MG-156. EDWARD MARTIN PAPERS, 1866- 1967 (bulk 1894-1966).
Edward Martin (1879-1967) served as Governor of Pennsylvania from 1943 to 1947, Pennsylvania auditor general from 1925 to 1929, state treasurer from 1929 to 1933, state adjutant general from 1939 to 1943, and a United States senator, 1947-1958. A member of the Pennsylvania National Guard from 1898, he served in the Philippine Campaign, 1898-99; the Mexican Border Campaign, 1916; and World War I. Named brigadier general in 1922, in 1939 he was promoted to major general in command of the 28th Division and was inducted into federal service as commanding general of the 28th Division of the United States Army in 1941. Martin’s Papers are divided into the Governor’s Papers, 1943-47; Senator’s Papers, 1947-58; Private Papers, 1866-1967; and Correspondence, 1898-1967. References to African Americans have been found most frequently in the gubernatorial files. A smaller collection of Martin’s senatorial papers are housed at The Pennsylvania State University, University Park.
GOVERNOR’S PAPERS, 1943-1947
Subject File, 1943-1947. Contains Fair Employment Practices Commission legislation of 1946 together with a questionnaire from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People used to assist African American voters. This questionnaire contains questions about the Fair Employment Practices legislation, civil rights policy, welfare programs, discrimination in the armed forces, and veterans’ benefits.
General Correspondence File, 1943-1946. Contains letters from Herbert Brown, secretary of the Allied Veterans Association, regarding African Americans in the Pennsylvania National Guard; a program for the dedication of a monument at Camp William Penn, a training camp for African American soldiers during the Civil War; telegrams and letters protesting a Philadelphia transportation strike and for establishing an "Inter-racial Committee of South Philadelphia;" correspondence with African American state Representative Homer S. Brown regarding a ship christening; a letter from Mrs. Homer S. Brown accompanied by an article from the May 1, 1945 issue of Look magazine concerning racial prejudice in America; a letter from the NAACP regarding discrimination in employment; a letter from African American state Representative Thomas Trent regarding a newspaper article concerning "un-American practices;" and a group of letters from Major Richard Robert Wright, president of the Citizens and Southern Bank and Trust Company of Philadelphia, concerning the first National Freedom Day celebration. Also present are copies of the Congressional Record containing resolutions to proclaim February 1, 1943 as National Freedom Day and a booklet entitled National Freedom Day Album that contains photographs and biographical information on Major Wright, materials on African American owned businesses, historical articles, and transcripts of addresses delivered at the Philadelphia Academy of Music.
Scrapbooks, 1898-1904. The scrapbooks contain many newspaper articles and photographs pertaining to African Americans who served in the 9th and 10th Cavalry, a photograph labeled "a company street of 9th Cavalry troopers enjoying a game of craps," a photograph showing troopers of the 9th Cavalry waiting for rations; photographs of a "colored soldier at Fort Riley," and an article written by Captain William B. Cochran entitled "On Behalf of Negro Troops."