Papers of William O. Douglas [Finding Aid]. Library of Congress
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William O. Douglas A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress Prepared by Audrey A. Walker with the assistance of Paul A. Colton, Larry Larsen, and Teresa Salazar Revised and expanded by Audrey A. Walker with the assistance of Patrick Kerwin and Andrew Passett Addition by Patrick Kerwin Revised by Connie L. Cartledge Manuscript Division, Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 2000 Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2002 Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms002011 Latest revision: 2004-08-13 Collection Summary Title: Papers of William O. Douglas Span Dates: 1801-1980 Bulk Dates: (bulk 1923-1975) ID No.: MSS18853 Creator: Douglas, William O. (William Orville), 1898- Size: 634,000 items ; 1783 containers plus 2 classified plus 7 oversize ; 715.6 linear feet Language: Collection material in English Repository: Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Abstract: Associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and professor of law. Correspondence, speeches and writings, subject files, Supreme Court files, financial records, family papers and genealogy, printed matter, photographs, and other papers documenting Douglas's legal and judicial career, government service, concern for the environment, and other interests. Selected Search Terms The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein. Names: Douglas, William O. (William Orville), 1898- Bannerjee, P. K.--Correspondence Bates, George Eugene--Correspondence Bazelon, David T., 1923- --Correspondence Bost, Martha Douglas, b. 1897 --Correspondence Bowmer, Jim D.--Correspondence Clark, Charles Edward, 1889-1963 --Correspondence Clifford, Clark M., 1906- --Correspondence Davis, Sidney M.--Correspondence Dilliard, Irving, 1904- --Correspondence Douglas, Arthur, 1902- --Correspondence Fortas, Abe--Correspondence Frank, Jerome, 1889-1957--Correspondence Gilbert, Elon James, 1897-1978--Correspondence Hamilton, Dagmar S.--Correspondence Hooker, John J.--Correspondence Hutchins, Robert Maynard, 1899- --Correspondence Hoyt, Edwin Palmer--Correspondence Janeway, Eliot--Correspondence Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973--Correspondence Kennedy, Robert F., 1925-1968--Correspondence Lantz, Robert--Correspondence Maloney, Francis Thomas, 1894-1945--Correspondence Meneely, A. Howard (Alexander Howard), 1899-1961--Correspondence Neuberger, Richard L. (Richard Lewis), 1912-1960--Correspondence Rahul, Ram--Correspondence Rodell, Fred, 1907- --Correspondence Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945--Correspondence Shanks, Carrol M. (Carrol Meteer), b. 1898 --Correspondence Shubert, J. Howard, d. 1951--Correspondence Smith, Richard J. (Richard Joyce), 1903- --Correspondence Strauss, Helen M. (Helen Marion), d. 1987--Correspondence Tippin, Phil--Correspondence Papers of William O. Douglas 2 Yen, Y. C. James, 1893- --Correspondence United States. Constitution United States. Supreme Court Albert Parvin Foundation Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul, and Pacific Railroad Company Columbia University. School of Law --Faculty Fund for the Republic Harvard Law School--Curricula Harvard University. Graduate School of Business Administration --Curricula Yale Law School--Faculty Subjects: Air--Pollution Bankruptcy--United States Botany Business education--Curricula Business failures--United States Conservation of natural resources Constitutional amendments--United States Corporations--Finance--United States Economic assistance, American--Israel Environmental protection Fundamental education Impeachments--United States Law--Study and teaching Law--Study and teaching--Curricula Plants--Type specimens--Middle East Railroad law--United States Voyages and travels Water--Pollution Wilderness areas Wildlife conservation Chesapeake and Ohio Canal (Md. and Washington, D.C.) United States--Foreign relations--Asia United States--Foreign relations--China United States--Foreign relations--Israel United States--Politics and government--1933-1945 United States--Politics and government--1945-1989 Occupations: Educators Jurists Public officials Administrative Information Provenance: The papers of William O. Douglas, professor of law, Securities and Exchange commissioner, and associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, were acquired by the Library of Congress in three parts. Part I was given by Douglas in several installments between 1960 and 1968. Parts II and III, some of which had been deposited in segments in 1976 and 1977, were bequeathed to the Library in 1980. The remaining papers of the bequest were received in 1980, 1985, and 1997. Small additions were given to the Library by Mrs. A. Howard Meneely in 1961 and John P. Frank in 1998. Papers of William O. Douglas 3 Processing History: Part I of the papers of William O. Douglas was arranged and described in 1987. Additional material received was processed as Part II in 1997 and as Part III in 1998. This register was revised in 2000. Transfers: Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Maps have been transferred to the Geography and Map Division. Sound recordings have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting, and Recorded Sound Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the William O. Douglas Papers. Copyright Status: Between 1960 and 1968 copyright in the unpublished writings of William O. Douglas in Part I of these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress was dedicated to the public as each installment was given to the Library. Copyright in the unpublished writings of William O. Douglas in Part II and III of these papers is controlled by the executors of his estate. Security Classified Documents: Government regulations control the use of classified material in this collection. Manuscript Division staff can furnish information concerning access to and use of classified items. Preferred Citation: Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number and roman numeral designating the Part, William O. Douglas Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Biographical Note Date Event 1898, Oct. 16 Born, Maine, Minn. 1904 Family moved to Yakima, Wash. 1920 Received A. B. degree from Whitman College, Walla Walla, Wash. 1920-1922 Teacher, Yakima High School, Yakima, Wash. 1923 Married Mildred Riddle (divorced 1953) 1925 Received LL. B., Columbia University School of Law, New York, N.Y. 1925-1927 Associated with law firm of Cravath, De Gersdorff, Swaine and Wood, New York, N.Y. 1925-1928 Member of faculty, Columbia University School of Law, New York, N.Y. 1928-1936 Professor, Yale Law School, New Haven, Conn. 1929-1932 Conducted various bankruptcy studies for U.S. Department of Commerce, Yale Law School, and Yale Institute of Human Relations 1934-1936 Director, Protective Committee Study, Securities and Exchange Commission 1936-1937 Commissioner, Securities and Exchange Commission Papers of William O. Douglas 4 1937-1939 Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission 1939-1975 Associate justice, U.S. Supreme Court 1954 Married Mercedes Davidson (divorced 1963) 1963 Married Joan Martin (divorced 1966) 1966 Married Cathleen Heffernan 1975 Retired from U. S. Supreme Court 1980, Jan. 19 Died, Washington, D.C. Scope and Content Note The papers of William Orville Douglas (1898-1980) span the years 1801 to 1980, with the heaviest concentration of material dated between 1923 and 1975. Although the collection is divided into three parts, some topics and time periods are common to all parts. Part I, dating from 1920 to 1953, focuses primarily on Douglas's professional life. Part II forms the bulk of the collection, and although it covers the years 180l to 1980, the earliest Douglas manuscript is dated 19l6. Part III is confined primarily to Douglas's diary and his personal correspondence with other justices of the United States Supreme Court. The collection consists of a small group of family papers, several correspondence series, subject files, speeches and writings, Supreme Court files, financial papers, photographs, miscellany, and printed matter. Douglas's papers are as varied as his many interests and encompass the full scope of his life and career from his college days through his years of retirement from the Supreme Court. Following graduation from Whitman College, Douglas taught for a brief period at the high school in Yakima, Washington. After receiving a degree in law from Columbia University, he served on the faculties of Columbia and Yale law schools. At both law schools he was among a small group of professors who advocated an interdisciplinary rather than the traditional compartmentalized approach to the study of law. This innovative approach is reflected in his papers by two major projects. The first is the comprehensive study of the bankruptcy system and its effect on the social and economic structure of society begun in 1928 as part of a cooperative program between the Yale Law School and the Yale Institute of Human Relations. The study examined business failures in several cities and looked at court rules governing bankruptcy. In 1929 under the combined auspices