Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/hh63sv895
James M. Beck Papers, 1787-1936 (bulk 1880-1936): Finding Aid
MC007
James Montgomery Beck, circa 1911
These papers were processed with the generous support of Ms. Virginia Beck.
65 Olden Street
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA
Phone: 609-258-6345
Fax: 609-258-3385
mudd@princeton.edu
http://www.princeton.edu/~mudd
Published in 1999
©2006 Princeton University Library
Summary Information
- Creator:
- Beck, James M. (James Montgomery), 1861-1936.
- Title and dates:
- James M. Beck Papers, 1787-1936 (bulk 1880-1936)
- Abstract:
- The James Beck papers consist primarily of correspondence, articles, addresses and scrapbooks which document Beck's career as lawyer, Assistant United States Attorney, United States Attorney, Assistant Attorney General, Solicitor General of the United States, a Republican member of Congress, author, and public speaker.
- Size:
- 14.68 linear feet (17 archival record storage boxes and 24 custom made phase boxes).
- Call number:
- MC007
- Location:
- Princeton University Library. Department of Rare Books and Special Collections.
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library.
Public Policy Papers.
Princeton, New Jersey 08540 USA - Language(s) of material:
- English.
- Storage note:
- This collection is stored onsite at the Mudd Manuscript Library.
Biography of James Montgomery Beck
James Montgomery Beck was born in Philadelphia on July 9, 1861. Raised in a Moravian home, he graduated from the Moravian College and Theological Seminary in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1880. Despite his father's wish that he become a minister, he pursued a legal career. After an apprenticeship in law he was admitted to the bar in 1884 and entered the law office of William F. Harrity, a prominent Pennsylvania Democrat, with whom he formed a law partnership in 1891. Admitted to the bar of New York City in 1903, and in 1922 to the bar of England, he rose to be one of America's leading corporate lawyers.
Like many others, Beck combined his legal career with a career in public service. He served as Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania 1888-1892, and as United States Attorney 1896-1900. Although he started out as a “Cleveland Democrat,” he joined the Republican Party in 1900 and was subsequently appointed Assistant Attorney General by President William McKinley. In this capacity, he became involved with litigation concerning the government's regulatory powers, which reflected the wish of the late McKinley and early Theodore Roosevelt administrations to assist the American business community. Beck resigned in 1903, when he joined the New York law firm of Shearman and Sterling. He continued his law practices in New York, Philadelphia and Washington until 1921. In that year President Warren G. Harding, whose election Beck had actively promoted, appointed him Solicitor General of the United States. He resigned in 1925, briefly returned to his law practice and then was elected as a Republican to Congress in 1927, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James M. Hazlett. Reelected three consecutive times, he resigned in 1934, disillusioned with the “Rubber Stamp Congress” and his inability to fight the measures of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, which conflicted with his individualism and constitutionalism, and his principles of limited government and laissez-faire.
Beck shared his ideals and political beliefs in numerous speeches and publications. Having many personal contacts in England, he felt very strongly about the Allied cause and was one of the first Americans to make a case for the Entente, the alliance between Great Britain, France, and Russia prior to World War I. His most famous book, The Constitution of the United States (1924), sold over fifty thousand copies, including translations in German and French. As a Congressman he was the leading spokesman in the campaign against Prohibition, but he tried to fight the principles and legislation of the New Deal. He continued this fight after his resignation, and his book Neither Purse Nor Sword, about the destruction wrought by the New Deal upon the Constitution, appeared five months after his death. His biographer, Morton Keller, portrayed him as a passionate man, who felt deeply about anything he engaged in, but who, disillusioned with post-war society, venerated the past. One of the most eloquent orators of his time, James Beck helped shape the political views of the Republican Party. In a changing society, he died in political isolation in April 1936 and was later remembered as the often lonely defender of conservatism's great beliefs.
Beck was a devoted member, and later President, of the Philadelphia Shakespeare Society from 1913 until his death. He married Lilla Lawrence Mitchell in 1890, and had a son and a daughter, James Montgomery Beck, Jr. and Beatrice.
See: Morton Keller, In Defense Of Yesterday. James M. Beck and the Politics of Conservatism, 1861-1936, (New York, Coward-McCann, 1958).
Description
Consists primarily of correspondence, articles, addresses and scrapbooks which document Beck's long public service career. A significant portion of the correspondence concerns limited government and the constitutionality of certain measures. An important portion of this series is Beck's correspondence with Harry M. Daugherty, Attorney General under Warren G. Harding, concerning Daugherty's trial. Subject files contain correspondence on specific issues surrounding Beck's books, legal cases, speeches, and publications and include the New Deal and Republican party politics. Significant parts of this series include files on Prohibition and correspondence about World War I. Beck's addresses and legal arguments address major political issues of his time as well as local celebrations and commemorations. The bulk of material in the General files consists of letters of sympathy upon Beck's death. Twenty-four scrapbooks consisting primarily of newspaper clippings document Beck's public life.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Series 1, Correspondence, 1890-1936
- Series 2, Subject Files, 1893-1936
- Series 3, Addresses and Legal Arguments, 1881-1936
- Series 4, General, 1787-1936 [bulk circa 1923-1936]
- Series 5, Scrapbooks, 1880-1936
Access and Use
Access
Collection is open for research use.
Restrictions on Use and Copyright Information
Single photocopies may be made for research purposes. Permission to publish materials from the collection must be requested from the Curator of the Public Policy Papers. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions.
Acquisition and Appraisal
Provenance and Acquisition
The collection was donated by James M. Beck, Jr. in 1951 (Accession No. AM 15061).
Processing and Other Information
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Helene van Rossum in 1999 with the generous support of Ms. Virginia Beck. Finding aid written by Helene van Rossum in 1999.
Descriptive Rules Used
Finding aid content adheres to that prescribed by Describing Archives: A Content Standard.
Encoding
Machine-readable finding aid encoded in EAD 2002 by Techbooks and Cristela García-Spitz on October 13, 2006.
Finding aid written in English.
Preferred Citation
Identification of specific item; Date (if known); James Beck Papers, Box and Folder Number; Public Policy Papers, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
Subject Headings
These materials have been indexed in the Princeton University Library online catalog using the following terms. Those seeking related materials should search under these terms.
- Daugherty, H. M. (Harry Micajah), 1860-1941 -- Trials, litigation, etc.
- Shakespeare, William, 1564-1616 -- Appreciation -- United States.
- Republican Party (U.S. : 1854- ) -- History -- 20th century.
- Bureaucracy -- United States -- 20th century.
- Conservatism -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
- Lawyers -- United States -- 20th century -- Correspondence.
- Legislators -- Pennsylvania -- 20th century -- Speeches, addresses, etc.
- New Deal, 1933-1939.
- Prohibition -- United States.
- Correspondence.
- Scrapbooks.
- Speeches.
Browse other finding aids related to the following terms:
Contents List
Series 1, Correspondence, 1890-1936
Series Description
Series 1, Correspondence 1890-1936, contains general correspondence (arranged alphabetically by correspondents' name) about political issues, with limited government and the constitutionality of certain measures as broad underlying themes. Additional themes are party politics and legal issues, or specific subjects, some of which are also found among the subject files (series 2). Among the correspondents are Henry Cabot Lodge, H.L. Mencken, Jules Jusserand, Philander Knox, William E. Borah, William Howard Taft, H.L. Doherty, Harry M. Daugherty, George Wickersham and Marshall French, for whose published memoirs Beck acted as an agent. The correspondence with Harry M. Daugherty, Attorney General in Harding's administration, includes correspondence concerning Daugherty's trial. As a public figure Beck received many letters from members of the public in response to his addresses, sometimes broadcast, or his actions in Congress. Some of these Beck filed himself under the subject “fan mail.” Simple requests for copies of his speeches have been discarded.
Although many well known names can be found in this series, the correspondence is often perfunctory. Members of the British peerage may be found under their title rather than their surname. Correspondence concerning World War I has been placed in Series 2.
A, 1914, 1916, 1927-1935
Box 1, Folder 1 Adams, Joseph Q., 1919, 1933
Box 1, Folder 2 Adcock, Edmund D., 1931-1933
Box 1, Folder 3 Affleck, Benjamin F., 1924-1935
Box 1, Folder 4 Albertsworth, E.F., 1934-1935
Box 1, Folder 5 Allen, Frederick H., 1924-1935
Box 1, Folder 6 Anderson, Henry W., 1926-1928
Box 1, Folder 7 Andrew, A. Piatt, 1930-1934
Box 1, Folder 8 Atwell, William H., 1930-1934
Box 1, Folder 9 BA-BN, 1919-1936
Box 1, Folder 10 BO-BZ, 1902, 1914, 1919-1936
Box 1, Folder 11 Baker, Newton D., 1927, 1936
Box 1, Folder 12 Balfour, Arthur J., 1917, 1926
Box 1, Folder 13 Ballard, Ellis A., 1924-1927
Box 1, Folder 14 Barnes, Charles B., 1934-1936
Box 1, Folder 15 Barrett, George F., 1926, 1935
Box 1, Folder 16 Barton, Dunbar P., 1923-1933
Box 1, Folder 17 Beck, Herbert H., 1931-1936
Box 1, Folder 18 Bigelow, Poultney, 1931
Box 1, Folder 19 Bingham, Hiram, 1927-1933
Box 1, Folder 20 Bliss, Cornelius N., Jr., 1918
Box 1, Folder 21 Bloom, Sol, 1931-1935
Box 1, Folder 22 Borah, William E., 1919-1935
Box 1, Folder 23 Boston, Charles A., 1925-1931
Box 1, Folder 24 Bowers, Claude G., 1924-1928
Box 1, Folder 25 Brandegee, Frank B., 1920
Box 1, Folder 26 Brookes, Herbert, 1930-1932
Box 1, Folder 27 Brown, Ernest, 1928-1929
Box 1, Folder 28 Brown, Isabel (“Basil”), 1919, 1927-1928
Box 1, Folder 29 Bruce, William C., 1926-1930
Box 1, Folder 30 Bryce, James, 1915-1920
Box 1, Folder 31 Burke, James F., 1926-1927
Box 1, Folder 32 Burnham, Harry Lawson Webster Levy, 1st Viscount, 1922-1932
Box 1, Folder 33 Burton, Theodore E., 1922-1927
Box 1, Folder 34 Busch, August A., 1933
Box 1, Folder 35 Butler, Nicholas M., 1914-1932
Box 1, Folder 36 Buxton, Frank W., 1931-1935
Box 1, Folder 37 CA-CN, 1916, 1923-1936
Box 2, Folder 1 CO-CZ, 1892, 1916-1936
Box 2, Folder 2 Carey, Daniel H., 1929
Box 2, Folder 3 Carlson, Hampton L., 1915-1927
Box 2, Folder 4 Carnegie, Andrew, 1914
Box 2, Folder 5 Cave, George, 1st Viscount, 1923-1924
Box 2, Folder 6 Cecil, Robert, 1915-1919
Box 2, Folder 7 Chamberlain, Austen, 1925-1932
Box 2, Folder 8 Choate, Joseph H., 1899, 1911-1916
Box 2, Folder 9 Churchill, Winston, 1932
Box 2, Folder 10 Conrad, Bryan, 1925-1927
Box 2, Folder 11 Corwin, Edward S., 1927-1934
Box 2, Folder 12 Crawford, Frank L., 1910-1914, 1923, 1932-1936
Box 2, Folder 13 DA-DH, 1918-1935
Box 2, Folder 14 DI-DZ, 1893, 1922-1936
Box 2, Folder 15 Damrosch, Walter, 1927-1930
Box 2, Folder 16 Darrow, Clarence, 1930-1931
Box 2, Folder 17 Darrow, George P., 1930-1935
Box 2, Folder 18 Daugherty, H.M., 1923-1934
Box 2, Folder 19 Davis, John W., 1917-1936
Box 2, Folder 20 Davis, Percy L.H., 1931-1932
Box 2, Folder 21 Dawes, Charles G., 1901-1903, 1923-1925
Box 2, Folder 22 De Bunsen, Maurice, 1915-1917, 1925
Box 2, Folder 23 Desvernine, Raoul E., 1935-1936
Box 2, Folder 24 Doherty, Henry L., 1926-1927, 1934
Box 2, Folder 25 Doubleday, Doran & Company Inc., 1932-1936
Box 2, Folder 26 Douthwaite, D.W., 1918-1936
Box 2, Folder 27 E, 1913, 1922-1936
Box 2, Folder 28 Edge, Walter E., 1924-1927
Box 2, Folder 29 Evans, Earle W., 1930-1936
Box 2, Folder 30 F, 1915-1936
Box 3, Folder 1 Flower, Archibald, 1930-1935
Box 3, Folder 2 Forbes-Robertson, Johnston, 1915-1922, 1932-1933
Box 3, Folder 3 Fortier, Matthew L., 1927-1930
Box 3, Folder 4 Fox, William, 1928-1930
Box 3, Folder 5 French, John D.P., 1918-1920
Box 3, Folder 6 Frohman, Daniel, 1927-1929
Box 3, Folder 7 Furness, Horace H., Jr, 1911-1930
Box 3, Folder 8 G, 1925-1936
Box 3, Folder 9 Gage, Lyman J., 1901-1903, 1924-1925
Box 3, Folder 10 Garver, John A., 1924-1936
Box 3, Folder 11 Gest, John M., 1925-1934
Box 3, Folder 12 Gilbert, Cass, 1933
Box 3, Folder 13 Griffin, William H., 1928-1930
Box 3, Folder 14 Griggs, John W., 1898-1901, 1914-1919
Box 3, Folder 15 Grundy, Joseph R., 1929-1934
Box 3, Folder 16 Guthrie, William D., 1924-1934
Box 3, Folder 17 Gwynne, H.A., 1919-1926
Box 3, Folder 18 HA-HN, 1902, 1915-1935
Box 3, Folder 19 HO-HZ, 1898-1903, 1915-1916, 1923-1936
Box 3, Folder 20 Haight, George I., 1926-1931
Box 4, Folder 1 Haldane, Richard Burdon, 1st Viscount, 1916-1926
Box 4, Folder 2 Hampden, Walter, 1923-1934
Box 4, Folder 3 Hard, William, 1925-1928
Box 4, Folder 4 Harding, Warren G., 1920-1923
Box 4, Folder 5 Harrity, William F., 1901-1911
Box 4, Folder 6 Harvey, George B.M., 1920-1929
Box 4, Folder 7 Hastings, Daniel D., 1934-1936
Box 4, Folder 8 Hatfield, Henry D., 1933
Box 4, Folder 9 Hays, Will H., 1927-1934
Box 4, Folder 10 Hearst, William Randolph, 1933-1935
Box 4, Folder 11 Henry, Bayard, 1914-1917
Box 4, Folder 12 Hibben, John Grier, 1914-1917, 1932
Box 4, Folder 13 Hill, David J., 1902, 1924-1931
Box 4, Folder 14 Hill, George W., 1933-1934
Box 4, Folder 15 Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Julian Boyd), 1935
Box 4, Folder 16 Hogan, Frank J., 1933-1935
Box 4, Folder 17 Hoyne, Maclay, 1929-1931
Box 4, Folder 18 Hughes, Charles E., 1921-1935
Box 4, Folder 19 Huss, George M., 1926-1928
Box 4, Folder 20 I-J, 1916-1922, 1929-1936
Box 4, Folder 21 Jepson, Weir, 1935
Box 4, Folder 22 Jewish World, The, 1930-1934
Box 4, Folder 23 Johnson, Eldridge R., 1921-1932
Box 4, Folder 24 Johnson, John G., 1893, 1901-1903, 1914
Box 4, Folder 25 Jones, Henry A., 1918-1926
Box 4, Folder 26 Jusserand, J. J., 1914-1931
Box 4, Folder 27 K, 1926-1936
Box 4, Folder 28 Kahn, Otto, 1926-1932
Box 4, Folder 29 Kent, Frank R., 1927-1931
Box 4, Folder 30 Knox, Philander C., 1902-1903, 1913-1921
Box 4, Folder 31 L, 1916, 1923-1936
Box 4, Folder 32 LaGuardia, Fiorello H., 1930-1931
Box 4, Folder 33 Lawrence, David, 1934-1935
Box 4, Folder 34 Leese, William H., 1915-1924
Box 4, Folder 35 Lewis, James H., 1911-1930
Box 5, Folder 1 Lincoln, Alexander, 1933-1936
Box 5, Folder 2 Lippman, Walter, 1926-1927
Box 5, Folder 3 Lodge, Henry Cabot, 1902, 1917-1924
Box 5, Folder 4 Lowrey, Dwight M., 1894, 1914, 1921-1923
Box 5, Folder 5 Luce, Robert, 1932-1936
Box 5, Folder 6 MA-MN, 1923-1936
Box 5, Folder 7 MO-MZ, 1925-1936
Box 5, Folder 8 McCarter, Thomas N., 1927-1935
Box 5, Folder 9 Macassey, Lynden, 1932
Box 5, Folder 10 McCormick, Robert, 1931-1936
Box 5, Folder 11 McCormick-Goodhart, Leander, 1935-1936
Box 5, Folder 12 McElroy, Robert M., 1915-1932
Box 5, Folder 13 McGuire, O.R., 1924-1935
Box 5, Folder 14 Macmillan Company, Publishers, 1930-1936
Box 5, Folder 15 McReynolds, James C., 1910-1914, 1923, 1925, 1934, undated
Box 5, Folder 16 McSwain, John J., 1934-1936
Box 5, Folder 17 Manners, J. Hartley, 1918-1926
Box 5, Folder 18 Marbury, William L., 1924-1931
Box 5, Folder 19 Marshall, Louis, 1901-1903, 1911-1927
Box 5, Folder 20 Martin, William L., 1935-1936
Box 5, Folder 21 Maxey, George W., 1932-1936
Box 5, Folder 22 Mellon, Andrew W., 1923-1931
Box 5, Folder 23 Mencken, H.L., 1924-1933
Box 5, Folder 24 Merivale, Philip, 1929-1936
Box 5, Folder 25 Miller, Hugh G., 1929-1935
Box 5, Folder 26 Miller, Joseph D., 1933-1934
Box 5, Folder 27 Mitchell, Howard E., 1930-1932
Box 5, Folder 28 Mitchell, William D., 1925-1929
Box 5, Folder 29 Moore, George G., 1918-1919
Box 5, Folder 30 Moore, J. Hampton, 1925-1935
Box 5, Folder 31 Morgan, J.P., 1917
Box 5, Folder 32 Morris, Effingham B., 1923-1936
Box 5, Folder 33 Moses, George H., 1919-1935
Box 5, Folder 34 N, 1909, 1916, 1927-1936
Box 6, Folder 1 Newton, A. Edward, 1925-1935
Box 6, Folder 2 Newton, Walter H., secretary to President Herbert Hoover, 1932
Box 6, Folder 3 Norman, J. Van Dyke, 1934-1935
Box 6, Folder 4 Norton, Thomas J., 1925-1935
Box 6, Folder 5 O, 1927-1936
Box 6, Folder 6 Osborn, Henry F. (See also subject file “Non Sectarian Anti-Nazi League”), 1915, 1926-1930
Box 6, Folder 7 Otis, Merrill E., 1924-1935
Box 6, Folder 8 Oxford University Press, 1924-1925
Box 6, Folder 9 P, 1911-1912, 1919, 1924-1936
Box 6, Folder 10 Paderewski, Ignace and Helena, 1916, 1925-1930
Box 6, Folder 11 Parker, Gilbert, 1914-1924
Box 6, Folder 12 Patterson, George S., 1931-1936
Box 6, Folder 13 Paul, Henry N., 1929-1936
Box 6, Folder 14 Pennsylvania Society (Barr Ferree), 1918
Box 6, Folder 15 Pepper, George W., 1898, 1933-1936
Box 6, Folder 16 Plessen, Leopold, 1924-1925
Box 6, Folder 17 Pratt, Louis M., 1934-1935
Box 6, Folder 18 Prentice, E. Parmalee, 1933-1934
Box 6, Folder 19 Putnam, George H., 1925-1929
Box 6, Folder 20 Quay, Matthew S., 1902
Box 6, Folder 21 R, 1912, 1918, 1921-1936
Box 6, Folder 22 Ramsey, George S., 1932-1933
Box 6, Folder 23 Reading, Rufus Daniel Isaacs, 1st Marquess of, 1916-1919, 1923, 1932
Box 6, Folder 24 Reed, James A., 1924-1935
Box 6, Folder 25 Rochester, Edward S., 1924-1928
Box 6, Folder 26 Rockefeller, John D., Jr, 1919-1921, 1931, 1933
Box 6, Folder 27 Rominger, Henry V., 1915, 1930-1932
Box 6, Folder 28 Roosevelt, Archibald B., 1932
Box 6, Folder 29 Root, Elihu, 1901, 1916
Box 6, Folder 30 Rosebery, Archibald Philip Primrose, 5th Earl of, 1916-1917
Box 6, Folder 31 SA-SO, 1902, 1910, 1920-1936
Box 6, Folder 32 SP-SZ, 1890, 1922-1936
Box 7, Folder 1 Scarritt, Nathan, 1935-1936
Box 7, Folder 2 Shannon, Joseph B., 1932-1935
Box 7, Folder 3 Sherriff, Andrew R., 1933-1934
Box 7, Folder 4 Simon, John, 1916-1926
Box 7, Folder 5 Simons, Walter, 1926-1931
Box 7, Folder 6 Slaton, John M., 1935-1936
Box 7, Folder 7 Smith, F. Dumont, 1924-1933
Box 7, Folder 8 Smith, S. Fahs, 1931-1932
Box 7, Folder 9 Snell, Bertrand H., 1930-1935
Box 7, Folder 10 Stayton, William H., 1927-1934
Box 7, Folder 11 Stern, J. David, 1930-1935
Box 7, Folder 12 Stimson, Henry L., 1915-1916, 1930-1932
Box 7, Folder 13 Stone, Harlan F., 1924-1935
Box 7, Folder 14 Stone, Robert, 1934-1936
Box 7, Folder 15 Strachey, J. St.Loe, 1915-1916, 1921, 1926
Box 7, Folder 16 Sullivan, Mark, 1929-1935
Box 7, Folder 17 Sumners, Hatton W., 1932-1935
Box 7, Folder 18 Sutherland, George H., 1920-1934
Box 7, Folder 19 Swanson, Claude A., 1926-1928
Box 7, Folder 20 Sydenham of Combe, George Sydenham Clarke, Baron, 1916, 1924, 1930
Box 7, Folder 21 T, 1919, 1925-1936
Box 7, Folder 22 Taft, Henry W., 1935-1936
Box 7, Folder 23 Taft, William Howard, 1901, 1921-1929
Box 7, Folder 24 Teiser, Sidney, 1935-1936
Box 7, Folder 25 Thomas, Edith, 1934-1935
Box 7, Folder 26 Thorne, Doris (daughter of Henry A. Jones), 1929-1930
Box 7, Folder 27 Thorpe, Merle, 1930-1933
Box 7, Folder 28 Trout, S. Edgar, 1925-1930
Box 7, Folder 29 True, James, 1934-1935
Box 7, Folder 30 Tyng, Sewell V., 1935
Box 7, Folder 31 U, 1927-1936
Box 7, Folder 32 Untermyer, Samuel (See also subject file “Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League”, 1933-1936
Box 7, Folder 33 V, 1926-1935
Box 7, Folder 34 Van Deventer, Willis, 1902-1903, 1923, 1932-1934
Box 7, Folder 35 Vinson, Carl, 1934-1935
Box 7, Folder 36 Von Prittwitz, Friedrich W., 1926-1933
Box 7, Folder 37 WA-WH, 1898, 1901-1902, 1919-1936
Box 7, Folder 38 WI-WZ, 1920-1935
Box 7, Folder 39 Walsh, Thomas J., 1925
Box 8, Folder 1 Warner, Paul J., 1935-1936
Box 8, Folder 2 Warren, Charles, 1924-1936
Box 8, Folder 3 Warren, Edward R., 1919-1921
Box 8, Folder 4 Washburn, Ives, 1926-1927
Box 8, Folder 5 Watchorn, Robert, 1930-1931
Box 8, Folder 6 Weeks, John W., 1924-1925
Box 8, Folder 7 Wheeler, Wayne B., 1927
Box 8, Folder 8 Wickersham, George W., 1910-1934
Box 8, Folder 9 Wilbur, Henry C., 1933-1934
Box 8, Folder 10 Williams-Taylor, Frederick and Jane, 1915-1929
Box 8, Folder 11 Wister, Owen, 1916, 1924-1925, 1931
Box 8, Folder 12 Y, 1920, 1925-1926, 1932
Box 8, Folder 13 Z, 1920, 1935
Box 8, Folder 14 Zane, John M., 1924-1930
Box 8, Folder 15 Unidentified correspondents, 1922, 1931 and undated
Box 8, Folder 16 Series 2, Subject Files, 1893-1936
Series Description
Series 2, Subject Files 1893-1936, contains correspondence arranged by subject matter, then chronologically. Most concerns some of Beck's books and legal cases, Republican party politics, and matters discussed in Beck's many speeches and publications, such as states' rights, tariff matters, the American Constitution, bureaucracy, and the New Deal. Of particular interest are the files on the campaign against Prohibition, for which Beck became the leading Congressional spokesman, and correspondence concerning World War I.
Some subject files are not complete or extensive, such as the one for the American Liberty League in the formation of which Beck played a prominent role. However, correspondence in Series 1 often complements subjects in this series.
Addresses: “Ground Arms”, 1893
Box 8, Folder 17 Addresses: “The City of Philadelphia”, 1893-1894
Box 8, Folder 18 Addresses: “The Distress of the Nations”, 1895
Box 8, Folder 19 Addresses: “The Constitutionality of the New Flexible Tariff Provision”, 1929
Box 8, Folder 20 Addresses: “The Menace of Bureaucracy” (Farm Board), (1), 1931
Box 8, Folder 21 Addresses: “The Menace of Bureaucracy” (Farm Board), (2), 1931
Box 8, Folder 22 Addresses: “The Power of Taxation and the Future of the Union”, Detroit, 1931
Box 8, Folder 23 Addresses: “The Passing of the Constitution”, 1933
Box 8, Folder 24 Addresses: “John Marshall, Jurist and Statesman”, 1935
Box 9, Folder 1 American Bar Association: Beck's nomination for presidency, 1934-1936
Box 9, Folder 2 American Liberty League, 1935
Box 9, Folder 3 American Sugar Refining Company, 1905-1917
Box 9, Folder 4 Articles requested by periodicals, 1934-1935
Box 9, Folder 5 Articles published and offered, 1933-1936
Box 9, Folder 6 Cases: Ellery Ingham and Harvey Newitt case, relating to the Jacobs-Kendig counterfeit scheme, 1902, 1904, 1907
Box 9, Folder 7 Celebrations: George Washington Bicentennial, and Washington Memorial Building, 1929-1931
Box 9, Folder 8 Celebrations: Sesquicentennial of signing and adoption of the Constitution, 1935-1936
Box 9, Folder 9 Chase National Bank, 1930-1935
Box 9, Folder 10 Clubs, 1934-1936
Box 9, Folder 11 Constitution: Citizens' efforts to uphold and defend the constitution, 1934-1936
Box 9, Folder 12 Constitution: Philadelphia dramatization of “The Making of the Constitution of the United States of America”, 1935-1936
Box 9, Folder 13 Department of Justice, 1922-1930
Box 9, Folder 14 Donations, 1933-1936
Box 9, Folder 15 Fan mail, 1932-1936
Box 9, Folder 16 Foreign relations: France, 1922, 1924, 1931-1932
Box 9, Folder 17 Foreign relations: Poland, 1925-1928
Box 9, Folder 18 Foreign Relations: Various, 1916-1931
Box 9, Folder 19 Gold cases, 1935
Box 10, Folder 1 Moravian College, Bethlehem PA, 1930-1933
Box 10, Folder 2 National Recovery Act (NRA), 1933-1934
Box 10, Folder 3 Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League, 1935
Box 10, Folder 4 Prohibition (1), 1930
Box 10, Folder 5 Prohibition (2), 1931-1933
Box 10, Folder 6 Republican Party: National Organization, 1933-1935
Box 10, Folder 7 Republican party: Philadelphia Organization, 1933-1934
Box 10, Folder 8 Retirement from Congress: reactions from colleagues (alphabetical order), 1934
Box 10, Folder 9 Retirement from Congress: reactions from friends and the public (alphabetical order), 1934
Box 10, Folder 10 Shakespeariana, 1932-1936
Box 10, Folder 11 Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA): Baker-Beck legal opinion, 1934-1935
Box 10, Folder 12 University of Pennsylvania and University of Pennsylvania Law Review, 1924-1931
Box 10, Folder 13 University of London: lecture series, 1931-1932
Box 11, Folder 1 Writings: World War I publications (correspondents in alphabetical order), 1914-1922
Box 11, Folder 2 Writings: The Constitution of the United States, German translation, 1922-1929
Box 11, Folder 3 Writings: The Constitution of the United States, foreign comments and praise, 1926-1927
Box 11, Folder 4 Writings: May it please the Court, 1927-1931
Box 11, Folder 5 Writings: May it please the Court, advertising, 1930
Box 11, Folder 6 Writings: Our Wonderland of Bureaucracy, 1932-1933
Box 11, Folder 7 Series 3, Addresses and Legal Arguments, 1881-1936
Series Description
Series 3, Addresses and Legal Arguments 1881-1936, contains Beck's addresses and legal arguments, which were originally bound into twenty-two volumes, in rough chronological order. Access to the subject matter of the addresses is provided by indexes, kept at the beginning of this series (see Box 11, Folder 8).
The subjects of the addresses are varied, including local celebrations and commemorations as well as major political issues of the day, such as Prohibition, tariff matters, and the New Deal. One recurrent theme is Shakespeare, a particular interest of Beck's, who quoted from Shakespeare in most of his speeches. Volume 20 contains lectures for the University of London (The American Theory of Government, 1932) and Georgetown University (The Preamble of the Constitution, 1926).
The series of addresses and legal arguments is incomplete; the addresses previously found in volumes 2-4 (circa 1899-1906) are missing. Additional addresses and articles not found in the volumes have been added at the end of the series.
Indexes to the bound volumes, with illustrations depicting James Beck, 1899- circa 1936
Box 11, Folder 8 Vol. 1, 1-16, 1890-1899
Box 11, Folder 9 Vol. 1, 17-20; Vol. 5, 1-8, 1897-1899, 1906-1909 and undated
Box 12, Folder 1 Vol. 5, 9-17, 1881, 1907-1908 and undated
Box 12, Folder 2 Vol. 6, 1-6, 1909, 1911
Box 12, Folder 3 Vol. 6, 7-15; Vol. 7, 1, 1907-1908, 1911-1912 and undated
Box 12, Folder 4 Vol. 7, 2-10, 1914-1915
Box 12, Folder 5 Vol. 7, 11-12, 1914-1915
Box 12, Folder 6 Vol. 8, 1-9, 1915-1917
Box 12, Folder 7 Vol. 8, 10-18, 1916-1917
Box 13, Folder 1 Vol. 8, 19-21; Vol. 9, 1-11, 1916-1918 and undated
Box 13, Folder 2 Vol. 9, 12-17; Vol. 10, 1-2, 1907, 1915 and circa 1914-1918
Box 13, Folder 3 Vol. 10, 3-14, 1914-1918
Box 13, Folder 4 Vol. 11, 1-8, 1917-1919
Box 13, Folder 5 Vol. 11, 9-11; Vol. 12, 1-5, 1919-1920
Box 13, Folder 6 Vol. 12, 6-9; Vol. 13, 1-3, 1919-1921
Box 14, Folder 1 Vol. 13, 4-13, 1922-1923
Box 14, Folder 2 Vol. 13, 14-17; Vol. 14, 1-7, 1922-1924
Box 14, Folder 3 Vol. 14, 8-15, 1924
Box 14, Folder 4 Vol. 15, 1-7, 1924-1925
Box 14, Folder 5 Vol. 15, 8-14, 1924-1925
Box 14, Folder 6 Vol 16, 1-8, 1924-1926
Box 15, Folder 1 Vol. 16, 9-15, 1926-1927
Box 15, Folder 2 Vol. 17, 1-10, 1927-1929
Box 15, Folder 3 Vol. 17, 11-19, 1929-1930
Box 15, Folder 4 Vol. 18, 1-9, 1931
Box 15, Folder 5 Vol. 18, 10-25, 1931-1932
Box 15, Folder 6 Vol. 19, 1-15, 1932-1934
Box 15, Folder 7 Vol. 19, 16-27, 1931-1934
Box 16, Folder 1 Vol. 20, Lecture series University of London “The American Theory of Government”, 1932
Box 16, Folder 2 Vol. 20, Lecture series Georgetown University “The Preamble to the Constitution of the United States”, 1926
Box 16, Folder 3 Vol. 21, 1-7, 1932-1934
Box 16, Folder 4 Vol. 21, 8-19, 1924, 1931, 1934-1935
Box 16, Folder 5 Vol. 22, 1-13, 1934-1936
Box 16, Folder 6 Vol. 22, 14-22, 1935-1936
Box 16, Folder 7 Loose addresses and publications, not listed in the bound volumes, 1917-1936 and undated
Box 17, Folder 1 Series 4, General, 1787-1936 [bulk circa 1923-1936]
Series Description
Series 4, General 1787-1936 [bulk circa 1923-1936], contains letters of sympathy concerning James Beck's death in 1936, loose newspaper clippings and some miscellaneous items. (Letters of sympathy from correspondents also listed in Series 1 may be found here as well.) The newspaper clippings may supplement the scrapbooks, especially for the time around Beck's death in 1936.
Letters of sympathy and other correspondence relating to James Beck's death, 1936
Box 17, Folder 2 Correspondence to Mrs. James Beck, 1916, 1934
Box 17, Folder 3 James M. Beck's election case, first district of Pennsylvania. Hearings before the Committee on Elections no. 2, House of Representatives, Seventieth Congress, first session, by authority of House resolution no. 9. Testimony., 1928
Box 17, Folder 4 Miscellaneous items, 1787, 1898, circa 1923-1935
Box 17, Folder 5 Newspaper clippings, circa 1900-1936
Box 17, Folder 6-8 Series 5, Scrapbooks, 1880-1936
Series Description
Series 5, Scrapbooks 1880-1936, consists of 24 scrapbooks, meticulously maintained. These provide a full record of Beck's public life as found in newspaper clippings concerning his public appearances, speeches, publications and activities. While the first few volumes may contain dinner cards and other memorabilia, and very rarely, a letter or a photograph, the great majority of the scrapbooks consists of clippings only. Researchers should be careful in handling the volumes: the pages are very brittle and many bindings have red rot. Additional loose clippings which may complement the scrapbooks, especially for the year 1936, can be found in Series 4.
Vol. 1, 1880-1890
Box 17, Folder 18 Vol. 2, 1890-1897
Box 17, Folder 19 Vol. 3, 1890-1898
Box 17, Folder 20 Vol. 4, 1897-1900
Box 17, Folder 21 Vol. 5, 1900-1902
Box 17, Folder 22 Vol. 6, 1902-1905
Box 17, Folder 23 Vol. 7, 1905-1906
Box 17, Folder 24 Vol. 8, 1905-1909
Box 17, Folder 25 Vol. 9, 1909-1911
Box 17, Folder 26 Vol. 10, 1911-1914
Box 17, Folder 27 Vol. 11, 1914-1916
Box 17, Folder 28 Vol. 12, 1916-1917
Box 17, Folder 29 Vol. 13, 1916-1921
Box 17, Folder 30 Vol. 14, 1917-1919
Box 17, Folder 31 Vol. 15, 1918-1919
Box 17, Folder 32 Vol. 16, 1919-1921
Box 17, Folder 33 Vol. 17, 1921-1923
Box 17, Folder 34 Vol. 18, 1923-1924
Box 17, Folder 35 Vol. 19, 1924-1926
Box 17, Folder 36 Vol. 20, 1926-1930
Box 17, Folder 37 Vol. 21, 1930-1931
Box 17, Folder 38 Vol. 22, 1931
Box 17, Folder 39 Vol. 23, 1932-1935
Box 17, Folder 40 Vol. 24, 1935-1936
Box 17, Folder 41
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