Oral history interview with Monroe Sweetland
Scope and Contents
This oral history interview with Monroe Sweetland was conducted by Andrew Bryans on March 16, 2002. In this interview, Sweetland discusses his family background and early life, including his childhood in rural Michigan; his early involvement in Democratic politics; and his experiences at Cornell University. He discusses his political activism during college, including his involvement with the Student League for Industrial Democracy and his political activism on behalf of Socialist candidates. Sweetland also discusses his political activities after his return to Oregon in 1935, including his work with the Oregon Commonwealth Federation and his decision to leave the Socialist Party and join the Democratic Party. Also discussed is his work with labor unions; the New Deal programs; and his work with the Oregon Democratic Party. He briefly talks about World War II and its effect on Oregon politics, particularly the effect the Hitler-Stalin pact had on American communists and the Oregon Commonwealth Federation; internment of Japanese-Americans; and his own pacifism.
Dates
- 2002 March 16
Creator
- Sweetland, Monroe, 1910-2006 (Interviewee, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
Collection is open for research.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright held by the Oregon Historical Society. License under: Creative Commons, BY-NC-SA: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/
Biographical note
Monroe Mark Sweetland was born in Salem, Oregon, in 1910. His family moved to Michigan in about 1915, and he spent the bulk of his childhood there. He began his involvement with the Democratic Party when he was just 10 years old by clandestinely organizing a party meeting. He entered Wittenberg University in Ohio at age 16, then attended Cornell University and Syracuse Law School in New York. He met Lillie Megrath while attending Syracuse Law School and they were married in 1933. He returned to Oregon in 1935 and subsequently worked with the Commonwealth Federation, promoted progressive politics, and was instrumental in the rise of the Democratic Party to political power in the state. He also owned several newspapers in Oregon, including the Molalla Pioneer, the Newport News, and the Milwaukie Review. He represented Clackamas County in the Oregon House of Representatives 1953, and served in the Oregon Senate from 1955 to 1962. After leaving the Legislature, he moved to California and lobbied for the National Educaton Association. After retiring from politics, he began a business selling dried floral arrangements, called Western Wilderness Products. He returned to Oregon after his wife, Lillie, died in 1985, and he ran unsuccessfully for the Oregon Senate again in 1994. He died in 2006.
Extent
.1 Cubic Feet (3 audiocassettes (2 hr., 48 min., 45 sec.) + transcript (69 pages))
Language of Materials
English
Abstract
Oral history interview with Monroe Sweetland conducted by Andrew Bryans on March 16, 2002, as part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series. Sweetland was an Oregon state representative and senator.
Existence and Location of Copies
General
Forms part of the Oregon Legislature Oral History Series.
- Communists -- United States
- Democratic Party (Or.)
- Depressions -- 1929 -- United States
- Japanese Americans -- Forced removal and internment, 1942-1945
- Labor unions -- Oregon
- Oral Histories
- Oregon
- Oregon Commonwealth Federation
- Socialist Party of the United States of America
- Sweetland, Monroe, 1910-2006
- United States -- Politics and government -- 20th century
- interviews
Creator
- Sweetland, Monroe, 1910-2006 (Interviewee, Person)
- Bryans, Andrew Nils (Interviewer, Person)
- Title
- Guide to oral history interview with Monroe Sweetland
- Status
- Completed
- Author
- Sarah Stroman
- Date
- 2020
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- Undetermined
- Script of description
- Code for undetermined script
- Language of description note
- Finding aid is written in English.
- Sponsor
- This project is supported in whole or part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services through the Library Services and Technology Act, administered by the State Library of Oregon.
Repository Details
Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240
libreference@ohs.org