Negro Political Handbook for Campaign of 1934: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A small booklet with tan paper covers, showing on the front the image of Sylvester Harris, a Black farmer in Columbus, Mississippi, standing with a mule and the caption “President Saved His Little Farm.” The title for the booklet is on the back cover in black text: [NEGRO / POLITICAL HANDBOOK / For / CAMPAIGN OF 1934 / Compiled and Published Under / the Direction of / INDIANA DEMOCRATIC STATE / CENTRAL COMMITTEE / 203 Claypool Hotel / Indianapolis / HENDREN PRINTING CO., Inc. / INDIANPOLIS].

The booklet has twelve (12) numbered pages. Divided into sections with titles such as “Facts for Negroes Concerning the Democratic Party,” and “What the Indiana New Deal Has Done For The Negro,” the booklet details how the New Deal policies of President Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Democratic Party are beneficial for African Americans in Indiana. Pages 8-9 are titled “Colored Democratic Appointments in Indiana” with a numbered list of names and positions detailing jobs for the state of Indiana held by Black Hoosiers. Printed on the back interior cover is “The State democratic Ticket” with a list of Democrats running for offices in the state of Indiana.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1934
• Created by: Indiana Democratic Party, American, founded 1816
• Subject of: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, American, 1882 - 1945
• Printed by: Hendren Printing Company ,Inc., American
• Type: manuals
• Type: pamphlets
• Medium: ink on paper with metal
• Dimensions: H x W (closed): 8 × 5 1/8 × 1/16 in. (20.3 × 13 × 0.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (open): 8 × 10 3/16 × 1/16 in. (20.3 × 25.9 × 0.2 cm)
• Place made: Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Columbus, Lowndes County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Economics
• Topic: Government
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Race relations
• Topic: U.S. History, 1933-1945
• Object number: 2014.37.40
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: No Known Copyright Restrictions Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.