This week I focused on getting the basics of my project stabilized. I ordered another round of books from Canaday and ILL, especially The War on Alcohol, which I intend to read and study this upcoming week. I am also waiting on Sloman’s Reefer Madness. Additionally, I continued reading and annotating Assassin of Youth and The Protectors, paying particular attention to their use of the Anslinger Paper collection at Penn State. Though I initially intended to do a deep dive into the Anslinger Papers themselves, both that which was digitized and that which was merely described, I quickly discovered that if there are digitized items within the Anslinger Papers collection, they are not easily found or accessible. In my discussion with Penn State Archives, it seems I will need to specifically request items and if they are already digitized, I will then receive them at a much faster turnaround than that which needs to be digitized upon my request. This is a much more laborious and less accessible process than I was expecting, so I pivoted to studying and annotating Anslinger’s statements on marijuana legislation during the April 1937 Congressional hearings on HR 6385, the bill that would become the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. This meant I could pair that with a description and annotation of The Protectors, which dedicates significant space to the 1937 Congressional Hearings, and devote more time in the future to identifying specific papers cited in The Protectors and Assassin of Youth that I can specifically request from the Penn State Archives. Narrowing down my search through Anslinger’s Papers as much as I can before really diving into them will save me time and sanity.
I also spent some time this week reflecting on the scope and contents of my paper. After my individual meeting with Professor Vider, I intend to include more foundation for the surrounding cultural and economic circumstances within which Anslinger came into power. These circumstances, particularly the aftermath of Prohibition and the Temperance movement, 1930s racism (especially the origins of racism associated with drugs), and the Depression, contributed to what I have begun referring to as the “perfect storm” to freely grant Anslinger the power he wanted without question or (much) pushback. Thus, I am choosing to focus more on the earlier aspects of Anslinger’s career, when those factors were more robust and his work more focused on marihuana and sweeping narcotic legislation. Later in his career, Anslinger focused on the Mafia and other broader aspects of crime not necessarily related to my project. While I expect to touch on some aspects of his later career and the aftermath seen in the 80s, 90s, and today, narrowing my scope allows me to focus in on more of the preliminary elements.
I am feeling fairly confident in my project and am hoping this pivot helps my momentum continue.