Student Activism in the 1930s
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ASU Autobiographies

American Student Union Summer Training Institute Autobiographies
Morton Jackson
1. I was born into a liberal middle class family. Both of my parents are teachers. My father is a vice president of Local 5 of the teachers Union and my mother an active member of the same union. Throughout my life it has been their influence which has guided and shaped my ideas and ideals. When I first began to ask questions about the different events going on in the world both of my parents discussed these matters with me and helped me to develop various liberal ideas. As far back as I can remember there isn't a time that I haven't believed in unions, the progressive movement and in democracy both political and economic. In my last year at public school I began to speak up and to express these ideas. As a result of my expression of opposition to larger armaments my mother was called to the school and warned by one of my teachers that I apparently was under the influence of "some older high school students" who were giving me radical ideas. This was my first experience with narrow-mindedness in the school system.

2. In 1934 I entered Abraham Lincoln High School. Here I looked for the National Student League. I was interested in joining some organization which fought against war and against some of the evils of the school system and also the social system around me. I had been told that I would find just such an organization in the National Student League. I joined it towards the end of the first term. In the spring of 1935 the first high school peace strike took place in our school. It was very emotionally moving and I can remember it to this day. Of course I joined it. After this strike I got my first real glimpse of reaction in the school system. Our principal a former conscientious objector to war, took the lead in repressive measures against that part of the student body which had participated in the strike. He lead New York City in his attempts to keep all student who had not 'apologized' for their actions in the strike, out of college. In the next year at high school I remained in the NSL and it was in the middle of the next school year 1935 that we became the American Student Union [illegible] mainly those of a rank and filer until my last two years in high school. In the last two years I was on the executive board and filled various positions. I was active as Literature agent, Membership director, Educational director and finally as President of the chapter. I was also a representative to the New York District council and later to the Brooklyn county council when this was formed. In 1937 I attended the Vassar convention of the A.S.U. as a delegate.

3. Within my high school itself I was somewhat active in student government and other extra-curricular activities. I was a member of the House of Representatives (lower house of our school government) and also the president of my perfect class (section class) for several terms. I also was active in some of the school clubs such as peace and forum clubs. In the matter of sports I was a member of the varsity swimming team for two years.

4. In the fall of 1938 I came out to the University of Wisconsin. Here I found a completely different environment. The student body was not the cosmopolitan New York type of student but the rural Wisconsin youth and a large group from the cities of that state. There are also a good many out-of-state students coming largely from New York and Chicago. It took sometime to become accustomed to this new environment. Towards the end of the first semester I began to fit into the student movement at Wisconsin. I became active in the University League for Liberal action. There was no A.S.U. chapter in Wisconsin at this time. Here I did work in the Peace Committee and the Racial Freedom committee. In the next semester I organized a student Spanish committee which functioned until the downfall of the Spanish Republic. In this semester I also worked in the University Peace Federation and did work for the peace convocation which that organization held in April. At the end of the semester I felt that in order to make myself a better leader of the student movement I needed further training, and it was to get this training that I came to the A.S.U. Leadership Training Institute.

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