Converted to EAD3 : Encoded Archival Description (EAD), Version 3 : Release: 1.1.1 : Release Date: 2019-12-16. Validating against latest version of schema.
Contact information: https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm75041574
Collection material in English
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the LC Catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically.
The papers of Harlan Fiske Stone, attorney general, associate and chief justice of the Supreme Court, and educator, were given to the Library of Congress in 1949 by his wife, Agnes H. Stone.
The papers of Harlan Fiske Stone were processed in 1975 by Anita Nolen and Joseph McKeever. In 1977 the Library published
Related collections in the Manuscript Division include the papers of Hugo Lafayette Black at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms001046, Harold H. Burton at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms002012, William O. Douglas at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms002011, Felix Frankfurter at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms999002, Charles Evans Hughes at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms005012, and John Bassett Moore at https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms014013.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Harlan Fiske Stone in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
The Stone Papers are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container or reel number, Harlan Fiske Stone Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Harlan Fiske Stone (1872-1946) span the period 1889-1953, but most of the papers are dated 1925-1946 when Stone served on the Supreme Court of the United States. The collection consists of Family Correspondence , General Correspondence , Special Correspondence , Subject File , Supreme Court File , and Miscellany series.
Stone's Family Correspondence consists chiefly of letters exchanged between Stone and his brother Lauson Stone, sister Helen Stone Willard, and sons Marshall Stone and Lauson Stone. Very few letters in the collection are between Stone and his wife, Agnes Harvey Stone. Although Stone occasionally mentioned the Supreme Court or other issues of the day, the letters in this series are mainly concerned with personal and family matters.
The General Correspondence covers a broader range. It contains letters of recommendation supporting friends for various positions, Stone's comments on the large number of addresses and articles sent him by others in the legal profession, and discussions of court matters, the judicial process, legal education, and related subjects. His correspondence with Felix Frankfurter and John Bassett Moore is voluminous and relates mainly to legal affairs. Other correspondents in this series include Charles C. Burlingham, Nicholas Murray Butler, Sterling Carr, John Foster Dulles, Learned Hand, Herbert Hoover, Luther Ely Smith, Young Berryman Smith, and George Sutherland. The earliest letters in the collection are from Stone's high school teachers, Jessamine Dixon and Edith Field, in 1889-1892, and concern the course of his future education after being dismissed from Massachusetts Agricultural College.
In the Special Correspondence series are congratulatory messages that Stone received on his appointments as attorney general, associate justice, and chief justice, as well as the condolences received by the family after his death. In addition to the telegrams and rather perfunctory messages, there are communications commending Stone for his conduct in the various public offices he held, especially for his statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1925 concerning his involvement in the prosecution of Senator Burton K. Wheeler of Montana.
Stone's varied interests and activities are reflected in the Subject File . His long service as a trustee of Amherst College and as a chairman of its committee on the Folger Shakespeare Library, and his abiding interest in these situations, are well documented. He also served as chairman of the board of trustees of the National Gallery of Art and as chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution; files on these institutions are also in this series. The Columbia University Law School material, which dates from 1899 to 1923, reflects Stone's connection with that institution, first as a teacher and later as dean. His interest in legal education is also reflected in the files on the American Law Institute and various bar associations. Other significant files in this series include those relating to Stone's efforts in appointing new U.S. attorneys during his tenure as attorney general.
The Supreme Court File , which contains correspondence, near-print and printed matter, and clippings, is divided into three subseries: Case Files , Correspondence , and General Office Files .
The Case files , which make up the largest part of the Supreme Court File , constitute a record of Stone's written opinions, concurrences, and dissents for his years on the court from the 1924 through 1945 terms. The cases are arranged chronologically by term and alphabetically therein by case name. The first folder of the case files contains a memorandum prepared by Stone's secretary explaining the color codes on the folder labels. Contained in the case files are printed drafts of opinions, memoranda on individual cases, and notes exchanged by the justices on the cases. The printed drafts of Stone's opinions that he circulated among the other justices (known as “returns”) often contain their comments on the back.
The Correspondence in the Supreme Court File is organized in two parts: correspondence with other justices and correspondence with attorneys and petitioners. The correspondence with other justices covers the years they served on the court with Stone; correspondence prior to this is located in the General Correspondence series. The justices' correspondence is arranged alphabetically by name and then chronologically. Files for William O. Douglas, Felix Frankfurter, Charles Evans Hughes, and Owen J. Roberts contain the largest amounts of correspondence. Stone's correspondence with attorneys and petitioners regarding cases before the court is arranged chronologically, and involves in the main procedural matters such as requests for extensions of filing deadlines. Also included is material concerning affairs of the Second Circuit to which Stone was assigned.
The General Office File
subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject and contains correspondence with
court officers such as the clerk and the reporter regarding administrative matters. The
file also contains newspaper clippings and correspondence with the public concerning the
court's procedures and decisions. Examples include clippings and letters sent to Stone
supporting his dissent in the flag salute case of 1940 (
Included in the Miscellany series are letters to Alpheus T. Mason, Stone's biographer, containing reminiscences of Stone by Irving N. Brant, Mabel Walker Williebrandt, and others, and clippings relating to Stone's life and a copy of a letter of 1907 by Theodore Roosevelt in which he defends his judicial appointments. Other material confirms Stone's reputation as a wine connoisseur.
The collection is arranged in six series:
Letters received and copies of letters sent between family members, together with other family papers.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent and chronologically therein.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, and miscellaneous enclosures.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.
Congratulatory messages received on his appointment as Attorney General, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, and Chief Justice of the United States, and condelences on Stones's death.
Arranged chronologically by occasion and grouped alphabetically therein by name correspondent.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, memoranda, drafts of writings, reports, and near-print and printed material pertianing to cases in which Stone was actively involed.
Arranged chronologically by court term and alphabetically by case name within each term.
Notes, opinions, correspondence, and other material pertaining to cases in which Stone was actively involved. Names of cases have been copied directly from the folder labels set up by Justice Stone's office. Case files indicated as "empty" were received in that state and have been maintained in the Case File series to provide a complete listing of the files. See explanation of folder labels in Container 52.
Arranged chronologically by court term and alphabetically by case name within each term.
Letters received, copies of letters sent, memoranda, and other material, divided into two groups-correspondence with other Justices, arranged alphabetically by correspondent, and correspondence with attorneys and petitioners. Arranged chronologically.
Correspondence, memoranda, notes, and near-print and printed material relating to administrative and other details of Stone's work as a Supreme Court Justice.
Arranged alphabetically by subject and type of material.
Biographer's papers, greeting cards, notes, speeches and writings, menus, certificates, clippings, printed matter, and other material.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.