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Correspondence 1952., 01/01/1952-12/31/1952

 File — Box: 6, Folder: 16
Identifier: 74550

Collection-level Scope and Content Note

From the Collection:

This collection consists of the personal papers of former U.S. attorney general Francis Biddle. It is one of three portions comprising the larger collection of the Biddle Family papers that include the papers of his wife, Katherine Biddle and a series of family correspondence (see separate finding aids).

Of interest are lengthy correspondence files relating to Biddle's appointments as judge of the Circuit Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1939); U.S. attorney general (1941); and member-judge of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg, Germany (1945-1946).

Notable correspondents include, among many others, Dean Acheson, Conrad Aiken, Thurman Arnold, Bernard Berenson, Henry Beston, Norman Birkett, Alain Bosquet, Van Wyck Brooks, Stimson Bullitt, Roy Basler, William Rose Benet, Richard Crowder, Agnes de Mille, Gertrude Ely, T.S. Eliot, Abe Fortas, Felix Frankfurter, Learned Hand, Oscar Hammerstein, August Heckscher, J. Edgar Hoover; Cordell Hull, Sturgis Ingersoll, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, Jacqueline Kennedy, Robert Kennedy, Emmet Lavery, Frieda Lawrence, Robert Lowell, Clare Boothe Luce, Henry McCarter, Archibald MacLeish, Jacques Maritain, Gian Carlo Menotti, Marion Merrell, Nancy Mitford, Henry Morgenthau, Lewis Mumford, L. Quincy Mumford, Charlton Ogburn, Boies Penrose, Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt (particularly wartime memoranda, 1944-45), A.L. Rowse, Karl Shapiro, Arthur Schlesinger, Jr., Lisa Sergio, Edward R. Stettinius, Adlai Stevenson, Harry L. Stimson, Leopold and Olga Stokowski, Allen Tate, Virgil Thomson, Lionel Trilling, Harry S. Truman, Robert Wagner, Henry A. Wallace, Herbert Wechsler, Owen Wister, and Mark Van Doren.

Included are correspondence files and manuscripts relating to Biddle's major works including his two-volume autobiography, "A Casual Past" (1961), and "In Brief Authority," (1962); two works on Oliver Wendell Holmes, "Mr. Justice Holmes (1942), and "Justice Holmes, Natural Law, and the Supreme Court" (a series of lectures, 1961); "The World's Best Hope" (1949); and "The Fear of Freedom" (1952). There are also typescripts and reprints of many articles by Biddle, as well as correspondence and manuscripts relating to a play about the English Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania William Penn (1644-1718), written by Biddle and adapted for the stage by Richard Waters.

Note on the index to the original printed finding aid: An effort has been made to index as many individual correspondents as possible; however time constraints have made it necessary to index selectively for some folders. For a complete listing of correspondents, it is therefore advisable to consult the folder descriptions. If the names of individuals listed in a particular folder description are marked with an asterisk (*) it can be assumed that only those are indexed. If no asterisks mark any names for a given folder, it can be assumed that ALL names listed for that folder have been indexed. Also note that names appear as given or as signed, unless further information is available.

Dates

  • 01/01/1952-12/31/1952

Collection-level Access Restrictions

Permission of the Biddle Family is required before accessing this collection. The Booth Family Center for Special Collections can provide information on the permission process.

Collections stored off site require a minimum of three days for retrieval. For use of all manuscripts collections, researchers are advised to contact the Booth Family Center for Special Collections in advance of any visit.

Extent

From the Collection: 22.25 Linear Feet (14 archival boxes)

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Container Summary

Correspondence to/from Francis Biddle: - John Hampton Barnes, Jr., ALS 6/6/1952. - Joseph Borkin, TLS 6/13/1952, re presidential election campaign. References to Estes Kefauver, Averell Harriman and Adlai Stevenson. - Alliston Cragg, TLS 4/14/1952, re election campaign with reference to Alben Barkley, William O. Douglas, Estes Kefauver, and Harry S. Truman. - Manuel Cruz, 3 TLS dated 9/9/1952, 11/6/1953, 5/22/1954 re Spanish politics and agrarian law. - Jerome Davis, TLS 2/18/1952, re soliciting the assistance of Henry Commager on the preparation of a pamphlet on civil liberties. - William O. Douglas, TLS 3/29/1952, re his declining the nomination as presidential candidate. - Benson Ford, TLS 12/2/1952, re the National Conference of Christians and Jews. - Ralph Fuchs, TLS 12/22/1952, re the Committee on Lawyers in Federal Service of the Association of American Law Schools. - David Fyfe, ALS 12/29/1952, TLS 8/28/1956. - Lora Hays, TLS 1/18/1952, re economist Leo Cherne. - Agnes E. Meyer, ALS 1/4/1952, re T.S. Eliot's political views. - Herbert Bayard Swope, TLS 6/2/1952. - Harold Taylor, TLS 2/15/1952, re Biddle's book, "Fear of Freedom." - Robert Gilbert Vansittart, TLS 12/19/1952, sending season's greetings and referring to U.K.-U.S. relations.

Subjects and Associated Physical Materials

BIDDLE, FRANCIS - CORRESPONDENCE 1952: Typed Letter Signed

BARNES, JOHN H.- CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Autographed Letter

BORKIN, JOSEPH - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

KEFAUVER, ESTES - REFERENCE 1952: Typed Letter Signed

HARRIMAN, WILLIAM AVERELL - REFERENCE 1952: Typed Letter Signed

STEVENSON, ADLAI E. - REFERENCE 1952: Typed Letter Signed

CRAGG, ALLISTON - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

BARKLEY, ALBEN W. - REFERENCE 1952: Typed Letter Signed

DOUGLAS, WILLIAM O. - REFERENCE 1952: Typed Letter Signed

TRUMAN, HARRY S. - REFERENCE 1952: Typed Letter Signed

CRUZ, MANUEL - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

SPAIN, AGRICULTURE, POLITICS - REFERENCE BY CRUZ, MANUEL 1952: Typed Letter Signed

DAVIS, JEROME - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

FORD, BENSON - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

FUCHS, RALPH - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

FYFE, DAVID - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

HAYS, LORA - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

CHERNE, LEO - REFERENCE BY HAYS, LORA 1952: Typed Letter Signed

MEYER, AGNES E. - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

ELIOT, T.S. -REFERENCE BY MEYER, AGNES E. 1952: Typed Letter Signed

SWOPE, HERBERT BAYARD - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

TAYLOR, HAROLD - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

BIDDLE, FRANCIS - BOOK: "FEAR OF FREEDOM" REF. BY TAYLOR, H. 1952: Typed Letter Signed

VANSITTART, ROBERT GILBERT - CORRES. TO BIDDLE, FRANCIS 1952: Typed Letter Signed

Repository Details

Part of the Georgetown University Manuscripts Repository

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