The Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies has a new website

Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies homepage
Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies homepage

The Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies at Seton Hall University has a new website featuring the scholarly and community activities of the Institute. The IJCS has a long-standing partnership with the Archives and Special Collections Center, and that relationship is highlighted on the Research and Publications page on the new website, which describes the four large archival collections that have been gifted via the Institute: the John M. Oesterreicher papers, 1920-2000, Mss 0053; the Michael Wyschogrod papers, 1941-2002, Mss 0013; the Edward H. Flannery papers, 1965-1996, Mss 0012; and the Nancy Forsberg papers, 1913-2011, Mss 0022.

The new home page for the Institute describes the wide variety of work conducted at Seton Hall dedicated to Catholic-Jewish relations. The site, like the Institute, is an excellent resource for all those interested in Jewish-Christian scholarship, understanding, and peace-building efforts. In addition to the archival collections housed at the Archives and Special Collections Center, the site provides information about and links to scholarship and writings from the current Director of the Institute, Father Lawrence Frizzell, past and current publications, programs and lectures, the program of study in the Jewish-Christian Studies Graduate Program (the only graduate program of its kind in the United States), scholarship information, and the history of the Institute. The Institute also has a new Facebook page to keep in closer touch with students and scholars, and both sites provide links to the Institute’s regular radio program on WSOU, the Kinship of Catholics and Jews, which is also available for download via iTunes.

The Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies Facebook page
The Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies Facebook page

For any scholar interested in Christianity and Judaism, the Institute of Judaeo-Christian Studies is a unique and invaluable source of knowledge and exploration. Visit the site to find out more!

From the Shelves: the Jack Chance collection on Wendell Willkie and the 1940 presidential election

Two pages from Scrapbook 1 in the Jack Chance collection on Wendell Willkie and the 1940 presidential election,1939-1940, Mss 0023.
Two pages from Scrapbook 1 in the Jack Chance collection on Wendell Willkie and the 1940 presidential election,1939-1940, Mss 0023.

A new finding aid has been posted for a small but fascinating collection on American politics: the Jack Chance collection on Wendell Willkie and the 1940 presidential election, 1939-1940, Mss 0023. This collection consists of 5 scrapbooks containing newsclippings from 1939 and 1940 on the presidential election of 1940, as well as some additional information on Wendell Willkie, the Republican candidate in that race.

The 1940 presidential election was unusual in several respects: it marked the first (and only) time in American history that a President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, officially ran for a third term; both candidates were selected at the party conventions and came as something of a surprise to their party; and the entire campaign was shadowed by World War 2 in Europe and Asia, with both candidates advocating non-intervention. In addition, Wendell Willkie was a former supporter of Roosevelt who, although defeated in the campaign, went on to work closely with Roosevelt afterwards. Willkie was a dark horse candidate who had never held or even run for political office before, and the lead-up to the Republican National Convention included strong runs from candidates including former President Herbert Hoover and Thomas E. Dewey, who would go on to become the Republican candidate in the 1944 election when Roosevelt ran for a fourth term. As a result of Roosevelt’s long turn as President, the United States congress passed the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution in 1947 that limited a President to two terms or ten years in office.

The major issues of the campaign, faithfully documented in this rich set of scrapbooks, revolved around the economic recovery of the country from the Great Depression after the stock market crash of 1929, the possibility of American involvement in World War 2, and the legality or advisability of Roosevelt’s run for a third term. The scrapbooks include news articles describing events of the campaign and election as well as opinions, editorials, and political cartoons on candidates and issues. These materials have not yet been digitized and are very fragile, but they give a window into a political process quite different from today. Come to the Archives to see them, or contact us to find out more!