Contents

Collection Overview

Biographical Note

Scope and Contents of the Collection

Organization of the Collection

Search Terms

SERIES I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS (1943-1983)

SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE (1959-83)

SERIES III. WRITINGS (1963-88)

SERIES IV. SPEECHES (1958-82)

SERIES V. BARNARD COLLEGE (1952-84)

SERIES VI. OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES (1943-84)

SERIES VII. SUBJECT FILES (1905-83)

SERIES I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS (1943-1983)

SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE (1959-83)

SERIES III. WRITINGS (1963-88)

SERIES IV. SPEECHES (1958-82)

SERIES V. BARNARD COLLEGE (1952-84)

SERIES VI. OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES (1943-84)

SERIES VII. SUBJECT FILES (1905-83)

OVERSIZE MATERIALS

Annette Kar Baxter Papers, 1905-1984

Finding Aid

Finding aid prepared by Kara M. McClurken.

2005

Biographical Note

Annette Kar Baxter was born on 12 November 1926 in New York, New York. She attended New York University for one year before transferring to Barnard College. In 1947 she received an A.B. from Barnard, and began working full-time as an editorial assistant at Random House, a position that she began on a part time basis her senior year. In the fall she returned to school, earning an A.M. from Smith College in 1948 and another A.M. from Radcliffe College in 1949. She worked as an assistant curator for the collection of regional history at Cornell University from 1949 to 1951. She enrolled in the Ph.D. program in American Civilization at Brown University, where she was a Carnegie Teaching Fellow for the academic year 1951-52. She then began her life-long career at Barnard, working at first as a lecturer and then as an associate in the history department. She served as the executive secretary for the University Seminar on American Civilization at Columbia from 1953-59, and served as the secretary for the American Studies Bibliography Project of the American Studies Association from 1953-56. In 1955, she married psychiatrist James E. Baxter. Her first child, Justin McDonald, was born in 1959, and her daughter, Adrienne Marshall, was born in 1962.

She received her Ph.D. from Brown in 1958 and was promoted to the status of lecturer in the History Department at Barnard. Two years later she became an associate in History. In 1966 she was appointed as an assistant professor of history and was quickly promoted to associate professor status. She reached full professorship in 1971, and in 1975 had the honor of being one of a handful of women to be awarded an endowed chair, named for Adolph and Effie Ochs.

Annette Baxter was a pioneer in the field of women's studies, teaching one of the earliest women's history classes to undergraduates in 1966. Her course served as a model for many future classes at other institutions. She remained involved in a wide variety of activities at Barnard throughout her career, including serving as an advisor to the class of 1962, membership on the Board of Trustees, regularly participating in the Seven College Conference, advising the Thursday Noon Meetings, and playing a vital role in the creation and expansion of the Women's Center at Barnard. She was acting chair of the American Studies Program in 1960-61 and 1963-64, and was made permanent chair of the department in 1967; she also served as chair of the history department from 1974 to 1983.

In addition to her career at Barnard, Baxter involved herself in many other organizations. She served on the Board of Trustees for Conference in Theology for College and University Faculty, Kirkland College (Clinton, New York) and Middlesex School (Concord, Massachusetts). She was a consultant for the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Ford Foundation, National Council of Women, and Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. She served on committees for the American Association of University Women, American Historical Association, Organization of American Historians, American Studies Association, and many others. She participated in panels and gave speeches on the value of women's history and women's education. Baxter published numerous book reviews and articles, and edited several series on women's autobiographies and women's studies. Her books include To Be a Woman in America, 1850-1930; Inwood House, 1839-1980; and a biography, Henry Miller, Expatriate, as well as four books in progress when she died in 1983. She has been called "one of the nation's foremost authorities on the history of women."

Throughout her career, Annette Baxter remained dedicated to the cause of women's education, women's studies, and women's rights. She fought to keep Barnard independent from Columbia. In 1979-80, "the politics and problems of the Barnard History Department in its struggle for survival in Columbia University" consumed much of her energy. In the prime of her career, Annette Baxter died in a fire that also killed her husband, at their summer home on 18 September 1983. She was fifty-six years old.

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Scope and Contents of the Collection

The Annette Kar Baxter Papers consist of 30 linear feet, dating from 1905 to 1984, and primarily document her professional and public life. Types of material include correspondence, memoranda, speeches, publications, articles, photographs, address books, agendas, organization files, bibliographies, lecture notes, research material, manuscripts, minutes, newsletters, notes, and journal and newspaper articles.

Baxter's papers provide a rich and detailed view of the life of an academic--at both the departmental and college-wide level- and a woman who combined career and motherhood. Baxter filled her days with committee meetings, student recommendations, and inter-departmental disputes; she even entertained her students in her home on a regular basis. She found time to research and write and speak on a wide range of topics, even as she made an effort to spend summers away from the city with her family. At the forefront of emerging American and women's studies, her correspondence, writing, teaching, and subject files reveal the thrills and frustrations that come with advancing new disciplines, while advocating traditional, single-sex educational programs.

While the bulk of the papers date from 1943 to 1983, and focus on Baxter's academic career, the collection also contains material related to her home life. James Baxter's writings, correspondence, and alumni activities are fairly well represented in SERIES I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS and correspondence with the rest of the family can be found in SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE.

Although the series designations flow naturally from the types of materials within the collection, significant portions needed to be rearranged because a specific order was not discernable. As the chair of two departments, Baxter often had numerous copies of materials. She also kept home and work files for important work-related matters that needed to be sorted through and integrated. Correspondence files were scattered throughout the collection, and sometimes were arranged chronologically, sometimes segregated between personal and professional, and sometimes not arranged at all. Other areas of the collection, however, such as her class notes while a student and her research notes for writing projects remain very near her original order. For example, in her unfinished book, Foreign Views of American Women, one can see which items she decided to discard and why. Also, while her class files were purged of social security numbers and grades, these files remain in much the same arrangement as she kept them, by class and year.

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Search Terms

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Organization of the Collection

This collection is organized into seven series:

• I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS
• II. CORRESPONDENCE
• III. WRITINGS
• IV. SPEECHES
• V. BARNARD COLLEGE
• VI. OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
• VII. SUBJECT FILES
• OVERSIZE MATERIALS

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SERIES I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS (1943-1983) 3.5 linear ft.

This series provides an overview of Annette Baxter's personal and professional life, and contains additional biographical information about her family. The subseries Biographical information summarizes her academic career and achievements, as well as providing some material on her personal life. The Family subseries includes information on her parents, children, and especially her husband. Correspondence written to her husband by others can be found here. Annette Baxter kept very detailed records of her collegiate and graduate educational experiences; the Education subseries is composed of class notes, arranged in chronological order and alphabetical by subject within the chronology, and materials from her alma maters. Most of the publications from her alma maters were removed, as the material is located in other repositories. Address books and some Photographs of Annette Baxter and other family members are also included in this series. Some items in this series closed until 2025.

Education subseries is composed of class notes, arranged in chronological order and alphabetical by subject within the chronology.

SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE (1959-83) 3 linear ft.

This series is organized into two subseries: Family and Friends and associates, arranged in alphabetical order by last name. The Family subseries includes letters written to Annette Baxter and her immediate family by other members of the family. There are no letters written from Annette to her family, nor is there any correspondence between Annette and her husband. This subseries is closed until 2025. The Friends and associates subseries contains the bulk of the material in this series. People with whom Annette Baxter exchanged significant correspondence and well-known individuals have their own folders, with letters arranged alphabetically by last name and chronologically within each folder. They include Marilyn Bender, Karen Blair, Bill Chafe, Jill Conway, Paula Fass, Estelle Freedman, Lynn Gordon, Jacqueline Hall, Eva Hansl, Iola Haverstick, Elizabeth Janeway, Linda Kerber, Lillian Schlissel, Ann Firor Scott, Barbara Sicherman, Catherine Stimson, and Barbara Welter. Correspondence with Darline Levy and Ann Fagan is closed until 2035. Other individuals are included within the general correspondence for each letter of the alphabet. The general correspondence is also alphabetical by last name. Materials include both actual correspondence as well as published and unpublished materials written by or about the author. Recommendations written by Annette Baxter are also found in this series, although personal information such as social security numbers and transcripts have been removed. Christmas cards were removed unless they contained correspondence in addition to signatures. This series includes letters written to both Annette and James Baxter. There is additional correspondence throughout the collection; the organization files of Barnard College contain significant amounts.

This series is arranged in alphabetical order by last name.

SERIES III. WRITINGS (1963-88) 5 linear ft

This series is organized into twelve subseries: Monographs, Contributions to books, Series edited, Articles, Encyclopedia entries, Book reviews, "Women in Politics" exhibit, Tributes, Letters to the editor, Interviews, Miscellaneous statements, and Unpublished materials. The subseries are arranged in chronological order by genres. The years listed in the subseries Contributions to books, Articles, Encyclopedia entries, and Book reviews indicate date of publication, not dates of the materials within the folders. The years indicated in the remaining subseries indicate the date ranges within the folder. Landmark Dissertations in Women's Studies started out as a publication by Arno Press, was transferred to Garland Publishing and ended up with the publisher Praeger. Significant material on Baxter's dissertation-turned-book, Henry Miller, Expatriate, is missing from this subseries. There is however, a review of the book, as well as an article, an encyclopedia entry, and several book reviews on Miller found within this series. In addition, there is a small amount of material on Miller in SERIES VII. SUBJECT FILES. Most of the drafts sent to Baxter by colleagues have been removed. The one that remains, due to Baxter's written response to the work, is in the subseries Unpublished materials. Most of the books that Baxter took notes in have been removed. A few remain in the subseries Unpublished materials, arranged in chronological order of the books' publication date.

The subseries are arranged in chronological order by genres.

SERIES IV. SPEECHES (1958-82) .75 linear ft.

This series contains three subseries: Speeches, Declined invitations, and Miscellaneous correspondence. The subseries Speeches includes the texts of speeches, panels, and conference papers, as well as the correspondence, notes, and publicity materials associated with the event. Many of her speeches focus on women's education, single sex education, women's studies, etc.

SERIES V. BARNARD COLLEGE (1952-84) 9.25 linear ft.

Annette Baxter dedicated much of her career to Barnard as evidenced by the large amount of material in this series. The Barnard College series, which forms the bulk of the collection, is arranged alphabetically by topic. The numerous subseries include committees, departments and programs, subjects, rules and regulations, communications to faculty and staff, campus organizations, and studies. Material related to her education and most of her alumnae activities is in SERIES I. BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION. Most of the print publications from Barnard and Columbia were removed; newspapers that remained were kept for their relevance to Baxter's interests, such as the relationship between Columbia and Barnard, student demonstrations, as well as subject specific material including coeducation and women's studies. Most of these newspapers and newspaper clippings are either in OVERSIZE MATERIALS or SERIES VII. SUBJECT FILES. There is some correspondence relating to Barnard in SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE. Speeches made at Barnard are located in SERIES IV. SPEECHES. Most information on candidates for searches, excepting material about Annette Baxter as a candidate, was removed.

The Columbia University subseries includes materials relating to University committees, the University seminar, and most significantly, the relationship between Columbia and Barnard. Additional information about the connection between the two institutions can be found throughout the papers, especially in the History department subseries.

Annette Baxter kept meticulous records of every class she taught, including correspondence, grades, papers that weren't picked up or were exceptionally written, and student's add/drop cards. Most student papers have been removed from the series, as has anything relating to grades, severe discipline problems, financial status, or social security information. Much of the student correspondence, especially that relating to recommendations, is located in SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE. The History, American Studies and Women's Studies subseries includes information on each program, its major, classes, syllabi, and department or committee business. Syllabi that were not related to American history and/or Barnard College were removed. Classes taught by Baxter are arranged within each department/program by number, then by academic year. There are records relating to Baxter's teaching of history of women in America under the subseries, History, in the classes section. Her first class on women's history is located under History 41 and 42. Most of the dates on the folders of this section refer to the semester the class was taught, not the dates of the materials within the folder. When a folder has material from multiple semesters, then the date range of the materials within the folder is included. For her records on a class she taught at Brown University, see SERIES VI. OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES. A sampling of student recommendations and graded student papers are found in this series, with names removed to protect student privacy. A small portion of the material in the History subseries is restricted; the confidential departmental business files include the minutes of the tenured faculty, grievances, and other confidential issues within the department. They are closed until 2012. Most tenure and promotion materials are closed until 2032. A few files are closed until 2057. Some of the materials within these files, such as manuscripts, reports, and publications by the faculty member in question, were removed from the collection.

The Barnard College series is arranged alphabetically by topic.

SERIES VI. OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES (1943-84) 4 linear ft.

This series includes materials regarding aspects of Annette Baxter's professional life that are not included in the writings, speeches or Barnard College series. There are three subseries, all arranged in alphabetical order by institution, organization, or conference: Fellowships and grants, Job opportunities, and Organizations and conferences. Notes on the class that Annette Baxter taught at Brown University are in the Organizations and conferences subseries.

Some materials related to conferences in which Baxter was a participant are located in SERIES IV. SPEECHES, and the rest are in this series. If Baxter attended by special invitation, the conference has its own folder; otherwise, information on the conference is at the end of the series under Miscellaneous conferences. Requests for consultation (without additional materials) are also at the end of the series.

There are three subseries, all arranged in alphabetical order by institution, organization, or conference

SERIES VII. SUBJECT FILES (1905-83) 4.25 linear ft.

The subject files are arranged alphabetically and contain a wide variety of printed material, most of which is related to the three subseries on American history/studies, Women, and Women's history/women's studies. Baxter's papers offer a unique look at the founding of these disciplines. Material relating to conferences, programs, and early writings on and in the three fields of study illuminate the development of the early days of the disciplines. The series also contains a large subseries on the Status of women. There are also a few biographical files on specific individuals, such as Henry Miller. Annette Baxter's reference books have either been removed from the collection or relocated to the Browsing Collection of the Sophia Smith Collection.

The subject files are arranged alphabetically

Contents List

SERIES I. BIOGRAPHICAL MATERIALS (1943-1983)

SERIES II. CORRESPONDENCE (1959-83)

SERIES III. WRITINGS (1963-88)

SERIES IV. SPEECHES (1958-82)

SERIES V. BARNARD COLLEGE (1952-84)

SERIES VI. OTHER PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES (1943-84)

SERIES VII. SUBJECT FILES (1905-83)

OVERSIZE MATERIALS