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Collection Number: 03551

Collection Title: Erwin Allen Holt Papers, 1953-1961

This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.


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Size 0.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 480 items)
Abstract Textile executive, of Burlington, N.C. Papers relating to Holt's concerns about racial segregation, Jewish control of the federal government, strict interpretation of the Constitution, the Status of Forces Agreement, communism in the U.S., and Hawaiian statehood. Included is correspondence about preventing racial integration, and broadsides, leaflets, and circulars issued by various right-wing organizations of which Holt was a member.
Creator Holt, Erwin Allen, 1873-1961.
Curatorial Unit University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection.
Language English
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Restrictions to Access
No restrictions. Open for research.
Copyright Notice
Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], in the Erwin Allen Holt Papers #3551, Southern Historical Collection, The Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Acquisitions Information
Received from the North Carolina Collection, 25 September 1961. The North Carolina Collection had received this material and related printed items (retained in the North Carolina Collection) from the Holt estate earlier in 1961.
Sensitive Materials Statement
Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.
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Processed by: Benjamin H. Trask, March 1986

Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008

Updated by: Kathryn Michaelis, January 2010

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The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.

Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.

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Erwin A. Holt was a member of the firm of Lawrence S. Holt & Sons, cotton mill owners. He was a son of Lawrence S. Holt (1851-1937) and Margaret Lock Erwin Holt (1852-918), and a grandson of Edwin Michael Holt (1807-1884).

Arrangement is by organization, largely as established by Holt, then chronological. The American Nationalist (folders 1-10) was an organization, based in Inglewood, Cal., and headed by Frank L. Britton, that published a journal also called The American Nationalist. Items include material relating to problems of "conservative" Americans, including lack of funds to support organizations, setbacks in the courts, and the growing probability of Hawaiian statehood.

The Grass Roots League, Inc. (folders 11-15) directed by Stanley F. Morse, was headquartered in Charleston, S.C. Items include a number of form letters and handwritten letters from Morse to Holt, as well as ephemera supporting conservative causes such as States' rights, segregation, and the anti-Communism movement.

The Patriots of North Carolina, Inc. (folders 16-18) was under the leadership of Samuel Horace McCall (b. 1918), former mayor of Troy, N.C., and Wesley Critz George (b. 1888), professor of anatomy, at UNC-Chapel Hill. Material includes correspondence concerning meetings of organizations, distribution of literature, and segregation. There is also one photograph (P-3551/1).

Papers relating to the North Carolina Defenders of States' Rights, Inc. (folders 19-26) are more numerous than those for the other organizations. Much of the material consists of copies of letters from Sterling Rawlinson Booth, Jr., of Raleigh, and Earle Le Baron, faculty member of East Carolina College, to public officials, Holt, and the membership. Common topics are "liberals" at ECC and UNC, segregation, and Communism.

Holt had arranged the last set of items (folders 27-30) as "segregation problem and clippings." Topics include segregation of schools, the U. S. Army, and Communist influences. The material is from a variety of organizations from around the country.

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Contents list

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