Ben Lewis Reitman Papers

An inventory of the collection at the University of Illinois at Chicago

Biographical Sketch

Ben Lewis Reitman (1879-1942) was an American anarchist probably best known for his relationship with Emma Goldman. Reitman began his rather unconventional life in 1879 in St. Paul, Minnesota. He spent his formative years living in Chicago's slum districts, where he undertook innumerable odd jobs, including running errands for prostitutes and pimps, to earn his keep. At the age of ten, Reitman left school to become a hobo, tramping about the country on the rails until his return to Chicago, where he subsequently found work as a laboratory boy in the Polyclinic Laboratory.

In 1900, Reitman entered the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago, completed his studies in 1904, and earned the right to practice medicine in Illinois. While in school, Reitman married, had a daughter, and then divorced in 1905. As a doctor, Reitman chose to work among hobos, prostitutes, the poor, and other "social outcasts." Of particular note, Reitman performed illegal abortions. In 1907, he opened a Hobo College in Chicago, an institution designed to educate laborers and prepare them to confront capitalist society. In 1908, Reitman encountered Emma Goldman and initiated what Goldman described as the "Great Grand Passion" of her life. Reitman acted as Goldman's road manager between 1908 and 1917 as she spoke across the country. By all accounts, their affair was tumultuous-a mixture of intense feelings and ideological conflict eventually driven apart by Reitman's infidelity. Their relationship collapsed sometime in 1917 after their last campaign for birth control. Under the Comstock laws, discussing sex or contraception in public was illegal. The couple was arrested for violating the Comstock laws in 1916, and Reitman served a six-month sentence, the longest ever served by a birth-control advocate in the United States. Just prior to his incarceration, Reitman remarried. This marriage produced Reitman's second child, a son, who was born while his father sat in prison.

Upon release, Reitman returned to Chicago and reestablished his medical practice. He also started work for the Chicago Department of Health and was assigned to the Chicago House of Correction's venereal disease clinic. In 1924, Reitman founded the first venereal disease clinic at Cook County Jail and became director of the Chicago Society for the Prevention of Venereal Disease during the 1930s. Reitman was also involved in non-medical pursuits, participating in the radical, literary Dill Pickle Club as its chairman and press agent during the 1930s. After his second wife's death in 1930, Reitman entered his third marriage, with Rose Siegal. The two never divorced, even though Reitman began living with Medina Oliver. The couple had four daughters, Mecca, Medina, Victoria, and Olive. He published two books: The Second Oldest Profession in 1932 and Sister of the Road: The Autobiography of Boxcar Bertha in 1937. Reitman died at the age of sixty-three of a heart attack, having spent his life as an unrelenting activist for the homeless and an ardent campaigner for the prevention of venereal disease.

Scope and Contents

The Reitman Papers were acquired in seven accessions, beginning in 1969. The first accession consists of correspondence, autobiographical material, essays, reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, and material from various organizations that Reitman was involved with, such as the Chicago Society for the Prevention of Venereal Disease. Supplement I is comprised mostly of Reitman's correspondence with Emma Goldman. This includes over 400 letters during the years 1908 to 1917. Copies and transcripts are available for patron use. The supplement also holds material related to the Brotherhood Welfare Association and the Hobo College. Supplement III consists of correspondence with Emma Goldman from 1911 to 1914, a restricted photocopy of an unpublished manuscript, "Ben Reitman Tale," by Bruce Milton and Elmer Gertz (permission from Gertz is required for access), and one microfilm reel of letters between Reitman and Theodore Schroeder from 1913 to 1942. Supplement IV is mostly comprised of correspondence with Goldman from 1910 to 1928, fragments of "Following the Monkey," and Sisterhood of the Road: The Autobiography of Box-Car Bertha. The supplement also holds other correspondence, newspaper clippings, photographs, poems, essays, reports, and pamphlets. Supplement V contains further correspondence, newspaper clippings, and unpublished writings by Reitman. It also consists of some organizational material, such as on the Hobo College, Seven Arts Club, and Chicago Medical Society. Supplement VI holds miscellaneous correspondence, clippings, and secondary material on Reitman.

Detailed Description/Box and Folder Listing