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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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Collection Overview
| Size | 7.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 1000 items) |
| Abstract | Junius Irving Scales (1920-2002), native of Greensboro, N.C., and graduate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, was Communist Party chair for North and South Carolina, 1948-1956. Personal and political papers of Junius Scales, including Communist party Papers, a small amount of material about the Progressive Party (1948), personal correspondence, the proceedings of Scales's 1958 trial under the Smith Act, drafts of his two books, and other personal papers. |
| Creator | Scales, Junius Irving. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Adera Scheinker, August 1997
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Updated by: Jodi Berkowitz, May 2019; Davia Webb and Laura Smith, October 2023
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Subject Headings
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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Biographical Information
Junius Scales, a native of Greensboro, N.C., and graduate of the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, was the chair of the Communist Party of North Carolina and South Carolina from 1948 to 1956. He was the first individual imprisoned under the Smith Act for membership in the Communist Party and suspected plotting to overthrow the United States government. He served fourteen months before his sentence was commuted by President John F. Kennedy. A play was written in 1976 about his trial.
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Scope and Content
This collection contains personal and political papers of Junius Scales, including Communist party propaganda, personal correspondence, the proceedings of his trial, drafts of his two books, and other personal papers.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Subjects, circa 1940-1958.
Arrangement: by subject.
Political papers and memorabilia and publications of the Communist Party and of related groups, including the Progressive Party.
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Series 2. Personal Correspondence, 1940-1987.
Arrangement: chronological.
Personal letters both from Scales and to Scales by family and friends. Included are Christmas cards sent to Scales while he was in jail in 1962.
| Folder 38 |
1940-1949 |
| Folder 39 |
1950-April 1955 |
| Folder 40 |
May 1955 |
| Folder 41 |
June 1955-1958 |
| Folder 42 |
1961-November 1962 |
Folder 43-45
Folder 43Folder 44Folder 45 |
December 1962, Christmas cards |
| Folder 46 |
1976-1978 |
| Box 16 |
1978Acquisitions Information: Accession 102052 Two letters written by Junius Scales to friends. One letter includes photographs of himself and his correspondent. |
1961, 1987Acquisitions Information: Accession 20221116.2. Includes type reproductions of two letters from Junius Scales I, during his imprisonment in Lewisburg Penitentiary, to his daughter Barbara, 1961. Also includes an original letter to Charlotte Adams, 12 December 1987. |
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Series 3. Scales Trial, 1955-1960.
Arrangement: chronological and by trial type.
Publicity, legal correspondence, petitions, and trial proceedings from Scales's trial in 1958.
| Folder 47 |
Publicity |
| Folder 48 |
Legal correspondence |
| Folder 49 |
Circuit Court appeals |
| Folder 50 |
Supreme Court petitions, 1955-1957 |
| Folder 51 |
Supreme Court petitions, 1958-1960 |
| Folder 52 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 17 January |
| Folder 53 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 3 and 4 February |
| Folder 54 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 5 February |
| Folder 55 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 6 February |
| Folder 56 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 7 February |
| Folder 57 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 10 February |
| Folder 58 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 11 February |
| Folder 59 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 12 February |
| Folder 60 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 13 February |
| Folder 61 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 14 February |
| Folder 62 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 17 February |
| Folder 63 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 18 February |
| Folder 64 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 19 February |
| Folder 65 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 20 February |
| Folder 66 |
Scales trial proceedings, 1958 21 February |
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Series 4. Book drafts, circa 1970.
Arrangement: by book title.
Drafts of Once Upon a Felon, a book written by Scales, and Rebel with a Lost Cause, written by Scales and Richard Nickson.
Folder 67-77
Folder 67Folder 68Folder 69Folder 70Folder 71Folder 72Folder 73Folder 74Folder 75Folder 76Folder 77 |
Once Upon a Felon |
Folder 78-82
Folder 78Folder 79Folder 80Folder 81Folder 82 |
Rebel with a Lost Cause |
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Series 5. Personal Papers, circa 1940-1978.
Arrangement: by type.
Personal papers of Scales including financial Papers, military records, diaries, Communist School notes, and miscellaneous notes. The war records and papers include a few U.S. Army forms, but mostly consist of guide-books and political pamphlets that Scales acquired in Italy during World War II. The diaries are small volumes in which Scales recorded expenses, appointments, and a few notes.
Folder 83-84
Folder 83Folder 84 |
Financial papers |
Folder 85-86
Folder 85Folder 86 |
War records and papers |
| Folder 87 |
War records and papers Diaries, 1949 and 1953 |
| Folder 88 |
War records and papers Membership cards |
| Folder 89 |
War records and papers Prison papers |
| Folder 90 |
War records and papers Communist School notes |
Folder 91-92
Folder 91Folder 92 |
Miscellaneous notes |