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: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/mss.contact
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm83061590
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 Benjamin V. Cohen, lawyer and statesman, were deeded to the Library of Congress in 1983 by his estate, and a small addition was received from his estate in 1998. In 1990 an addition was given by Cohen's nephew, Bernard W. Freund.
The papers of Benjamin V. Cohen were arranged and described in 1985. The finding aid was revised in 2011. Additional material received in 1998 and 1990 was processed as an addition by Connie L. Cartledge in 2014, and some classified material from the Department of State series was declassified and also processed at that time.
Items have been transferred from the Manuscript Division to other custodial divisions of the Library. Audio recordings have been transferred to the Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division. Prints and photographs have been transferred to the Prints and Photographs Division. All transfers are identified in these divisions as part of the Benjamin V. Cohen Papers.
Copyright in the unpublished writings of Benjamin V. Cohen in these papers and in other collections of papers in the custody of the Library of Congress has been dedicated to the public.
Restrictions apply governing the use, photoduplication, or publication of items in this collection. Consult reference staff in the Manuscript Division for information concerning these restrictions. In addition, many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.
Government regulations control the use of security classified material in this collection. Manuscript Division staff can furnish information concerning access to and use of classified materials.
Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Benjamin V. Cohen Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
The papers of Benjamin V. Cohen (1894-1983) span the years 1902-1983, with the bulk of the items concentrated in the period 1918-1983. Cohen, best known as an adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, became the architect of some of the New Deal's principal policies and basic legislation. The papers are organized into the following series: Family Papers, General Correspondence, Subject File, Speeches and Writings File, Financial Papers, Miscellany, and Department of State File, 2014 Addition, and Top Secret.
The papers touch on many aspects of Cohen's career in public service and as a private counselor. There are files on his work for the United States Shipping Board during World War I, his participation in postwar Zionism and subsequent interest in Israel and Jewish groups, his role in New Deal legislation, coalition diplomacy during World War II, the creation of the United Nations, and post-World War II foreign policy. After Cohen left the government in 1953, he continued to play a vital role in advising public officials and individuals in private about international relations, natural resources, civil liberties, and human rights. In addition to New Deal matters, the collection contains files on the destroyers-for-bases agreement with Great Britain, tax reform, and the Civil Rights Act of 1957. Treated in the General Correspondence and Subject File are issues such as the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, the Senate's cloture rule, Taiwan, presidential authority to use the armed forces in the absence of a declaration of war, Vietnam, the Potsdam Conference, and the Minimum Wage Bill.
The Speeches and Writings File further reflects his views and activities and contains some of the clearest expressions of his political and philosophical opinions. The Family Papers include biographical information about Cohen as well as other members of his family, and the Financial Papers consist of correspondence and records relating to family and friends whom Cohen counseled in both financial and legal matters. The Department of State File relates to the creation of the United Nations and post-war foreign policy and the majority of that material is in the Classified and Top Secret series. The 2014 Addition consists mainly of correspondence and supplements the first part of the collection.
Prominent correspondents in the collection include Dean Acheson, James F. Byrnes, William O. Douglas, John Foster Dulles, Felix Frankfurter, Thomas K. Finletter, David Eli Lilienthal, Eleanor Roosevelt, Arthur M. Schlesinger (1917-2007), Adlai E. Stevenson (1900-1965), and Wendell L. Willkie.
This collection is arranged in ten series:
Catalog Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/mm83061590
Correspondence with family members, letters of congratulation and resignation, and miscellaneous documents such as military physical examinations, medical prescriptions, certification to practice law, and brief biographical information.
Arranged alphabetically by name of family member.
Letters received and occasional copies of letters sent.
Arranged alphabetically by name of correspondent.
Correspondence, memoranda, notes, printed material, and reports.
Arranged alphabetically by name of person or subject.
Drafts, typescripts, memoranda, letters to the editor, interviews, and printed copies of Cohen's speeches and writings.
Arranged by type of material.
Correspondence, notes, fragments, and records of estates and trusts.
Arranged by name of family or personal estate or trust and by type of material.
Appointment books, drawings, greeting cards, invitations, and other memorabilia.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material.
Memoranda, policy papers, reports, meeting minutes, and other material.
Arranged alphabetically by topic and therein alphabetically or chronologically.
Correspondence, family papers, speeches, an inaugural program, and an invitation to Franklin D. Roosevelt's funeral.
Arranged alphabetically by type of material or topic.
Correspondence, memoranda, policy papers, reports, meeting minutes and notes, statements, resolutions, statutes, maps, and other material.
Arranged alphabetically by topic and therein alphabetically by topic or type of material.
Correspondence, maps, and policy papers.
Arranged and described according to the series, containers, and folders from which the items were removed.