Collections : [University of Michigan Special Collections Research Center]

Contains mostly photocopies of materials created since Kaczynski's arrest in 1996, including correspondence, writings, legal documents, and prison documents. Material created prior to his arrest are photocopies obtained from the FBI which were to be used as evidence in his trial. Additional materials are expected to be added at a later date.

The Kaczynski Papers date from his imprisonment in 1996. Any materials from before 1996 are copies created, primarily by the FBI, for use as evidence in Kaczynski's case. At the present time, the collection of Kaczynski's correspondence is by no means complete. The Labadie Collection expects to receive important additional series of Kaczynski's correspondence at some future time. Kaczynski affirms that he does not sort out any hateful letters, but that in fact he received only a handful of such letters. The collection is divided into eight series: Correspondence, Legal, Prison, Publications, Writings of Ted Kaczynski, Clipping and Articles, Audiovisual and FBI Files. At the end of the finding aid some of these sections are continued as new material has been received over the years. Documents have been added to the Legal, Prison, Publications, Clippings and Articles, FBI Files and Correspondence in this order and begins in Box 88. The Correspondence series takes up the bulk of the collection. It consists of correspondence written to and by Kaczynski since his arrest in April 1996. The Labadie Collection has prearranged with Kaczynski that the identity of all but a small number of his correspondents be protected as far as possible. For this reason, the correspondence series is only available to the public in photocopied form, with names and addresses marked out. In some folders, correspondents personal information was deleted but in a later date the files were opened and the names were left intact in sections. The originals are sealed until January 1, 2050. The Labadie Collection has arranged the material by correspondent. In order to preserve anonymity, each correspondent has been assigned a number, and each number has been allotted a separate folder. For those correspondents prolific enough to fill more than one folder, additional folders have been designated with decimals. Within the folders the materials are arranged chronologically. Folders with red flags or tabs indicate a response letter from Kaczynski. Researchers should note that not every item in the Correspondence Series has been photocopied. The following types of items remain in the original collection but have not been made available as copies: envelopes and cards that do not have any messages on them; résumés and other documents that reveal too much personal information to block out; revealing photographs; and gifts such as phone cards or pencils. In some cases the correspondence from a particular individual was deemed so repetitive that only samples were photocopied. At the request of Kaczynski, some correspondents' identities have not been hidden; these names are provided in the box list. The Correspondence Series contains a small number of artifacts, mainly gifts such as stamps, stickers, pens and dried flowers sent to him by correspondents. These are in the folders with the original letters. Most have not been photocopied. Some printed materials are included in the correspondence, but most (including all books and pamphlets) have been moved to the Publications Series. Several correspondents sent materials to Kaczynski that, according to prison rules, he is not allowed to have, such as stamps, envelopes, etc. In those cases, the writer received a form letter from the prison indicating that the materials were not delivered to Kaczynski. Some of these letters are in the respective correspondents' folders, and the rest are in folder #0419. Some folders include carbon copies or drafts of responses by Kaczynski. In addition, Kaczynski's handwriting may be found on some of the correspondence in the form of log numbers or occasional notes or comments on the envelope or letter. The vast majority of the letters in this series were mailed unsolicited to Kaczynski by people he did not know. Perhaps significant to students of American Culture, these letters are overwhelmingly supportive of Kaczynski, if not his cause. Many assert belief in his innocence and express sympathy for his incarceration. A large number of the letters are from women seeking a romantic bond with him. Other letters are evangelical, while some are from autograph hunters or individuals attracted by notoriety. Some writers are concerned with the rights of the mentally ill, or appear to be suffering from mental illness. Mixed in among these correspondents are a few individuals who knew Kaczynski before his arrest, or who engage in serious communication about his case, his publications, environmentalism or his views on technology. A few letters were sent from other countries, but the bulk of them were sent from within the United States. The Legal series is divided into four sub-series. Copies of documents consist of items copied, primarily by the FBI for the court case. The documents consist of photocopies by his lawyers from FBI files. The FBI files are photocopies of documents found in Kaczynski's Montana cabin such as journals and tax documents he stored in his cabin. There are two codes on some of the documents; documents starting with a K number are encoded by the FBI and documents with a numerical code are Bates numbering used by Kaczynski's lawyers. Legal Communication contains copies of documents, notes, and letters Kaczynski sent to his lawyers and their staff and attorney work products. Legal Documents contains court documents and drafts of briefs. This sub-series does not include correspondence with his lawyers but may include correspondence to judicial officials relating to his case and court documents. Also included are Kaczynski's Sacramento County and Helena County jail records. Legal Notes and Research is comprised of research Kaczynski did for his court case. In some documents Kaczynski has written notes on an assortment of files with relevant information for his case. The Prison series contains prison forms such as CopOuts, law library request forms, appeals to prison regulations, and notes and research on a variety of issues. All the files were generated during Kaczynski's incarceration. The Publications series contains articles collected and often notated by Kaczynski, copies of four published works, and one unpublished manuscript. The four published works are Chistes, ensayos, rimas de Miami edited by Joaquin Delgado, Montana Dreaming, a play in two acts by Alex Gross, The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski by Chris Waits and Dave Shors, and The United States of America v. Theodore Kaczynski by Michael Mello with corrections by TK. alt.fan.unabomber by Ross Getman is an unpublished manuscript. Material is also included on Chris Waits' book The Secret Life of Ted Kaczynski. Waits was a resident of Lincoln, Montana who wrote a book about Ted Kaczynski that Kaczynski claims was a hoax and largely fabricated. The Writings of Ted Kaczynski are all documents written by Kaczynski. Documents include musical compositions, Kaczynski's manuscript for his article, Ship of Fools, and several versions of his manuscript, Truth versus Lies, along with items relating to its expected publication. The edited version of Truth versus Lies was edited heavily by Beau Friedlander, publisher and editor-in-chief at Context Books. The Original version contains markings by Friedlander and his employees because it was a copy of the original that Kaczynski had sent to them; otherwise it is as Kaczynski originally wrote it with a few reparations of errors made in the transfer of the manuscript from Friedlander to him. These reparations include the addition of several missing pages as well as incomplete pages where text was blocked out. The missing pages were as follows: 78-132, 135-143, 168, 214, 266, and 293. The first folder of the Original version also contains an errata sheet prepared by Kaczynski for the manuscript. A couple of articles are included which Kaczynski wrote under the pseudonym Apios Tuberosa. More of his writings will be added as they are accessioned. The sub-series Refutation documents contain materials collected and organized by Kaczynski for the writing of his manuscript, Truth v. Lies. Clippings and Articles are an assortment of clippings and articles cut out from newspapers, magazines and newsletters. The clippings and articles fall into three categories. One is about Kaczynski's life such as his arrest, his trial and his family history. Second are technology, science and wildlife articles of interest to Kaczynski. Third are clippings collected by Kaczynski while he was living in Lincoln, Montana and found in his cabin. Except for the clippings found in his cabin, many of these articles were mailed to Kaczynski while in jail by his fans and correspondents. The Audiovisual series contains cassette tapes, which have been converted to CD, and VHS tapes, which are currently restricted until they can be converted to a more stable format. Audio recordings include an interview by journalist Theresa Kintz in 1999, which was published in Anarchy: a Journal of Desire Armed and the UK edition of Green Anarchist. The interviews require written permission from Kintz for access. The Henry A. Murray Psychology Study materials are from a psychology study Kaczynski participated in while a student at Harvard. The VHS tapes are television recordings of movies made about Kaczynski's life from the USA and Lifetime television networks and recorded by some of his fans. Last are the VHS tapes recorded by the FBI and used in his legal case. The recordings are of Kaczynski's cabin, items found in the cabin and the surrounding area in Lincoln, Montana. The FBI Files series consists of photocopies of documents found in Kaczynski's cabin in Montana by the FBI in 1996. The documents are in the original order the FBI photocopied his journals and documents, but some pages are missing and closed to the public. The pages are mainly from his journals written in English, Spanish, and a numeric code. The earliest entry is dated 1969 until February 1996. This includes all of his journals, maps, identification documents, math equations, correspondence and other miscellaneous documents. Each document was photocopied by the FBI and assigned a number that starts with the letter K. These documents can also be found in the Legal series which includes not only FBI numbers on each page but some pages include Bates numbering from Kaczynski's defense team. The FBI photographs sub-series are photographs taken by FBI agents after Kaczynski's arrest and were housed in photograph albums. The photographs have been taken out of the albums, but the original order of the photographs kept intact in folders. Photographs are mainly of Kaczynski's cabin, the land surrounding the cabin and downtown Lincoln, Montana. Other photos include photographs of bombs, other weapons and bomb making materials found in his cabin. The photographs were used in Kaczynski's legal case.

The Alternative Press was a literary and artistic small press started in Detroit in 1969 by Ken and Ann Mikolowski. The press initially focused on publishing the work of Detroit artists and later became international in scope. The collection documents the press's management and publication processes, including those for its acclaimed subscription mailings, which contained poetry, bookmarks, bumper stickers, drawings, paintings, collages, and postcards.

The Alternative Press Records held by the University of Michigan Special Collections Library is the founders' full set of press records up until 1996. It contains items such as correspondence from poets, artists, and friends, manuscripts of poems and other writings, sketches, Christmas cards, event announcements, the press' printed products, subscription renewal requests and more. Records from all three operating locations of the press are included, although the records from business done from Grindstone City predominate.

The Alternative Press Records is divided into ten series: Artists and Poets: Correspondence, Writings and Ephemera; Business Records; Ephemera; Events and Organizations; Original Postcards; Printed Materials; Printing Process; Small Presses; 1996 accretion; and 2018 accretion. Records sorted by individual or organization (primarily Artists and Poets and Small Presses) are arranged in alphabetical order. Other series and subseries (primarily those containing correspondence, business records, artwork/writings, and event announcements) are arranged in chronological order to preserve evidence of the creative process and organizational decisionmaking.

The Tom Hayden Papers largely consist of materials generated while Hayden was in the California State Assembly and Senate during the 1980s and 1990s as well as the research he conducted for many of his books.

FBI Files: The FBI files are files Hayden petitioned to be released through the Freedom of Information Act in the 1970s. The bound documents are not in strict chronological order with many dates overlapping, since many of the documents are reports from various field offices from different parts of the U.S. reporting to central headquarters in Washington D.C. Different types of source materials such as photocopies of newsletters, newspapers clippings, pamphlets or any other relevant information are attached to some reports. Some pages are redacted in the reports and not all files are complete with pages missing. Some pages are marked by Tom Hayden with Post-It notes and other notes possibly used for his writings.

Files of interest include a transcript of Hayden’s testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in Washington, D.C. in regard to the Chicago riots during the Democratic National Convention in December 1968. Other documents of interest include reports on Tom Hayden’s first trip to Vietnam in 1965, and transcripts of phone calls between Hayden and Black Panther members during 1969-1971.

The FBI indexes contain a list of document numbers or pages generated in relation to Tom Hayden, a brief description of the document, a description of deletions made or information withheld from documents, exemptions to the deletions and cross references to other pages. The indexes do not match or list all the pages found in the archive. Referral documents means information or specific pages sent to other field offices or agencies such as the CIA.

In the Counter Intelligence Program and New Left folders the FBI the documents were generated either from headquarters (Washington D.C.) or different field offices. COINTELPRO and New Left locations are from different field offices throughout the US, and from Japan and Puerto Rico. The documents show the FBI’s monitoring and infiltrating of colleges and student organizations and their publications, activities and whereabouts. Included in the reports are examples of student publications and copies of articles in these publications and correspondence on how to counteract student organizations and their political activities from 1968-1971.

In the Jane Fonda FBI section, the Reports and Reactions folders contains reports from agents in regard to the Jane Fonda anti-Vietnam war FTA tour/show ( seen under various names such as Free Theater Associates or Free the Army and also the Peace Tour), which later became part of a larger peace tour in locations such as Okinawa, Japan and Manila, Philippines. Documents include reports of itineraries and names of people involved in the tour. Also included is correspondence received by the FBI from the public expressing negative reactions to Jane Fonda's FTA show and comments she made in public captured by the press.

The Freedom of Information Act folders include requests submitted by Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda’s lawyers for any government documents with information pertaining to them in the FBI, CIA, U.S. Department of Justice or NSA files. Subsequently, a lawsuit was filed in 1976 after certain documents were withheld by the CIA. Correspondence between their lawyers, Ira M. Lowe and Martin Echter and various government agencies can be found as well as correspondence addressing both Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda since they filed FOIA requests jointly. Any correspondence or law documents referring to both Tom Hayden and Jane Fonda have been filed under Tom Hayden and any documents referring only to Jane Fonda are in the Jane Fonda FBI section. Cases such as Joan C Baez v. U.S. Department of Justice and other cases are included.

1960s-1970s: The Writings folders contain articles written by Hayden in the 1960s-1970s. This is not a comprehensive list of all his articles written during this time period. The majority of the articles are not originals or drafts but photocopies.

The Notebooks section contains spiral bound notebooks of various sizes Hayden used to jot down notes, ideas, outlines for articles and meeting notes. Some of the notebooks outline his trips to North Vietnam. The notebooks are organized according to identifying information on each notebook such as year or location of when the notebook was initially used. Many of the notebooks include various loose sheets of paper or items such as stamps or business cards folded into the notebook. These items have been included in the same folder.

The Students for a Democratic Society section contains bulletins, reports, newsletters and publications under SDS from 1961-1964 and some undated documents. The Indochina Peace Project section has a selection of publications by the organization from 1972-1975 and some undated material.

Personal: The personal section reflects Hayden’s childhood, family, and interests. The files in this section include ancestry information, Royal Oak Dondero High School materials, University of Michigan materials, family greeting cards, and baseball clippings and photographs. The largest file in the Personal section includes ancestry reports Hayden had conducted in 1986 outlining and researching his family history and heritage.

Political Career: The Political Career section is organized according to year and type of campaign. In 1976 Hayden ran for U.S. Senate against John V. Tunney in the Democratic primary. He lost the Senate campaign, but later won the 44th State Assembly seat for the Santa Monica area in 1982. He later went on to serve 18 years in the California assembly and senate. Hayden served five terms in the California State Assembly from 1982-1992 and two terms in the California State Senate from 1992-2000. In 1997, he ran for Mayor of Los Angeles against Republican Richard Riordan and lost. In 2000, he considered a bid for the 42nd California State Assembly District Campaign, but reconsidered and instead ran unsuccessfully for City Council in Los Angeles. He also served as California’s first energy official.

As part of the California State Assembly, he served as Chair of the Assembly Subcommittee on Higher Education and Chair of the Assembly Committee on Labor. As part of the California State Senate, he served as Chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee and member of the Senate Committee on Education, the Senate Budget Committee on Natural Resources and the Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan.

The correspondence folders contain letters sent to Jane Fonda in regard to Hayden’s campaign which she supported through various fundraisers and campaigning. Also included are "thank you" notes addressed to Tom Hayden and a folder on business cards.The general correspondence section has various letters from constituents and from his political networks throughout the United States. Highlights include correspondence with Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Each campaign has a folder labelled propaganda which refers to campaign propaganda such as flyers, pamphlets and mailers used for each campaign.

Of note is the Campaign for Economic Democracy folders, an independent political movement started by Tom Hayden that led the way in progressive issues such as environmental protections, solar energy and renters rights. CED led the campaign for Proposition 65 in 1986 requiring labels on cancer causing products.

The press clippings sections includes clippings Hayden and his staff were reading or collecting during each campaign to research and measure public opinion.

Legislation: This section is divided into general correspondence, budgets, press releases and different types of bills. The Education, Environment and the the Metropolitan Transportation Authority(MTA) sections are three areas in which the archive has the most documents in which Hayden actively researched, authored or co-authored bills. The Senate and Assembly bills folders are legislation that Hayden authored or co-authored while in the Assembly and Senate. The folders are arranged alphabetically according to topic and some single subject folders contain several bills for that one topic. At the end of the alphabetical section the bills are organized by year.

Education: The education section contains correspondence, bills and drafts, and clippings about California’s education system. The higher education section focuses on the University of California and California State University systems as well as independent and community colleges. Admissions contains information about affirmative action across California’s higher education institutions as well as accusations of favoritism at UCLA. Other notable topics include governance, the cost of higher education and legislation aimed at making college more affordable, and the enrollment crisis, which documents how California’s higher education system struggled to handle an increase in the college-aged population. K-12 contains information about the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Notable topics include the potential breakup of LAUSD into multiple districts as well as the Equal Opportunity to Succeed initiative. Information on Toxic Schools and the Belmont Learning Center can be found in the environment section of legislation.

Environment: The environment section contains correspondence, clippings, bills, booklets, and notes about environmental legislation in Califorinia. One of the major issues Hayden tackled in the 1990s was toxic schools, which demonstates his concern for both the environment and education. Materials are arranged by theme, and the themes are then organized alphabetically. The six boxes are comprised of smaller bills that are arranged alphabetically. While there are no subheadings on the folders, materials within boxes are futher grouped by format, and the clippings and correspondence are in chronological order. There are materials in both English and Spanish.

MTA: These files contain information of multiple bills associated with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA). The files contain correspondence, general information, bill information, and clippings regarding MTA legislation. The files are organized by date with undated materials at the end of each section.

Publications: The Publications folders contain correspondence, drafts, book tour schedules and reviews of Hayden’s books. This section is not a comprehensive listing of all of Hayden’s book publications or articles. He contributed to a variety of newspapers and journals from 1980-2000 (please see the 1960s-1970s section for writings from that decade).

In the articles section folder sections are organized alphabetically according to topic and another group of folders are organized by year. These folders and their headings are topics created by Hayden and his staff for reference files much like the name and topical files.

International Interests: This section includes other countries Hayden was involved with or interested in besides Vietnam. Hayden’s Vietnam War activism can be found in the 1960s-1970s section.

One of the largest sections, Ireland, includes correspondence, clippings, and notebooks of notes he took while on several trips to Ireland. Please refer to the Publication section to see a section on his writings about Ireland as well.

The El Salvador section contains general information on El Salvador as well as folders on the Alexander Sanchez case. Alexander Sanchez is an ex-gang member from Los Angeles with ties to El Salvador and accused of racketeering and conspiracy to commit murder. Charges against him were dismissed. Documents in this section include court documents, court transcripts and notes on the case.

Name and Topical Files: These files contain Hayden’s reference files for people and topics around the world. Several of the topics in this section were later referenced in his writing and legislation. Included in these files are newspaper clippings, reports, and correspondence. Notable topics are President Bill Clinton correspondence and Chicago 7 Trial newspaper clippings. Particularly well documented topics include Kosovo, Corcoran State Prison, and salmon protection.

Los Angeles Name and Topical Files: These files contain Hayden's reference files for people and topics in the Los Angeles area. Files include newspaper clippings, reports, and brief correspondence on people, administrative bodies and various topics relevant to LA. The construction of new buildings in the LA area is particularly well-documented, including especially sports stadiums and arenas such as the Coliseum. Other topics that receive substantial coverage include earthquakes, water policy and the riots and subsequent Rebuild LA effort following the Rodney King police brutality incident.

Photographs: The photographs contain Hayden's family photos and trips and pictures with various political figures including Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, John Kerry and Jerry Brown. Many of the pictures depict Hayden's involvement in social justice and environmentalist movements including his participation with Students for a Democratic Society and trips to Ireland and Vietnam. The unidentified folders contain more pictures of political events and protests between the 1960s and 1980s. Clippings: The clippings include articles from 1965 to 2009 that document Hayden's political career, literary pursuits,personal life, and interests. Many of the clippings contend with themes such as reflections on his time as a radical activist, political campaigns, environmentalism, and the MTA strike. There are also articles that pertain to general news events. Several of the clippings are in Spanish and one is in Japanese.

Tony Platt (1942-) is a scholar and activist focusing on criminal justice, race, inequality, and social justice. The Tony Platt papers (1942-2023, bulk dates 1960-1985) focus on his early career including his graduate education, postdoctoral activitites, and term as a professor at the now-closed School of Criminology at the University of California, Berkeley. After the completion of his dissertation later published under the name, "The Child Savers: The Invention of Juvenile Deliquency" and his postdoctoral fellowship with the University of Chicago, he returned to the University of California, Berkeley in 1968 as an Assistant Professor. Notable for his activism, professional engagement, and development of a "radical criminology", Platt was a key figure in shifting the School of Criminology from a professional program heavily connected to the police to an academic program centered on examining the issues of the field through understanding the effects of racism, colonialism and imperialism, and other factors popular with students throughout the 1960s-1970s. However, his career at the university was also shaped by a long fight for tenure and the debate over the School of Criminology's future. The Platt papers consist of 11 linear feet arranged in five series covering the early part of Platt's career. The Platt papers feature correspondence with scholars, faculty, and other individuals, research notes and drafts, course materials, files related to professional development activities such as conferences, clippings, legal files, and other collected materials reflecting Platt's research and professional ties.

Materials have been divided into 5 series.

1. Biographical: Primarily includes materials reflecting Platt's education prior to obtaining his Ph.D. in 1966, along with personal materials such as calendars, photographs, and later reflections of his work. Significant materials include those in the subseries for "The Child Savers". Materials are arranged by date.

2. Postdoc Activities: Includes materials reflecting Platt's time in Chicago where he completed a fellowship with the University of Chicago. Subseries include materials such as correspondence, research files related to his work, significant projects undertaken by Platt such as Legal Sevices to Youth and the Community Legal Defense Organization, and photographs taken by Bill Mares who worked with Platt in Chicago. Materials are arranged by date.

3. Academic Activities: Consists of the largest amount of materials in the collection and covers Platt's career at the Uniersity of California, Berkeley (1968-1976) with few materials afterwards. Subseries include Correspondence, Course Materials, Faculty files, Professional Activities, Articles and Writing, and Topical Files. Correspondence spans the entirety of Platt's time at Berkeley. Course Materials feature Platt's courses at Berkeley including lecture notes, readings, projects, and other documentation. Faculty files include communication, reports, and other materials between Platt and other faculty members at Berkeley. Professional activities include notes and materials related to conferences, speaking engagements, and other activities. Articles and Writing feature several articles written by Platt in collaboration or individually. Topical files include smaller projects, activism, and some collected materials from scholars that Platt knew. The subseries, Correspondence, is arranged by Incoming and Outgoing, and by date. The subseries for Faculty Files, Professional Activities, Articles and Writing, and Topical Files are arranged by date. The subseries, Course Materials are arranged by course number with the full title of the course included.

4. Project Files: Includes files for several large projects led by Platt between 1968-1976 that led to articles, professional engagement, research, and mobilization at the University of California, Berkeley. Subseries include the Politics of Protest, Prison Action Project, Campus Police Project, History of Criminology, and Save the Crim School campaign. Materials are arranged by date.

5. Case Files: Includes two series related to Platt's case for tenure. The subseries, Tenure and Legal files includes additional materials related to Platt's tenure case such as correspondence, memos, research, clippings, and various legal documents. Meanwhile, the subseries, FOIA, consists of records related to Platt's request for information about government surveillance and the report made about him while he was at Berkeley. Materials are arranged by date.

The War Resisters League is a pacifist organization that promotes anti-war initiatives using nonviolent actions. The records contain scattered documentation of the activities of the organization from the late 1960s through the 1980s.

The War Resisters League records were acquired by the Special Collections Library in 2014. The records provide scattered documentation of the activities of the organization from the late 1960s through the 1980s. The collection includes textual material, audio and moving image material, publications, and artifacts that characterize the anti-war mission of the organization.

Two audio cassettes and six reel to reel audi tapes from box 10 have been reformatted.