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/mm78034751
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 Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian, philosopher, and author, were given to the Library of Congress by Niebuhr in 1965. Additions were given by Reinhold and Ursula Niebuhr and others from 1965 through 2009.
The collection was processed in 1966 by Grover Batts and expanded and revised between 1976 and 1981 by Grover Batts and David Mathisen. Additional material was processed in 1994 by Michael Spangler with the assistance of Lisa Madison, and the finding aid was revised in 2009. In 2012, the material given between 1995 and 2009 was processed by Kathleen O'Neill and Michael Spangler and the finding aid was revised.
Most photographs have been transferred to the custody of the Library's Prints and Photographs Division, where they are identified as part of these papers.
Other collections in the Manuscript Division that contain papers of Reinhold Niebuhr include those of Raymond Leslie Buell, the Fund for the Reinhold Niebuhr Award, Hans J. Morgenthau, Paul F. Sifton and Claire G. Sifton, and Charles P. Taft.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Reinhold Niebuhr in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
The papers of Reinhold Niebuhr 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 number, Reinhold Niebuhr Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Reinhold Niebuhr (1892-1971) span the years 1907-1997, with the bulk of the material concentrated in the period from the 1930s through the 1980s. The collection portrays the range of Niebuhr's work and his influence in twentieth-century theology, politics, and society. Included are correspondence , articles, sermons, reviews, lectures, typescripts of books , biographical material, printed matter, and miscellaneous items. The original collection is arranged in the following series: Correspondence , Speech, Article, and Book File , Miscellany , June Bingham Correspondence , Reinhold Niebuhr Correspondence Collected by June Bingham , June Bingham Book File , and William Scarlett Correspondence . Five separate additions to Niebuhr's papers have been organized and appended to the original collection. These additions are listed and described in the order of their receipt in the Manuscript Division.
Correspondence with a wide array of theologians, political leaders, academicians, literary figures, and diverse community leaders and organizations comprises a substantial portion of the original collection and Additions I and II . Focusing chiefly on Niebuhr's theological interests and work, much of the material relates his efforts to apply religion and ethical standards to social and political problems. Two such examples, represented in depth, are the papers concerning the Delta Cooperative Farm Project and the Committee on Economic and Racial Justice. Some of the prominent or frequent correspondents include W. H. Auden, Jacques Barzun, John C. Bennett, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Tom C. Clark, Henry Sloane Coffin, James Bryant Conant, Sherwood Eddy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, T. S. Eliot, Felix Frankfurter, Hubert H. Humphrey, James A. Pike, Samuel D. Press, William Scarlett , Arthur M. Schlesinger (1917-2007), Adlai E. Stevenson (1900-1965), Paul Tillich, Henry P. Van Dusen, and Willem Adolph Visser't Hooft. Also included is a sizable amount of correspondence with such organizations as Americans for Democratic Action, Commission on Freedom of the Press, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, Union for Democratic Action, and the World Council of Churches.
There are numerous outlines of sermons delivered by Niebuhr and typescripts of articles ranging in subject matter from national and international political affairs to labor and race relations, theology, and economics. There are also typescripts and related correspondence dealing with book reviews Niebuhr wrote for the
The collection also contains outlines of class lectures, engagement calendars, bibliographies of Niebuhr's published works, and miscellaneous oversize materials.
Papers presented to the Library by June Bingham relate to her research conducted while preparing a biography of Niebuhr,
Addition III is composed primarily of correspondence , subject files , and writings collected and maintained by Ursula Niebuhr. Although the papers include a few letters to and from Niebuhr during the last years of his life, the material consists chiefly of Ursula Niebuhr's correspondence with academic colleagues, researchers, and family friends. Also of interest are letters from her friends and colleagues in England describing conditions there during World War II. Subject files contain research material collected by the Niebuhrs, biographical clippings, information on colleagues, and material related to researchers studying Niebuhr, including a group of letters exchanged with Richard Fox and others relating to his 1985 book,
Addition IV also includes a significant group of family correspondence and professional files of Ursula Niebuhr . Letters exchanged by Reinhold and Ursula Niebuhr during the 1930s comprise the bulk of the family correspondence and provide insight into Niebuhr's political and social activities. Highlights in the correspondence include Niebuhr's descriptions of activities relating to his Gifford lectures at the University of Edinburgh (1939), his travels to Germany with the U.S. Commission on Cultural Affairs in Occupied Territories (1946), and other trips to Europe during the late 1940s. Also included are letters Niebuhr received from his brother, H. Richard Niebuhr, during the 1930s. In 1991, Ursula Niebuhr edited and published much of this correspondence in
Addition V complements the material in Additions III and IV and is composed of correspondence, subject files, and writings. Significant correspondents include David Amiran, Ruth Amiran, Jonathan Bingham, June Bingham, Teddy Kollek, and Ronald H. Stone. The subject file details Ursula Niebuhr's work with the Jerusalem Committee and study of Christian liturgy. The writings file contains articles by both Reinhold and Ursula Niebuhr. The writings file also contains an outline entitled "The Significance of Luther's Dfisnce [Defiance] of the Pope" that Reinhold Niebuhr was working on at the time of his death.
The collection is arranged in twelve series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm78034751
Letters sent and received.
Arranged alphabetically.
Speeches, sermons, articles, book reviews, and book manuscripts.
Grouped by type of material and arranged alphabetically within groups, with the exception of sermons which are untitled and undated.
Biographical material, class lectures, printed matter, photographs, and other miscellaneous items or files.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Letters sent and received.
Arranged alphabetically except for Bingham's correspondence with Niebuhr that precedes other correspondence.
Niebuhr correspondence with persons other than Bingham.
Arranged alphabetically.
Papers relating to Bingham's biography of Niebuhr,
Organized by type of material.
Letters from Niebuhr to Scarlett and related and attached material.
Organized chronologically.
Correspondence, printed matter, and related background material.
Arranged alphabetically by topic or name of person or organization.
Articles, books, sermons, reviews, speeches and related materials.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Certificates and photograph.
Arranged and described according to the series and containers from which the items were removed.
Letters received and a few copies of letters sent.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person or organization.
Articles, book chapters, reviews, addresses, sermons, prayers, and lecture notes.
Arranged by type of material and thereunder alphabetically by title.
Biographical material, clippings, notes, photographs, and printed matter.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material or topic.
Letters sent and received.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person or organization.
Correspondence, clippings, and printed material.
Arranged alphabetically by topic.
Articles, addresses, reviews, and miscellaneous items.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Correspondence between Reinhold and Ursula Niebuhr and other family members.
Arranged alphabetically by correspondent and chronologically thereunder.
Correspondence, articles, essays, lectures, speeches, sermons, notes, and administrative papers regarding her teaching career at Barnard College.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material or topic and chronologically or alphabetically thereunder.
Correspondence, subject files, articles, essays, lectures, and reviews.
Grouped by type of material and arranged alphabetically therein.