Archives West Finding Aid

The Floyd Cleveland Ramp papers consist of diaries and letterbooks; incoming letters; family correspondence; materials documenting his arrest, trial, and incarceration for espionage; Socialist and Communist Party materials; speeches; tapes; and broadsides. The diares are both descriprive and reflective. There are two segments of incoming letters: those more general in content are in chronological order, while others from friends, relatives, and fellow radical activists are arranged alphabetically by author. Correspondence between Ramp and his immediate family are also in chronological order. Materials that document Ramp's arrest under the espionage laws in effect during World War 1 constitute a separate series. Journal notes, letters to family members, and newspaper clippings chronicle his subsequent trial and incarceration. The Socialist Party materials contain pamphlets written by C.E.S. Wood, Eugene Debs, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Scott Nearing. Ramp's trip to Russia and involvement in the Communist Party is documented in his letters to his family, in diary entries, and in collected literature and reports. Supplementing the collection of his speeches and notes is also a collection of photographs of Russia. There are cassette tapes of interviews with Ramp and others made by Phil Kessinger in 1967. Lastly the collection contains broadsides consisting of announcements for Communist, Socialist, and Populist political party rallies and speaking engagements.