Robert Jackson Alexander Papers: the Interview Collection

Scope

Robert Jackson Alexander was a central player in U.S./Latin American labor, political, and scholarly affairs after World War II. For five decades starting in 1946, Alexander traveled extensively as an engaged witness to and active participant in the major political events in Latin America and the Caribbean.[1]

This collection contains Alexander’s notes of nearly 12,000 interviews which are organized by country and group, and may include: politicians (by party); businessmen, bankers, agriculturalists, and employers; trade unionists (by geographic area and/or political affiliation); government officials, police and military personnel; students, intellectuals, publishers, teachers, and religious figures; and foreign observers. All interviews are typed in English. Each begins with a full identification of the interviewee and includes the time and place of the interaction. The interviews may be as short as a few sentences or as long as ten single-spaced pages. The observations of those interviewed can be remarkably frank, often surprisingly revealing, and at times humorous as they explain their society to this knowledgeable and inquisitive foreigner.

[1] French, John D. “The Robert J. Alexander Interview Collection.” Hispanic American Historical Review 84.2 (2004): 315–326.