Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/m900nt41r
Edward S. Corwin Papers, circa 1860-1961 (bulk 1920-1958): Finding Aid
MC012
Photograph from the Edward S. Corwin Papers
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 1997
©2006 Princeton University Library
Summary Information
- Creator:
- Corwin, Edward Samuel, 1878-1963.
- Title and dates:
- Edward S. Corwin Papers, circa 1860-1961 (bulk 1920-1958)
- Abstract:
- This collection contains correspondence, speeches, lecture notes, writings, and photographs of Edward S. Corwin, a noted constitutional scholar who taught at Princeton University for much of his academic career. Nationally-known and widely published, Corwin consulted with many other academics as well as politicians involved with constitutional issues, most notably when he publicly supported Franklin D. Roosevelt's Supreme Court reorganization (“court packing”) plan.
- Size:
- 9.64 linear feet (19 archival boxes, 4 medium photo boxes, and 1 large photo box)
- Call number:
- MC012
- 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 Edward S. Corwin
Edward S. Corwin was born to Frank Adelbert and Dora Lyndon Corwin in Plymouth, Michigan on January 19, 1878. He was president of his class and a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of the University of Michigan in 1900. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1905. He married Mildred Sutcliffe Smith on June 28, 1909.
Corwin was a renowned authority on United States constitutional law and theory, administrative law, international law, and jurisprudence. One of the original group of preceptors hired at Princeton University by Woodrow Wilson in 1905, Corwin became a full professor in 1911 and assumed Wilson's McCormick Professorship in Jurisprudence in 1918. Corwin was also the first chairman of Princeton's Department of Politics, which he headed from 1924 to 1935.
A prolific author, Corwin wrote more than 20 books, including The Constitution and What It Means Today (1928). His other books include John Marshall and the Constitution (1919); The Twilight of The Supreme Court (1935); The Commerce Power Versus States Rights--Back to the Constitution (1936); Court Over Constitution (1938); The President--Office and Powers (1940); Constitutional Revolution (1941); The Constitution and World Organization (1944); Total War and the Constitution (1947); Liberty Against Government (1948); and A Constitution of Powers in a Secular State (1951). Corwin was also co-editor of The War Cyclopedia (1917).
In addition to teaching and writing, Corwin was an advisor to the Public Works Administration in 1935, and in 1936 and 1937 he served under the U.S. Attorney General as a special assistant and consultant on constitutional questions. In 1937 he gave full support to President Roosevelt's Supreme Court reorganization plan. In 1954 he served as chairman of a national committee which opposed the Bricker Amendment to restrict the treaty-making powers of the President.
Corwin was a president of the American Political Science Association and a member of the American Philosophical Society. He was also a member of the American Historical Association, the Southern Political Science Association and the Institut International de Droit Public.
Corwin retired from Princeton in 1946 as McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence Emeritus. Following his retirement, he taught at Columbia University, the University of Virginia, New York University School of Law, Emory University, the University of Minnesota, and the University of Washington though he continued to live in Princeton. He died on April 29, 1963.
Description
These papers document Edward Corwin's personal and professional life, including his time as chair of the Politics Department at Princeton University. The collection includes files on subjects such as church-state relations, the commerce clause, civil rights, due process of law, the Presidency, the Bricker Amendment, and American foreign policy.
Arrangement
Organized into the following series:
- Series 1, Biographical Data, 1865-1961
- Series 2, Personal Correspondence, 1899-1961
- Series 3, Professional Correspondence, 1907-1961
- Series 4, Subject Files, 1910-1958
- Series 5, Manuscripts and Publications, 1906-1957
- Series 6, Notes and Class Materials, circa 1930-1951
- Series 7, Photographs, circa 1880- circa 1960
Series 1 and 7 are arranged topically. Series 2 and 3 are arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent. Series 4, 5, and 6 are arranged alphabetically by subject or title.
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.
Related Materials
Online Images
Digital images created in 2008 of Series 3, Professional Correspondence, 1907-1961, are available in PDF format on DVD and are also accessible in the contents list.
Processing and Other Information
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Edward Jaramillo (Class of 1996), Theresa Marchitto, and Monica Ruscil from 1993-1996 with support from the Class of 1927 and from Alan Gettner and Henriette Herrman Gettner, son and widow of Victor S. Gettner, Class of 1927. Finding aid written by Edward Jaramillo in 1996.
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); Edward S. Corwin 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.
- Bricker, John W. (John William), 1893-1986.
- Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945 -- Views on judicial process.
- Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924.
- Princeton University -- Faculty -- 20th century -- Correspondence.
- Princeton University. Dept. of Politics -- 20th century.
- United States. Supreme Court.
- Civil rights -- United States -- 20th century.
- Due process of law -- United States -- 20th century.
- Executive power -- United States -- 20th century.
- Political scientists -- United States -- 20th century -- Correspondence.
- Political science -- Study and teaching -- New Jersey -- Princeton -- 20th century.
- United States -- Constitution -- History.
- United States -- Constitutional law.
- United States -- Foreign relations -- Law and legislation.
- Correspondence.
- Faculty papers.
- Manuscripts.
- Photographs.
Browse other finding aids related to the following terms:
- American history/20th century
- American history/Gilded Age, Populism, Progressivism
- American politics and government
- Legal history
- Princeton University
- Public policy/20th century
Contents List
Series 1, Biographical Material, 1865-1961
Series Description
Series 1, Biographical Data, 1865-1961, contains personal information regarding Corwin's retirement, finances, and appointments, honors and awards. This series also contains bibliographies listing Corwin's works.
American Philosophic Society, 1936
Box 1, Folder 1 Appointment Calendar, 1937
Box 1, Folder 2 Biographical Information, Bibliographies, Etc., 1935, 1963
Box 1, Folder 3 Cosmos Club, 1927
Box 1, Folder 4 Democratic National Committee, 1912
Box 1, Folder 5 Financial Holdings: Parents/Grandparents, 1865-1873
Box 1, Folder 6 Financial Information, 1918-1930
Box 1, Folder 7 Historical Society of Pennsylvania, 1912, 1937
Box 1, Folder 8 Invitations to Princeton Dinners and Activities, 1913, 1960
Box 1, Folder 9 Invitations to U.S. Presidential Inaugural, 1933
Box 1, Folder 10 Man of the Week, Trenton, 1961
Box 1, Folder 11 Outlines of Personal Life, undated
Box 1, Folder 12 Retirement, 1946-1947
Box 1, Folder 13 Rodrigues, Lieda Boechat (Translated article), 1959
Box 1, Folder 14 University of Michigan: Honors and Awards, 1900, 1909
Box 1, Folder 15 Who's Who File (British Edition), circa 1950
Box 1, Folder 16 Miscellaneous, undated
Box 1, Folder 17 Series 2, Personal Correspondence, 1899-1961
Series Description
Series 2, Personal Correspondence, 1899-1961, contains personal correspondence between Corwin and family members, including his mother, sister, and stepfather. There are also personal letters from his wife.
Bellows, Willis A. (brother-in-law), 1940-1956
Box 1, Folder 18 Carmody, Francis, 1902-1924
Box 1, Folder 19 Cole, Adelaide (sister) to ESC, 1905-1946
Box 1, Folder 20 ESC to Corwin, Dora Lyndon (mother), 1907-1938
Box 1, Folder 21 Corwin, Mildred to ESC, 1901-1954
Box 1, Folder 22 ESC to Cole, F. A. (stepfather), 1902-1904
Box 1, Folder 23 ESC to Corwin, Jane (sister), 1907-1941
Box 1, Folder 24 Corwin, Jane to ESC, 1905-1961
Box 1, Folder 24 Corwin, Mildred (wife) to ESC, 1911-1954
Box 1, Folder 26 Corwin, Mildred (wife) to Jane Corwin, 1909-1939
Box 2, Folder 1 Corwin, Mildred (wife) to Dora Corwin Cole, 1909-1939
Box 2, Folder 2 Father to Mildred Corwin, 1909
Box 2, Folder 3 Miscellaneous, 1899-1906, 1954
Box 2, Folder 4-6 Miscellaneous to Mildred Corwin, 1909-1954
Box 2, Folder 7 Series 3, Professional Correspondence, 1907-1961
Series Description
Series 3, Professional Correspondence, 1907-1961, is the largest series in this collection, and contains correspondence to and from colleagues at Princeton, other educators, political leaders, and Supreme Court justices. Most of this correspondence pertains to constitutional issues facing the nation, his teaching, and his writings. Correspondents include U.S. Presidents from Woodrow Wilson through John F. Kennedy, and noted jurists Hugo Black, Benjamin Cordozo, Felix Frankfurter, John Marshall Harlan, Harlan F. Stone, and Earl Warren.
A, 1931-1958
Box 2, Folder 8 Ba-Bi, 1918-1957
Box 3, Folder 1 Bl-By, 1918-1959
Box 3, Folder 2 Ca-Cl, 1920-1959
Box 3, Folder 3 Coa-Cou, 1922-1958
Box 3, Folder 4 Committee for Defense of the Constitution, 1954-1957
Box 3, Folder 5 Cow-Cox, 1913-1957
Box 4, Folder 1 Da-Di, 1922-1956
Box 4, Folder 2 Di-Du, 1919-1959
Box 4, Folder 3 E, 1920-1957
Box 4, Folder 4 F, 1911-1959
Box 4, Folder 5 G, 1923-1958
Box 4, Folder 6 Ha-He, 1920-1957
Box 4, Folder 7 Hi-Hu, 1917-1958
Box 5, Folder 1 I, 1909-1948
Box 5, Folder 2 J, 1922-1957
Box 5, Folder 3 K, 1909-1958
Box 5, Folder 4 L, 1911-1957
Box 5, Folder 5 Ma-Max, 1934-1959
Box 5, Folder 6 Me-My, 1913-1957
Box 5, Folder 7 N, 1937-1956
Box 6, Folder 1 O, 1936-1958
Box 6, Folder 2 Pa-Po, 1911-1959
Box 6, Folder 3 Permanent Committee for the Oliver Wendell Holmes Devise, 1957
Box 6, Folder 4 Po-Pu, 1915-1956
Box 6, Folder 5 Q, 1954
Box 6, Folder 6 R, 1924-1961
Box 6, Folder 7 S-Sl, 1939-1961
Box 6, Folder 8 Sm-Sp, 1931-1958
Box 6, Folder 9 St-Sz, 1919-1957
Box 7, Folder 1 T, 1914-1959
Box 7, Folder 2 U, 1911-1960
Box 7, Folder 3 V, 1937-1959
Box 7, Folder 4 Wa-Wh, 1924-1959
Box 7, Folder 5 Wi-Wu, 1933-1958
Box 7, Folder 6 Wilson, Woodrow, 1907-1918
Box 7, Folder 7 Y, 1919-1955
Box 7, Folder 8 Yenching University, 1928-1930
Box 7, Folder 9 Z, 1936-1959
Box 7, Folder 10 Series 3, Professional Correspondence Digital Files, 1907-1961
(DVD)Box 7, Folder 11 Series 4, Subject Files, 1910-1958
Series Description
Series 4, Subject Files, 1910-1958, contains primarily articles and academic papers authored by others on subjects such as the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment, legislation, liberty, police power, poll tax, the Presidency, and segregation collected by Corwin for his research.
Miscellaneous, 1931-1958
Box 8, Folder 1 Air Force, Constitutional Status of, circa 1947
Box 8, Folder 2 Alaska, 1945, 1948
Box 8, Folder 3 Amending Power, 1920
Box 8, Folder 4 American Thought, History of, 1946
Box 8, Folder 5 Anti-Trust Acts, undated
Box 8, Folder 6 Atomic Energy, 1947, 1954
Box 8, Folder 7 Book Reviews written by Corwin, 1939-1952, undated
Box 8, Folder 8 Book Reviews of works by Corwin, 1935, undated
Box 8, Folder 9 Business Cards, undated
Box 8, Folder 10 Church and State, 1952, 1954
Box 8, Folder 11 Commerce Clause (Congressional Powers), 1939, undated
Box 8, Folder 12 Compact Clause, 1926
Box 8, Folder 13 Congressional Procedure, undated
Box 8, Folder 14 Conspiracy, Doctrine of, undated
Box 8, Folder 15 Constitution, 1917-1945
Box 8, Folder 16 Constitutional Law, 1931-1957
Box 8, Folder 17 Declaratory Judgments, 1934
Box 8, Folder 18 Democracy, 1949, undated
Box 8, Folder 19 Double Jeopardy, undated
Box 8, Folder 20 Due Process, undated
Box 8, Folder 21 Elections, Congressional, control of, 1926
Box 8, Folder 22 Emergency War Powers, undated
Box 8, Folder 23 Federal Government, 1936-1937
Box 8, Folder 24 First Amendment, 1920
Box 8, Folder 25 Fourteenth Amendment, undated
Box 9, Folder 1 Holmes, Oliver Wendell, 1956-1957
Box 9, Folder 2 Judges (Famous), undated
Box 9, Folder 3 Judicial Notice, undated
Box 9, Folder 4 Judicial Review, undated
Box 9, Folder 5 Labor and the Court, undated
Box 9, Folder 6 Labor Law, 1940, undated
Box 9, Folder 7 Lawyers (Famous), 1919
Box 9, Folder 8 Legislation, undated
Box 9, Folder 9 Legislative Power to the Executive, Delegation of, undated
Box 9, Folder 10 Liberty, undated
Box 9, Folder 11 Marshall, John, undated
Box 9, Folder 12 National Power, undated
Box 9, Folder 13 National Recovery Act (NRA), circa 1934
Box 9, Folder 14 Police Power, undated
Box 9, Folder 15 Poll Tax/Right to Vote, 1942, undated
Box 9, Folder 16 Presidency, 1941-1944
Box 9, Folder 17 Public Officers Liability, undated
Box 9, Folder 18 Revolution, undated
Box 9, Folder 19 Segregation in the schools, circa 1954
Box 9, Folder 20 Separation of powers, undated
Box 9, Folder 21 Sir Blackstone (Abe Glasser), undated
Box 9, Folder 22 Social Theory, 1940
Box 9, Folder 23 State Government, undated
Box 9, Folder 24 State Power, undated
Box 9, Folder 25 Statement on Supreme Court Reorganization, 1937
Box 9, Folder 26 Steel Seizure, 1948-1953
Box 9, Folder 27 Supreme Court, 1936, 1958, undated
Box 9, Folder 28 Taxation, National, undated
Box 9, Folder 29 Treason, 1930
Box 9, Folder 30 Treaty-Making Powers, 1953
Box 10, Folder 1 Truman, Harry, 1950
Box 10, Folder 2 Wilson, Woodrow, 1910, 1924
Box 10, Folder 3 University of Yenching, 1928, 1938
Box 10, Folder 4 Series 5, Manuscripts and Publications, 1906-1957
Series Description
Series 5, Manuscripts and Publications, 1906-1957, contains manuscripts for a few of Corwin's books, including Court Over Constitution and The Doctrine of Judicial Review: Its Legal and Historical Basis and Other Essays. This series also contains publications with articles written by Corwin as well as book reviews and letters to editors.
The Comity Clause, 1929
Box 10, Folder 5-6 The Constitution and What it Means Today, undated
Box 10, Folder 7 Court over Constitution, 1953
Box 10, Folder 8 Edwin Stanton and Reconstruction, 1953
Box 10, Folder 9-11 John Marshall, circa 1919
Box 10, Folder 12 Judicial Review, circa 1914
Box 11, Folder 1-2 Powers of Congress, undated
Box 11, Folder 3-9 Powers of Congress, undated
Box 12, Folder 1-2 War Powers, undated
Box 12, Folder 3-4 Untitled, undated
Box 12, Folder 5 Letters to the Editors, Writings, 1944-1957, undated
Box 12, Folder 6 Publications with Corwin articles, 1906-1915
Box 12, Folder 7 Publications with Corwin articles, 1917-1956, undated
Box 13, Folder 1-6 Series 6, Notes and Class Materials, circa 1930-1951
Series Description
Series 6, Notes and Class Materials, circa 1930-1951, contains note papers and note cards with class lecture notes and historical information. There are also class exams and syllabi in this series.
Lecture notes, undated
Box 14, Folder 1-6 Lecture notes, undated
Box 15, Folder 1-6 Lecture notes, undated
Box 16, Folder 1-6 Lecture notes, undated
Box 17, Folder 1-4 Notes, undated
Box 17, Folder 5-7 Course Note Cards: American & European History, Civil War, The Colonies. Notes for “Oregon Question”, undated
Box 18 Lecture Notes, undated
Box 19, Folder 1 Class materials: examinations, syllabi, undated
Box 19, Folder 2-5 Speeches circa 1930-1945
Box 19, Folder 6 Guest lectures at Emory University, 1951
Box 19, Folder 7 Miscellaneous Notes, undated
Box 19, Folder 8-9 Miscellaneous, undated
Box 19, Folder 10-12 Series 7, Photographs, circa 1880- circa 1960
Series Description
Series 7, Photographs, circa 1880- circa 1960, contains black and white photographs of Corwin, including some in his college days, but most taken in mid- to late-life. This series also contains photographs of his wife, children, family members, and friends, though many early photographs are unidentified.
Photographs with E.S. Corwin, circa 1900-1960
Box 20 Photographs with Mildred Corwin, circa 1900-1960
Box 21 Photographs of Corwin family children, circa 1930-1960
Box 22 Miscellaneous family photographs, circa 1880-1950
Box 23 Oversize: Two photos and four certificates, circa 1900-1961
Box 24
Permanent URL: http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/m900nt41r