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Robert J. Alexander

October 17, 2023

Robert Jackson Alexander (November 26, 1918 – April 27, 2010) was an American political activist, writer, and academic who spent most of his professional career at Rutgers University. He is best remembered for his pioneering studies on the trade union movement in Latin America and dissident communist political parties, including ground-breaking monographs on the International Communist Right Opposition, Maoism, and the international Trotskyist movement.

Biography Edit

Early years Edit

Robert J. Alexander was born in Canton, Ohio on November 26, 1918. His family moved to Leonia, New Jersey in 1922, when his father, Ralph S. Alexander accepted a teaching position at Columbia University.[1] Alexander graduated from the public high school in 1936 and matriculated at Columbia, receiving a B.A. in 1940 and a Master of Arts degree the following year. In 1936 Alexander took a senior trip to Spain, which sparked a lifelong interest in Hispanic cultures.[1]

Alexander was drafted in April 1942 into the United States Army Air Corps. He spent 25 months stationed in Great Britain, during which time he spent his off hours speaking to a number of British trade unionists, taking extensive notes of his conversations.[1] These discussions helped Alexander to refine an interview style of research which would later become a hallmark of his academic work.

After demobilization he began work for the State Department. While there, he received a grant from the Office of International Exchange of Persons of the State Department to work on his Ph.D. dissertation on labor relations in Chile, where he conducted hundreds of interviews in virtually all the major factories of the country.[1] He received his Ph.D. from Columbia in 1950.

Alexander was married to Joan O. Powell in 1949. The couple had two children.

Political career Edit

Alexander was active in the socialist and trade union movements. In 1934, politicized by the Great Depression, Alexander joined the Young People's Socialist League, the youth section of the Socialist Party of America.[1] He continued organizing activities for YPSL while at Columbia and remained an active member of its parent group, the Socialist Party of America, serving as a member of its executive council 1957 to 1966.[1] When the Socialist Party changed its name in December 1972 to Social Democrats, USA (SDUSA), he maintained his membership until 1980; according to Perrone's biographical sketch, Alexander thought that SDUSA had become "too conservative".[1]

It was as a leader of the New Jersey YPSLs that he first met Jay Lovestone, then head of the Communist Party, Opposition. Alexander would later go on six missions to Latin America for Lovestone, first under the auspices of the Free Trade Union Committee, then under the direction of the AFL-CIO International Department.[2]

Alexander was a member of the board of directors of the Rand School of Social Science from 1952 until its closure in 1956.[1] He served on the League for Industrial Democracy's National Council and was an active member of Americans for Democratic Action and a delegate to several of its national conventions.[1]

During the 1950s, Alexander served as a consultant for the American Federation of Labor and AFL-CIO on the organized labor movement in Latin American and the Caribbean.[3] In 1961, he was named by president-elect John F. Kennedy to the Task Force on Latin America, which recommended the establishment of the Alliance for Progress.[3]

Alexander was also a lifelong member of the Council on Foreign Relations.[3]

Academic career Edit

Alexander became an instructor at Rutgers while still in Chile in the late 1940s. He was promoted to assistant professor in 1950, associate professor in 1956, and full professor in 1961.

Although Alexander was a member of the Economics department at Rutgers, he was an interdisciplinary scholar, working extensively in the fields of political science and history.[3] Alexander was regarded as a champion of the principle of academic freedom and was a founder of the faculty union at Rutgers.[3] In 1963 Alexander achieved his "highest honor", the Order of the Condor of the Andes from the Bolivian government.[1]

Alexander was a founding member of the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies (MACLAS), and served as the group's president from 1987 to 1988.[3]

During his career, Alexander wrote and published extensively on Latin American politics and trade union movements, as well as surveys on dissident radical movements such as the Right Opposition, Trotskyism, and Maoism.

Alexander retired from Rutgers in 1989.

Death and legacy Edit

Robert J. Alexander died April 27, 2010. He was 91 years old at the time of his death.

Alexander's voluminous papers are housed by the Special Collections and University Archives section of Rutgers University, located in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The collection includes 215 cubic feet (6,100 L) of material, which is housed off site.[4]

References Edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Perrone, Fernanda. "Biographical Sketch of Robert J. Alexander". Inventory to the Papers of Robert Jackson Alexander. Rutgers University.
  2. ^ Alexander, Robert J. (1981). The Right Opposition; The Lovestoneites and the International Communist Opposition of the 1930s. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. x.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Robert J. Alexander". Home News Tribune. 19 June 2010.
  4. ^ Perrone, Fernanda (April 2000). "Inventory to the Papers of Robert Jackson Alexander". Special Collections and University Archives. Rutgers University Libraries.

Works Edit

  • Labor Parties of Latin America. New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1942.
  • What Do You Know about British Labor? New York: Rand School Press, 1942.
  • Labour Movements in Latin America. London: Fabian Publications, 1947.
  • Perón Unmasked: The Martyrdom of the Free Trade Union Movement in Argentina. Washington, D.C., Educational and Publicity Department, Inter-American Regional Organization-ICFTU, 1950.
  • The Peron Era. New York, Columbia University Press 1951.
  • World Labor Today: Highlights of Trade Unions on Six Continents, 1945-1952. New York: League for Industrial Democracy, 1952.
  • Communism in Latin America. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1957.
  • The Bolivian National Revolution New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1958.
  • Two Revolutions. Caracas: Imprenta Naciónal, 1960.
  • The Struggle for Democracy in Latin America. New York: Macmillan, 1961.
  • Labor Relations in Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1962.
  • A Primer of Economic Development. New York: Macmillan, 1962.
  • Today's Latin America. Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1962.
  • American Finance Capitalism: A Discussion. Calcutta: Firma K.L. Mukhopadhyay, 1963.
  • The Venezuelan Democratic Revolution: A Profile of the Regime of Rómulo Betancourt. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 1964.
  • Latin America: An Introduction to the History, Geography, Cultures and Political and Economic Problems of the 20 Latin American Republics. New York: Scholastic Book Services, 1964.
  • Latin-American Politics and Government. New York: Harper & Row, 1965.
  • Organized Labor in Latin America. New York: Free Press, 1965.
  • An Introduction to Argentina. New York: Praeger, 1969.
  • The Communist Party of Venezuela. Stanford, California: Hoover Institution Press, 1969.
  • Trotskyism in Latin America. Stanford, California: Hoover Institution Press, 1973.
  • Latin American Political Parties. New York: Praeger, 1973.
  • Aprismo: The Ideas and Doctrines of Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 1973.
  • A History of the Economics Department of Rutgers College. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers College Economics Dept., 1974.
  • Agrarian Reform in Latin America. New York: Macmillan, 1974.
  • Four Alexander Families of Wayne County, Ohio. New Brunswick, NJ: Mega-Ton Publishers, 1975.
  • Report of Commission of Enquiry into Human Rights in Paraguay of the International League for Human Rights. With Ben Stephansky. New York: International League for Human Rights, 1976.
  • A New Development Strategy. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1976.
  • Arturo Alessandri: A Biography. Ann Arbor: University Microfilms International, 1977.
  • The Tragedy of Chile. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1978.
  • Juan Domingo Peron: A History. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1979.
  • The Right Opposition: The Lovestoneites and the International Communist Opposition of the 1930s. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1981.
  • Bolivia: past, present, and future of its politics New York, Praeger; Stanford, Calif: Hoover Institution Press, 1982.
  • Rómulo Betancourt and the Transformation of Venezuela. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books, 1982.
  • Political Parties of the Americas: Canada, Latin America, and the West Indies. (General Editor.) Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1982.
  • Biographical Dictionary of Latin American and Caribbean Political Leaders (General Editor.) New York: Greenwood Press, 1988.
  • Venezuela's Voice for Democracy: Conversations and Correspondence with Rómulo Betancourt. New York: Praeger, 1990.
  • International Trotskyism 1929–1985: A Documented Analysis of the Movement. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1991.
  • Juscelino Kubitschek and the Development of Brazil. Athens, Ohio: Ohio University Center for International Studies, 1991.
  • The ABC Presidents: Conversations and Correspondence with the Presidents of Argentina, Brazil, and Chile Westport, CT: Praeger, 1992.
  • The Bolivarian Presidents: Conversations and Correspondence with Presidents of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1994.
  • Presidents of Central America, Mexico, Cuba, and Hispaniola: Conversations and Correspondence Westport, CT: Praeger, 1995.
  • Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Governors of the English-Speaking Caribbean and Puerto Rico: Conversations and Correspondence. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1997.
  • The Anarchists in the Spanish Civil War. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999.
  • International Maoism in the Developing World. Westport, CT: Praeger, 1999.
  • International Maoism in the Developed World. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2001. Google Preview
  • Haya de la Torre, Man of the Millennium: His Life, Ideas and Continuing Relevance Lima, Peru: Víctor Raúl Haya de la Torre Institute, 2001.
  • A History of Organized Labor in Cuba. Westport, Conn., Praeger, 2002.
  • A History of Organized Labor in Brazil. With Eldon Parker. Westport, CT: Westport, Conn., Praeger, 2003.
  • A History of Organized Labor in Argentina. Westport, Conn., Praeger, 2003.
  • A History of Organized Labor in English-speaking West Indies. With Eldon Parker. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2004.
  • A History of Organized Labor in Uruguay and Paraguay. With Eldon Parker. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005.
  • A History of Organized Labor in Bolivia. With Eldon Parker. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2005.
  • A History of Organized Labor in Peru and Ecuador. With Eldon Parker. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2007.
  • A History of Organized Labor in Panama and Central America. With Eldon Parker. Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008.
  • International Labor Organizations and Organized Labor in Latin America and the Caribbean: A History. With Eldon Parker. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger/ABC-CLIO, 2009.

Further reading Edit

  • Victor G. Devinatz, "Robert J. Alexander's U.S. Left-Wing Interview Collection and Archaeology of Dissident Communism," Working USA: The Journal of Labor and Society, vol. 15 (June 2012), pp. 153–175.

October 17, 2023
robert, alexander, robert, jackson, alexander, november, 1918, april, 2010, american, political, activist, writer, academic, spent, most, professional, career, rutgers, university, best, remembered, pioneering, studies, trade, union, movement, latin, america, . Robert Jackson Alexander November 26 1918 April 27 2010 was an American political activist writer and academic who spent most of his professional career at Rutgers University He is best remembered for his pioneering studies on the trade union movement in Latin America and dissident communist political parties including ground breaking monographs on the International Communist Right Opposition Maoism and the international Trotskyist movement Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Early years 1 2 Political career 1 3 Academic career 1 4 Death and legacy 2 References 3 Works 4 Further readingBiography EditEarly years Edit Robert J Alexander was born in Canton Ohio on November 26 1918 His family moved to Leonia New Jersey in 1922 when his father Ralph S Alexander accepted a teaching position at Columbia University 1 Alexander graduated from the public high school in 1936 and matriculated at Columbia receiving a B A in 1940 and a Master of Arts degree the following year In 1936 Alexander took a senior trip to Spain which sparked a lifelong interest in Hispanic cultures 1 Alexander was drafted in April 1942 into the United States Army Air Corps He spent 25 months stationed in Great Britain during which time he spent his off hours speaking to a number of British trade unionists taking extensive notes of his conversations 1 These discussions helped Alexander to refine an interview style of research which would later become a hallmark of his academic work After demobilization he began work for the State Department While there he received a grant from the Office of International Exchange of Persons of the State Department to work on his Ph D dissertation on labor relations in Chile where he conducted hundreds of interviews in virtually all the major factories of the country 1 He received his Ph D from Columbia in 1950 Alexander was married to Joan O Powell in 1949 The couple had two children Political career Edit Alexander was active in the socialist and trade union movements In 1934 politicized by the Great Depression Alexander joined the Young People s Socialist League the youth section of the Socialist Party of America 1 He continued organizing activities for YPSL while at Columbia and remained an active member of its parent group the Socialist Party of America serving as a member of its executive council 1957 to 1966 1 When the Socialist Party changed its name in December 1972 to Social Democrats USA SDUSA he maintained his membership until 1980 according to Perrone s biographical sketch Alexander thought that SDUSA had become too conservative 1 It was as a leader of the New Jersey YPSLs that he first met Jay Lovestone then head of the Communist Party Opposition Alexander would later go on six missions to Latin America for Lovestone first under the auspices of the Free Trade Union Committee then under the direction of the AFL CIO International Department 2 Alexander was a member of the board of directors of the Rand School of Social Science from 1952 until its closure in 1956 1 He served on the League for Industrial Democracy s National Council and was an active member of Americans for Democratic Action and a delegate to several of its national conventions 1 During the 1950s Alexander served as a consultant for the American Federation of Labor and AFL CIO on the organized labor movement in Latin American and the Caribbean 3 In 1961 he was named by president elect John F Kennedy to the Task Force on Latin America which recommended the establishment of the Alliance for Progress 3 Alexander was also a lifelong member of the Council on Foreign Relations 3 Academic career Edit Alexander became an instructor at Rutgers while still in Chile in the late 1940s He was promoted to assistant professor in 1950 associate professor in 1956 and full professor in 1961 Although Alexander was a member of the Economics department at Rutgers he was an interdisciplinary scholar working extensively in the fields of political science and history 3 Alexander was regarded as a champion of the principle of academic freedom and was a founder of the faculty union at Rutgers 3 In 1963 Alexander achieved his highest honor the Order of the Condor of the Andes from the Bolivian government 1 Alexander was a founding member of the Middle Atlantic Council of Latin American Studies MACLAS and served as the group s president from 1987 to 1988 3 During his career Alexander wrote and published extensively on Latin American politics and trade union movements as well as surveys on dissident radical movements such as the Right Opposition Trotskyism and Maoism Alexander retired from Rutgers in 1989 Death and legacy Edit Robert J Alexander died April 27 2010 He was 91 years old at the time of his death Alexander s voluminous papers are housed by the Special Collections and University Archives section of Rutgers University located in New Brunswick New Jersey The collection includes 215 cubic feet 6 100 L of material which is housed off site 4 References Edit a b c d e f g h i j Perrone Fernanda Biographical Sketch of Robert J Alexander Inventory to the Papers of Robert Jackson Alexander Rutgers University Alexander Robert J 1981 The Right Opposition The Lovestoneites and the International Communist Opposition of the 1930s Westport Connecticut Greenwood Press pp x a b c d e f Robert J Alexander Home News Tribune 19 June 2010 Perrone Fernanda April 2000 Inventory to the Papers of Robert Jackson Alexander Special Collections and University Archives Rutgers University Libraries Works EditLabor Parties of Latin America New York League for Industrial Democracy 1942 What Do You Know about British Labor New York Rand School Press 1942 Labour Movements in Latin America London Fabian Publications 1947 Peron Unmasked The Martyrdom of the Free Trade Union Movement in Argentina Washington D C Educational and Publicity Department Inter American Regional Organization ICFTU 1950 The Peron Era New York Columbia University Press 1951 World Labor Today Highlights of Trade Unions on Six Continents 1945 1952 New York League for Industrial Democracy 1952 Communism in Latin America New Brunswick NJ Rutgers University Press 1957 The Bolivian National Revolution New Brunswick NJ Rutgers University Press 1958 Two Revolutions Caracas Imprenta Nacional 1960 The Struggle for Democracy in Latin America New York Macmillan 1961 Labor Relations in Argentina Brazil and Chile New York McGraw Hill 1962 A Primer of Economic Development New York Macmillan 1962 Today s Latin America Garden City N Y Doubleday 1962 American Finance Capitalism A Discussion Calcutta Firma K L Mukhopadhyay 1963 The Venezuelan Democratic Revolution A Profile of the Regime of Romulo Betancourt New Brunswick NJ Rutgers University Press 1964 Latin America An Introduction to the History Geography Cultures and Political and Economic Problems of the 20 Latin American Republics New York Scholastic Book Services 1964 Latin American Politics and Government New York Harper amp Row 1965 Organized Labor in Latin America New York Free Press 1965 An Introduction to Argentina New York Praeger 1969 The Communist Party of Venezuela Stanford California Hoover Institution Press 1969 Trotskyism in Latin America Stanford California Hoover Institution Press 1973 Latin American Political Parties New York Praeger 1973 Aprismo The Ideas and Doctrines of Victor Raul Haya de la Torre Kent Ohio Kent State University Press 1973 A History of the Economics Department of Rutgers College New Brunswick NJ Rutgers College Economics Dept 1974 Agrarian Reform in Latin America New York Macmillan 1974 Four Alexander Families of Wayne County Ohio New Brunswick NJ Mega Ton Publishers 1975 Report of Commission of Enquiry into Human Rights in Paraguay of the International League for Human Rights With Ben Stephansky New York International League for Human Rights 1976 A New Development Strategy Maryknoll NY Orbis Books 1976 Arturo Alessandri A Biography Ann Arbor University Microfilms International 1977 The Tragedy of Chile Westport CT Greenwood Press 1978 Juan Domingo Peron A History Boulder CO Westview Press 1979 The Right Opposition The Lovestoneites and the International Communist Opposition of the 1930s Westport CT Greenwood Press 1981 Bolivia past present and future of its politics New York Praeger Stanford Calif Hoover Institution Press 1982 Romulo Betancourt and the Transformation of Venezuela New Brunswick NJ Transaction Books 1982 Political Parties of the Americas Canada Latin America and the West Indies General Editor Westport CT Greenwood Press 1982 Biographical Dictionary of Latin American and Caribbean Political Leaders General Editor New York Greenwood Press 1988 Venezuela s Voice for Democracy Conversations and Correspondence with Romulo Betancourt New York Praeger 1990 International Trotskyism 1929 1985 A Documented Analysis of the Movement Durham NC Duke University Press 1991 Juscelino Kubitschek and the Development of Brazil Athens Ohio Ohio University Center for International Studies 1991 The ABC Presidents Conversations and Correspondence with the Presidents of Argentina Brazil and Chile Westport CT Praeger 1992 The Bolivarian Presidents Conversations and Correspondence with Presidents of Bolivia Peru Ecuador Colombia and Venezuela Westport CT Praeger 1994 Presidents of Central America Mexico Cuba and Hispaniola Conversations and Correspondence Westport CT Praeger 1995 Presidents Prime Ministers and Governors of the English Speaking Caribbean and Puerto Rico Conversations and Correspondence Westport CT Praeger 1997 The Anarchists in the Spanish Civil War Westport CT Praeger 1999 International Maoism in the Developing World Westport CT Praeger 1999 International Maoism in the Developed World Westport CT Praeger 2001 Google Preview Haya de la Torre Man of the Millennium His Life Ideas and Continuing Relevance Lima Peru Victor Raul Haya de la Torre Institute 2001 A History of Organized Labor in Cuba Westport Conn Praeger 2002 A History of Organized Labor in Brazil With Eldon Parker Westport CT Westport Conn Praeger 2003 A History of Organized Labor in Argentina Westport Conn Praeger 2003 A History of Organized Labor in English speaking West Indies With Eldon Parker Westport CT Praeger 2004 A History of Organized Labor in Uruguay and Paraguay With Eldon Parker Westport CT Praeger 2005 A History of Organized Labor in Bolivia With Eldon Parker Westport CT Praeger 2005 A History of Organized Labor in Peru and Ecuador With Eldon Parker Westport CT Praeger 2007 A History of Organized Labor in Panama and Central America With Eldon Parker Westport CT Praeger 2008 International Labor Organizations and Organized Labor in Latin America and the Caribbean A History With Eldon Parker Santa Barbara CA Praeger ABC CLIO 2009 Further reading EditVictor G Devinatz Robert J Alexander s U S Left Wing Interview Collection and Archaeology of Dissident Communism Working USA The Journal of Labor and Society vol 15 June 2012 pp 153 175 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Robert J Alexander amp oldid 1145141463, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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