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Dalhousie University Archives United States Protestantism
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Correspondence of Nora Leslie

File contains correspondence sent to Nora Leslie (née Nora Steenerson Smith, Nora Totten), fourth wife of Kenneth Leslie, from the 1950s to the 1970s. File includes letters and cards sent by Emilie Laraway, Mary Lewis, Helene Mullins, and Elizabeth and John Robertson. File also includes an undated note written by Nora Leslie after Kenneth Leslie's death, regarding a disagreement with Kenneth's daughter Rosaleen. File also includes a photocopy of a clipping of Nora's obituary.

Kenneth Leslie fonds

  • MS-2-232
  • Fonds
  • 1913-1975
Fonds consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, manuscripts, sermons, miscellaneous papers, poetry volumes and copies of The Protestant, a journal edited by Kenneth Leslie.

Leslie, Kenneth

The stone god : a drama in four acts : [manuscript]

Item is an early draft manuscript of a four-act dramatic play with four characters: the protagonist, Ellen Maria; her husband, an archaeologist named Jens; Ellen Maria's cousin, a theologian named Johannes; and a forester named Steffa.

Aslaug Vaa translations : [manuscripts]

File contains several handwritten drafts of translations of two poems originally written by Aslaug Vaa and translated by Nora Steenerson Smith (later Nora Leslie), fourth wife of Kenneth Leslie. There are six handwritten drafts of a translation of Duva og dropen (with minor variations and corrections), and seven drafts of a translation of the Skinnvengbrev (with minor variations and corrections).

Translations of Aslaug Vaa poems : [draft manuscripts]

File contains three undated (likely in the 1940s) partial translations of poems originally written by the Norwegian poet Aslaug Vaa (b. Rauland,25 August 1889; d. Oslo, 28 November 1965) and translated by Kenneth Leslie.

File contains translations of the following poems:
- twenty-three lines of the poem "Skinnvengbrev," which begins "Eg tredde eingong du hadde gøymt deg, / at baade du og Gud ha gløymt meg, / og eg blei minst av dei skapte ting.", which Leslie has translated as "I thought one time you had forsaken me / that you and God had forgotten me / and I was least of created things." The header of this leaf has the title "So 6847 Pauline", and the English translation is written directly below the Norwegian original ;
- eight lines of translation of a fourteen line untitled poem, also presumably by Aslaug Vaa, which begins "A, so det vesle båmet reeddest / når det møter det ukjende. / Ein gong i eit framandt land, / sto eg og var dette ukjende for ein liten kropp", which Leslie has translated as "Of course a little child is frightened / when he meets with an unknown one. / Once upon a time on strange soil / I stood and was this unknown one for a little body." The Norwegian text and English translation are written on separate leaves ; and
- four stanzas of the poem 'Duva og Dropen,' which begins "Det kurra ei duve / med bekken Mahala / i skuggen av palmur / og driv kvite kala", which Leslie has translated as "A dove coos so warmly / where murmurs Mahala / In shade of the palm trees / and drifts of white kalla". This item also contains notes for a sermon about avarice written on the verso.

Political and imperialism fragments : [manuscripts]

File contains two undated typed fragments, likely written in the 1940s, by Kenneth Leslie. The first fragment, a five-page selection, discusses religion in regards to imperialism, largely dealing with China and eastern Asia. The second fragment, one page long discusses politics and "one's objective obligation to history". Both fragments contain numerous annotated with corrections and alterations in ink.

Cooperation and the whole man : [manuscript]

File contains a draft manuscript of an article with the inked title "Cooperation and the whole man", presumably written by Kenneth Leslie, at some point in the early-1940s, for potential inclusion in his periodical "The Protestant digest". File addresses the importance of the Cooperation Movement (in particular the Antigonish Movement) in "dealing with the whole man" when trying to make a difference in a world "full of revolution and war". File contains a few inked corrections and additions.

The importance of the M. case : [manuscript]

File contains a draft handwritten (in pencil) manuscript entitled "The importance of the M. case" [Mindszenty case], written in early 1949 by Kenneth Leslie, presumably for consideration of inclusion in his periodical 'The Protestant', or as research notes for his publication "Hungary -- Christian or Pagan? : an eyewitness report" (published in late 1949). File discusses the arrest in Hungary of Cardinal József Mindszenty for anti-Communist activities in late-1948 (after all religious orders had been banned in Hungary), and espouses Leslie's belief that "our American newspapers [...] responded like a well-trained pointer, [...touching] the well-established pro-Catholic nerve and the newer Truman cold-war nerve."

Offprint pamphlets from The Protestant

File contains three pamphlet offprints: "Protestantism answers hate," the text of an address delivered by Ickes, Secretary of the Interior, to the "Protestantism answers hate dinner forum" held at the Hotel Roosevelt on Tuesday, February 25, 1941; "Who is anti-Catholic? A letter which clarifies the position of a true liberal democratic Roman Catholic," written by Gerald Richardson, associate editor of The Protestant; and "Dissent becomes disloyalty," by Abraham Pomerantz.

Good Friday Message from the Ministerial Action Committee of The Protestant : [poster]

Item consists of a broadside produced by the Ministerial Action Committee of The Protestant (chaired by Kenneth Leslie and Chester Hodgson), as appeared in print on Wednesday, April 2, 1947, stating that "we cannot permit the Cross of Christ to be used as a bludgeon in the hands of those who would use the Jews, or any other religious or racial group, as scapegoats in their thrust for Fascist power over America".

Textbook Commission to Eliminate Anti-Semitic Statements in American Textbooks clippings and correspondence

File contains facsimiles of newspaper clippings related to Kenneth Leslie's "Textbook Commission to Eliminate Anti-Semitic Statements in American Textbooks", collected between 1943 and 1946. File includes facsimiles of articles from The Catholic News, Our Sunday Visitor, American Glass Review, The Portland Scribe, among others. File also includes a "Declaration of Principles of the Textbook Commission to Eliminate Anti-Semitic Statements in American Textbooks" broadside; facsimile of a letter sent by John Edgar Hoover to Ben Richardson (of The Protestant) dated December 27, 1945; facsimile correspondence between Richardson and Arthur Lourie of the American Zionist Emergency Council; a facsimile of a letter from L.M. Birkhead (National Director of Friends of Democracy Inc.) to Mrs. F.H. Gray (regarding The Protestant), a three-page letter by Jules Cohen of the Brooklyn Jewish Community Council on the subject of an "observers report on the 'Protestant' rally of March 21, 1946"; and facsimiles of an anti-Semitic poster from the German American Vocational League and an anti-Semitic advertisement for a Henry Ford publication.

Open Letter to the Missouri Knights of Columbus : [poster]

Item consists of an illustrated broadside produced by The Protestant (edited by Kenneth Leslie), as it appeared in the Sunday, April 7, 1946 edition of The New York Times, containing a lengthy letter written by Leslie in response to anti-Soviet and pro-Franco Spanish statements from the Missouri Knights of Columbus Catholic fraternal society.

Garber, Paul

File contains two letters written by Bishop Paul N. Garber (of Geneva, Switzerland), and one response from Kenneth Leslie, dated March and April 1946. The first letter, dated March 7, 1946, from Garber, informs Leslie of his meeting in Warsaw with Stefan Molski, a correspondent for Leslie's publication The Protestant, and discusses the current tenuous Polish political situation. The response from Leslie, dated April 11, 1946, inquires as to whether Bishop Garber would be willing contribute an article to The Protestant, and gauging Garber's interest in serving as an adviser of the publication's Editorial Board. Garber's response, dated April 17, 1946. affirms his interest in serving as an editorial adviser, but warns that he will also be "very busy" given his need to attend "four annual conferences [held] in rapid succession in Switzerland, Belgium, Czechoslovakia and Poland."

Chicago Ministerial Action Committee

File contains typed correspondence dated November 22, 1946, about a resolution passed at a meeting of the Chicago Ministerial Action Committee of The Protestant, at a meeting on November 19, 1946, following questioning of Kenneth Leslie's leadership. The resolution states that "We [...] sincerely deprecate the action of those who have endangered our whole endeavor by placing your position of leadership in a false light, [and] unanimously go on record expressing our complete and sincere loyalty to you." File includes a list of the signatories of the resolution.

Press clippings about The Protestant

File contains facsimiles of newspaper clippings collected by Kenneth Leslie, between 1939 and 1946, containing articles (complimentary or otherwise) about Leslie's periodical 'The Protestant'. File includes clippings from America: A Catholic Review, the Brooklyn Eagle, the Brooklyn Tablet, the Fayetteville (N.C.) Advocate, the International Jewish Press Bureau, the Jewish Advocate, the Jewish Examiner, the Memphis Press Scimitar, the New York Times, the New York World Telegram, the Southern Israelite, among others.

Kenneth Leslie's sketchbook

File contains an undated No. 7191 "Monterery" drawing spiral sketch book, containing pencil drawings by Kenneth Leslie, with artwork created presumably in the late 1930s or early 1940s. The sketchbook is largely blank, however, there are pencil drawings on the first three pages. The first is a 45° side-on portrait of "R. Currie" signed by Leslie. The second is an untitled study of a woman's face as she leans forward. The third is also untitled, the beginnings of a rural scene with a cabin at the end of a roadway.

New York Times

File contains typed correspondence written by Kenneth Leslie on February 23, 1945, and sent "to the Editor of the New York Times". File addresses Leslie's request for print space to respond to a letter previously submitted by Michael Williams (February 22, 1945 issue), and his assertion that Leslie and The Protestant have made "at least one gravely erroneous historical statement". Williams alleged that The Protestant entertains "the notion that in 1929 the Holy See suddenly and in the most sinister alliance with the political and ideological powers of Fascism, Nazism and dictatorships resumed 'political activities' totally suspended since 1870, and apparently for the express purpose of supporting such regimes...', while Leslie responds stating that the notion The Protestant conveyed was to call attention to the "Papacy's abstention from 'overt political activity' between 1870 and 1929".

1600 Protestant Ministers Defend Separation of Church and State : [poster]

Item consists of a broadside produced by The Protestant (chaired by Kenneth Leslie), likely in early 1945, titled "1600 Protestant Ministers Defend Separation of Church and State". Item includes facsimiles of articles from the New York Herald Tribune and New York Times (from February 1945), as well as a letter from Kenneth Leslie to Archbishop Francis J. Spellman, demanding opposition to "any attempt under whatever formula to involve the free democratic states in any deal in which the Vatican State or its representatives, or the representatives of any Protestant or Jewish establishment of religion, has part or place, either as principal or mediator" and other "disservice[s] to the country".

1613 Christian Ministers Demand an All-Out Anti-Fascist Peace : [poster]

Item consists of a broadside produced by The Protestant (edited by Kenneth Leslie), as it appeared in the February 13, 1945 edition of the New York Post, containing a declaration from Leslie and the editorship directed to Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin, urging resistance against what Leslie deems the anti-Semitic influence of a "overtly political" Papacy.

God and the intellectuals : [manuscript]

File contains a typed draft manuscript (with a few inked corrections) of a sermon delivered by Kenneth Leslie, likely in the early 1940s, entitled "God and the Intellectual". File addresses the role of colleges in teaching metaphysics, before moving on to the threat posed by "the sickness of America [and the] whole modern world. [...] Call it transcendentalism. Call it idealism" during the Second World War, wherein the motto "transcendentalism : greed' was the antiphonal change for the burying of [early] New England", much as it has been in the run-up to war, and the efforts to prevent the acceptance of "absolute ideas as substitutes for organic thinking", as in fascism, which demands "all or nothing" answers.

Good Friday Message : Shall We Take Our Turn at Murder? : [poster]

Item consists of a broadside produced by The Protestant (chaired by Kenneth Leslie) sometime in the mid-1940s, with the header "Good Friday Message" "Shall we take our turn at murder?" Item relates to anti-Semitic language and fascist activities affecting American (and Church) policy and opinion as it relates to efforts to establish a Jewish territory in Palestine.

New York World-Telegram

File contains typed correspondence written, on The Protestant letterhead, by Kenneth Leslie on February 14, 1944, and sent to the editor of the New York World-Telegram. File addresses Leslie's request for print space to respond to articles previously submitted by a Mr. Woltman (February 7, 8, and 9, 1944 issues), and Woltman's "smear attack" assertion that "The Protestant, its Textbook Commission to Eliminate Anti-Semitic Statements in American Textbooks, and myself, as being 'anti-Jewish,' 'anti-Catholic' and unofficial apologists for Communism." Leslie differentiates between Woltman's assertion of Leslie's attacks on Catholicism, calling them rather "taking issue with the political activities of the Vatican and its emissaries". He responds to the "anti-Jewish" assertion stating that the attacks were on the American Jewish Committee "which does not represent the Jews of America". He also reasserts "The Protestant"'s policy of
attacking Fascism here and abroad, irrespective of whether its sponsorship be Protestant, Catholic or Jewish". He finishes by defending accusations of anti-Semitism levied against Pierre van Paassen, Johannes Steel, and Joseph Brainin (fellow editor of The Protestant), stating that "the accuser must be pitied for having exposed his ignorance--or malice--so flagrantly" by accusing "a man of the stature of Pierre van Paassen, whom the Jews in this country, in Europe and in Palestine have come to regard as their greatest champion, [of anti-Semitism]".

Smash Anti-Semitism and save this continent from Fascism : [poster]

Item consists of a full-page newsprint broadside commissioned by the Textbook Commission to Eliminate Anti-Semitic Statements in American Textbooks (chaired by Kenneth Leslie of The Protestant), as it appeared in The Stoneham, Massachusetts "Independent" on February 11, 1944. Item contains the header "Smash Anti-Semitism and save this continent from Fascism", includes a passage of a Kenneth Leslie speech, a letter submitted by Boston minister Rev. W. Ellis Davies, a "Pledge" signed by '2,863 ordained Christian ministers' to eliminate the 'cowardly propaganda of anti-Semitism" from textbooks, as well as contact information for the Textbook Commission.

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano

File contains a draft of an undated (presumably spring 1943) letter to be sent to American President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, written by Kenneth Leslie. The file addresses concerns raised by the Textbook Commission about a "most regretful anti-Semitic foot note" that appeared in the Roman Catholic version of the New Testament that was issued to all "Catholic personnel of the Army". The offending passage, that the Commission requested be removed from all editions, appeared on page 559: "the Jews are the Synagogues of Satan". The First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt, had previously been an ardent admirer of Kenneth Leslie's work, giving invaluable endorsements to Leslie on several occasions.

Kenneth Leslie's office diary

Item is an office diary kept by Kenneth Leslie's secretaries at the New York office of The Protestant Digest in 1943. It contains a day-by-day breakdown of Leslie's meetings and correspondence sent, preparations for several issues of the magazine, progress with the development of the Textbook Commission, and accounts of the general comings and goings in the office.

Open publicity is the weapon of democracy : confused liberals get unconfused, now let them get going : [manuscript]

File contains a draft typed manuscript, undated (but probably from 1943) written by Kenneth Leslie. File consists of a letter to American liberals and those who wish "the world had joined together against Fascism", rallying them to join the Protestant's Textbook Commission to Eliminate Anti-Semitic Statements in American Textbooks.

Sermon delivered at Abyssinian Baptist Church, Harlem, New York : [manuscript]

File contains an undated, untitled fragment (lacking the first of seven pages) of a sermon delivered by Kenneth Leslie at Abyssinian Baptist Church, Harlem, New York. The sermon was likely given October 24th, 1943, entitled "God -- Empty Church", a later version of which appeared in the December 1943 issue of The Protestant. File addresses the threat posed by both the Papacy and Martin Luther to the Baptists, stating that Luther was not "for the people" and that "Baptists ... were massacred with the people by both Luther and the Pope". File expresses the notion that since the success of the Russian Revolution and communism, "the opportunity for free religion is here, [...as] religion has not, nor can be free under capitalism". File also addresses the role in Leslie's 'The Protestant' (The pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., was serving on the editorial board of 'The Protestant' at this time) in ensuring the opportunity for free religion in a American capitalist socioeconomic system that prevents it.

Kenneth Leslie's Protestant Digest and Textbook Commission letter book

File contains Kenneth Leslie's letter book from the early years of The Protestant Digest, and the Textbook Commission to Eliminate Anti-Semitic Statements in American Textbooks, dated 1938 to 1943. File contains full correspondence as well as snippets from Kenneth Leslie's letters, Protestant Digest documentation, favourable testimonials about The Protestant Digest, as well as Leslie's efforts to attract scholars to join the editorial board of The Protestant Digest.

The letter book is divided into the following sections:
- Textbook Commission: with a "general invitation to join the Textbook Commission to Eliminate Anti-Semitic Statements in American Textbooks as well as Leslie's letters to Richard E. Gutstadt, Samuel Radbill, Joseph Barth, E. George Payne, Chas. Feltman, Sol Tekulsky, Brigadier-General Chaplain William R. Arnold, St. Anthony Guild Press, the Confraternity of the Precious Blood, E.E. Wheeler, Louis Broido, and Abraham A. Neuman;

- Released Time: responding to critiques from the Editor of Commonweal, the editor of the Friends of the Public Schools of America, Harriet V. Postman, Simon Certner, Mrs. Yorke Allen, Mark Starr, and James King;

- Anti-Semitism: letters and support to Isaac Rosengarten, Marion B. Sulzberger, Joseph Gorelik, Dr Albert W. Palmer, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, Hon. Fiorello LaGuardia, Senator James E. Mead, Margaret Lee Southard, Philip Slomovitz, Rabbi Jerome Unger, and Mrs. Louis L. Browne;

- Social Action and Negro: letters to the editor of the New York Post, John T. McManus, the Women's National Radio Committee, Dr Benjamin E. Mays, Donald West, Hon. Sumner Welles, Patrick Malin, Dr A. Clayton Powell Jr., Donald Young, Robert Searle, Bridget Clark, Mrs Franklin D. [Eleanor] Roosevelt, Sylvia Loomis, Annette Smith Lawrence, Mrs. Julius O. Adler, Harold Rosswell, Philip Murray, Chaim Weizmann, Meyer Weisgal, Samuel McCrea Cavert, Dr Adolf Meyer, Eugene R. Shippen, Attorney General Francis Biddle, and the text of a "statement for the special Negro issue of New Masses, October 1, 1942";

- The Protestant Digest, later The Protestant: with subheadings for Documents, Beginnings -- Motif -- Aim -- Purpose, Epigrams (to Nora Bateson, John L. Lewis, Edward T. Friendly, American League for Peace and Democracy, John Temple Graves II, Walter Winchell, Paul Vincent Carroll, Carl W. Shaver, Dr J.H. Rushbrook, Rev. J.T. Widner, Bishop Ralph A. Ward, Sara Graham Mullhall, Maurice Rosenblatt, Mrs. A. Goshawk, Hon. Henry A. Wallace, Cyrus S. Eaton, and Mrs. Leonard K. Elmhirst;

- Comments on The Protestant Digest, later The Protestant, Favorable: with comments from Eleanor Roosevelt, The Christian Register, Zions Herald, Social Action Digest, Reinhold Niebuhr, Dr. W.K. Wilson, Mrs. Andrew Gardner, Presbyterian Tribune, Joseph Fort Newton, Upton Sinclair, Edward Holton James, George N. Falconer, Edward T. Friendly, Nora Bateson, O.R. Thome, Miss Ada L. Snell, A.W. Heinle, Clifford J. Laube, I.C. Thorgaard, Ellis Huntington Dana, Hamish Hamilton, H.A. Crossley, Clarence E. Wilson, Carl W. Shaver, Walter C. Leck, Rabbi Joseph S. Shubow, P.L. Howe, Kay Smith, Robert C. Harder, M. Milton Talkin, Arthur Settel, Robert H. Ellis Jr., I.M. Sholkin, Fred Eastman, Florence L. Cox, Rev. Robert H. Eads, Stephen S. Wise, Angie Wynn, John Granberry, Samuel L. Hamilton, Leon Wolf Levy, W. Edgar Gregory, Guy Henson, R. Lloyd Pobst, Don MacDiarmid, D. Arthur Bowman, Harry C. Steinmetz, Lester L. Greenbaum, the New York Post, R.O. Johnson, Maria Halberstadt, Pierre vanPaasen, Louis Adamic, Sam G. Johnson, Laird T. Hites, Frank Mlakar, C. Oumansky, George R. Bryant, Robert Ulich, Mrs. A.B. Cross, Rev. Hurley Begun, Horace T. Houf, Frank D. Graham, Ivy Litvinoff, Rev. Alfred V. Bliss, Peter Kamitchis, Rev. Edward Morris, Gerald M. Meyer, William Bouck, R.. Dundon, Edwin McNeil Poteat, Stanley High, Ione Riggs, Bishop James Cannon Jr., Olive Anderson, Robert Whitaker Edward H. Redman, John A. Lee, John A. MacKay, Walter M. Kraus, Theodore D. Jervey, Neason Jones, Sidney A. Goodman, Mrs. A. Allyn, Marion Neville, Albert F. Gilmore, Richard J. Davis, and Ralph W. Wescott;

- Invitations to join the Board of Editorial Advisors, epigrams: with letters to Albert Einstein, Sherwood Eddy, Bishop Edward L. Parsons, George Bernard Shaw, Rt. Rev. Malcolm E. Peabody, Charles Evans Hughes, Rt. Rev. Benjamin, Ralph Barton Perry, and Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam;

- The Protestant Digest Associates, epigrams: with letters to Martha Gelhorn [sic], Vilhjalmur Stefansson, Helen Lynd, William Jay Schieffelin, Rev. Edward Morris, Ida Pellar, Judge Benjamin Shaleck, and Cyrus Eaton.

To Armenian Americans : [manuscript]

File contains the typed manuscript text of an undated address made (presumably in late 1941 or early 1942) by Kenneth Leslie, to "Mr. Chairman, [...] Archbishop Hovsepian, learned doctors, brave Captain [Jim] Chankalian, [and the] Armenian people". File addresses the Armenian cause and the Russian War Relief effort in the months following the Atlantic Charter.

Letter written by Kenneth Leslie regarding the threat posed by fascism and antisemitism in the United States

Item is a two-page typed letter written by Kenneth Leslie on December 17, 1942. The letter addresses the threat posed by the fascist movement and antisemitism in the United States, both at present during the war, as well as the threats posed "after the war is over", where "this Fascistic movement will let loose with its first barrage, to consist of a wave of terror against the Jew". The letter, which an accompanying index card suggests should be sent "first to Presidents of colleges and then to professors of education, philosophy, psychology, historical and sociological sciences", urges educators join the "Protestant Digest"-supported Textbook Commission to eliminate anti-Semitic statements in American textbooks as a means of warding off fascism and antisemitism "not in the name of any church but in the name of democracy".

Radio interview fragments : [manuscripts]

File contains two fragments of radio interviews (one dated March 14, 1940, the other undated) involving Kenneth Leslie. The first, titled "Radio Script : Leslie-Merchant" -- discusses Leslie's involvement in the Protestant Digest, and Protestantism in general. The second untitled and undated fragment discusses science and mathematics.

Davis, Mary

File contains a typed letter unsigned by Kenneth Leslie, written on March 19, 1931 to be sent to Mary Davis of Summit, New Jersey. File addresses outlining an evening of Gaelic dance and music, organized by Kenneth and his first wife, Elizabeth Moir, mentioning the potential of his three young daughters assisting in the dancing. The goal of the program is to display the "instrumental music, song, and dance, expressive of the classic culture of Gaeldom. File also contains a facsimile of Leslie's letter.

The social aspect of the idea of truth and reality : [manuscript]

File contains an undated typed manuscript entitled "The social aspect of the idea of truth and reality", presumably written in 1915, by Kenneth Leslie, when he was a student at Harvard University. File addresses Leslie's notions of perception, conception, and interpretation.

The Protestant Digest

Series contains copies of the The Protestant Digest, materials related to the Textbook Commission, as well as office ledgers, advertisements, and Protestant stationery.