Heath Robinson was recently hired as the James D. Bales Project Archivist in the University Libraries Special Collections Department.
Robinson is working on an archival processing project, “Seeing Red: James D. Bales and the Southern Red Scare.”

The project is one of seven grants awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) this year as part of its “Access to Historical Records” grant program, supporting archival repositories in preserving and providing access to primary source material that encourages understanding of American democracy, history, and culture.

Angela Fritz, Interim Head of Special Collections, sat down recently with Robinson to discuss his work on the project.

AF: What is your background in archives?
HR: Before I started this position, I spent two years working in Special Collections as an assistant to University Archivist, Amy Allen. I worked with collections related to the University of Arkansas from acquisition to their release for public use.

AF: Tell us more about the grant project you are working on?
HR: The collection I am currently working with through the NHPRC grant is the James D. Bales Papers.  These are the collected personal and professional papers of Bales, totaling over 400 boxes (and 400 linear feet) of material, with his notes, writings, and research on a wide variety of subjects.  Our goals are to arrange the materials in a manner which keeps major subjects together in series, and to make the information easily accessible through a file level inventory.

AF: Who was James D. Bales?
HR: Bales was a Bible professor at Harding College (now Harding University) who worked with the American Studies Institute and National Education Program to help disseminate material with a conservative Christian and anti-communist viewpoint.  His leading role in these efforts helped establish Harding as a nationally prominent hub of conservative activism.

AF: What is the historic significance of this collection? What will researchers find in this collection?
HR: This collection is historically significant due to the important role Bales and the National Education Program played in the Red Scare and era of McCarthyism after WWII, as well as the rise of the religious right as a powerful political movement.  Researchers will find information pertaining to James D. Bales (including biographical materials, his writings, and his correspondence), Harding College, Communism and Anti-Communism, Evolution, International Relations, Senator J. William Fulbright, Mormonism, Race and Race Relations, and Religion from a religiously conservative and anti-communist perspective.  There are also series which contain more general research files that Bales collected concerning a large variety of subjects and people.

AF: What is your most interesting discovery so far?
HR: The most interesting discovery that any of us working on the collection have found so far has been a letter Bales received from Albert Einstein discussing Einstein’s religious views. That item was found by Dr. Todd Lewis.  My favorite personal discovery has been a set of three books written in the Deseret alphabet. The Deseret alphabet was developed under the direction of Brigham Young as an experimental alphabet to replace the Latin script for written English.

Mormon Manuscripts: These images are of two Deseret Readers (orange and white covers) and a Book of Mormon (blue cover) written in the Deseret alphabet developed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in late 19th century. This phonetic English script was developed with the aim of replacing Latin characters to simplify the English language for immigrants, so they could more easily learn to read and write. James D. Bales Papers, MC 1256.

AF: How do you think this collection will be used in supporting undergraduate coursework?
HR: I think this collection will be very useful for undergraduate courses in political science, history, and religious studies.  Any class looking at the Red Scare, communism and anti-communism, religion and its role in politics in America, conservative Christian beliefs, or the right-wing opinions about various issues in America from the 1950s through the 1980s

AF: What do you like most about working on this project?
HR: I like seeing the materials that Bales collected and being able to trace the threads of the various opinions and beliefs that he held through the decades, and seeing how those ideas have evolved along the way to bring us to the current state of American politics.

This letter is one of a handful exchanged between Bales and Einstein in the early 1950s.  The two discussed religion, specifically Einstein’s religion. James D. Bales Papers, MC 1256.

The National Historical Publications and Records Commission, a statutory body affiliated with the National Archives and Records Administration, supports a wide range of activities to preserve, publish, and encourage the use of documentary sources, created in every medium ranging from quill pen to computer, relating to the history of the United States. For more information, visit their website at www.archives.gov/nhprc/.

For additional information on this project, “Seeing Red: James D. Bales and the Southern Red Scare,” contact Project Director, Angela Fritz at fritz@uark.edu or 479-575-5576.

You are also invited to visit Special Collections in Mullins Library at 365 N. McIlroy Ave., Fayetteville. Visitors can view exhibits showcasing materials housed within the archives or make an appointment for research-related endeavors. Not on campus?  Visit the department’s website for more information, or investigate already digitized resources through University of Arkansas Libraries Digital Collections.