
"Forward With the Constitution" Address by Daniel C. Roper, September 17, 1935
Address before the American Bankers' Association Convention in New Orleans - Marriner Eccles, November 14, 1935
"The American Constitutional Method" Address by Homer Cummings, December 18, 1935
"Elections of 1936" - A Study by Alice Cameron, 1936
Message to Congress - F. D. Roosevelt, January 3, 1936
Address of James A. Farley at the Roosevelt Dinner, Miami, Florida, February 5, 1936
Unemployment Compensationfor Transportation Employees, March 1936
"What Did the New Deal Mean to the Farmer?" Address by Mrs. J. J. Donahue, March 11, 1936
"A Brief History of the New York Minimum Wage Case", June 1936
"Gainful Employment of Married Women", August 1936
"The Constitution and the Problems of Today" Address by Stanley Reed, August 7, 1936
"What the States are Doing: New Labor Standards", October 1936
"A New Chapter in the History of the New York Minimum Wage Case", October 1936
"Provisions of Wage Orders of States Operating Under the Standard Minimum Wage Act", October 1936
Address of James A. Farley at the Dinner of the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, March 17, 1937
Address of James A. Farley at Dedication of Post Office and Federal Bldg., Waco, Texas, March 23, 1937
Address of James A. Farley before Texas Legislature, March 24, 1937
Address of James A. Farley at Dedication of Post Office and Federal Bldg., San Antonio, Texas, March 24, 1937
Address of James A. Farley at Dedication of Post Office Bldg., Arabi, Louisianna, March 25, 1937
Address of James A. Farley at Post Office Site, Gretna, Louisianna, March 25, 1937
Address of James A. Farley at Dedication of Post Office and Federal Bldg., Wilmington, Delaware, March 27, 1937
"The Favored State Party Set-up for Democratic Women", c. 1938
Report of the Hotel Minimum Wage Board to the Industrial Commissioner, New York State, July 12, 1940
Speech of Sen. J. H. Ball on Behalf of President Roosevelt, October 26, 1944
Radio Address of Dorothy Thompson, November 1, 1944
"Bill Relating to the Employment Security Program Introduced or Enacted During the 1947 Legislative Sessions" Legislative Report No. 1, February 14, 1947
Legislative Report, Supplement No. 3, March 15, 1947
Legislative Report No. 4, March 15, 1947
"Women in Politics" - Helen B. Shaffer, February 20, 1956

Box 11

Newspaper Clippings, 1932-1952

Box 12

Chart - "This Social Security -- What Is It?"
Work Books - Four volumes of clippings and data on the Democratic Party by States, 1936
Jim Farley's Story
Printed Material from 1932 Campaign

Series 4: Letter Books, Scrapbooks, Mauscript Materials

Contains ten bound volumes of letters dated 1929 to 1951, mostly incoming correspondence from prominent political leaders, friends and associates, and twelve scrapbooks, 1932 to 1950, containing clippings and mementoes of Miss Dewson' s political career.

Also includes An Aid to the End - a two-volume, unpublished manuscript written by Mary W. Dewson.

Box 13

Letters, 1929-1940

Box 14

Letters from 1932 Campaign, 1932-1934

Box 15

Miscellaneous Letters, 1932-1935, 1943-1944

Box 16

Patronage Letters - Women, 1933

Box 17

Letters of Congratulation on Appointment to the Social Security Board, 1937

Box 18

Letters - Social Security, 1937-1939

Box 19

Letters, 1940-1942

Box 20

Letters, 1942-1946

Box 21

Letters, 1946-1951

Box 22

Politics, 1933-1935
Politics, 1935

Box 23

Politics, Campaign, 1936
Politics, Western Trip, 1936

Box 24

Politics, 1937-1939
Politics - Social Security Board, 1937-1938
Politics, Campaign, 1940

Box 25

Politics, 1941-1950
Politics - Invitations and Christmas Cards
Campaign Literature from the Women's Division of the Democratic Campaign Committee

Box 26

Campaign Materials
And Aid to the End: Volume I

Box 27

And Aid to the End: Vol. II