Scope and Content Note
The papers of Thomas Gardiner Corcoran (1900-1981) span the years 1792-1982, with the majority of the papers concentrated in the period 1965-1980. The collection documents Corcoran's government service during the first and second presidential terms of Franklin D. Roosevelt and his private legal practice. Corcoran's knowledge of law and government and his contacts within the legislative and executive branch earned him a reputation as a consummate Washington insider, influencing legislation and politics on the national level during the New Deal period and well beyond. The papers consist of nine series: Family Papers, General Correspondence, Subject File, New Deal Era, Civil Aviation File, Legal File, Miscellany, Addition, and Classified.
The Family Papers, 1823-1982, include correspondence, financial and legal papers, academic and class files, and other items relating to travel and leisure activities organized in three subseries: Subject File, Financial File, and Miscellany. Correspondence in the Subject File highlights the family's interest in one another's activities. Corcoran's letters to his brothers and parents include comments about Washington personalities and public events as well as family news. The Financial File contains papers relating to Corcoran's charitable contributions, investments, and trust funds, and income tax returns. The bulk of the Miscellany subseries concerns the family's real estate and its travel and leisure activities.
The General Correspondence series, 1927-1982, reflects the vast number of individuals in government and private industry with whom Corcoran corresponded. The correspondence chronicles Corcoran's personal activities and his interest in politics, domestic issues, and foreign affairs. Letters from friends and acquaintances include an occasional request for either personal or legal advice concerning a problem. This series also contains related material such as photographs, newspaper clippings, and printed matter. Among the frequent correspondents in the series are Bernard M. Baruch, Francis Biddle, Hugo Lafayette Black, Edward B. Burling (1870-1966), Anna C. Chennault, Benjamin V. Cohen, John Bowden Connally, William O. Douglas, Edward C. Eicher, James Aloysius Farley, Hubert H. Humphrey, Harold L. Ickes, Lyndon B. Johnson, James McCauley Landis, Claude Pepper, Sam Rayburn, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Samuel Irving Rosenman, Jame H. Rowe, Walter Bedell Smith, and Stuart Symington.
The Subject File, 1915-1982, illustrates Corcoran's affiliation with organizations and educational institutions such as the American Law Institute, Brown University, District of Columbia Bar, and Harvard University and documents his appearances testifying before congressional committees. Other subjects include China, politics, taxation, the Fourteenth Air Force Association and the Flying Tigers, and minerals and mining. This series also contains extensive files pertaining to Anna Chennault, Claire Lee Chennault, John Bowden Connally, Oliver Wendell Holmes, and Lyndon B. Johnson.
The New Deal Era series, 1887-1940, documents Corcoran's many contributions as legislative draftsman, litigator, employment bureau director, and speech writer and his instrumental role in administrative programs. The series is divided into four subseries: General Correspondence, Speeches and Writings File, Subject File, and Miscellany.
The General Correspondence subseries, containing incoming and outgoing letters, reflects the optimism, perseverance, and camaraderie of political reformers who felt their movement was succeeding. This subseries includes many notes from Roosevelt to Corcoran in which the president asked Corcoran to report on an issue or to investigate a particular problem. Among the frequent correspondents in the subseries are Hugo Lafayette Black, Benjamin V. Cohen, William Denman, William O. Douglas, Edward C. Eicher, Jerome Frank, Felix Frankfurter, Harry Lloyd Hopkins, Harold L. Ickes, Robert Houghwout Jackson, Lyndon B. Johnson, Joseph P. Kennedy, James McCauley Landis, Frank Murphy, Claude Pepper, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Samuel Irving Rosenman, and James H. Rowe.
The Speeches and Writings File documents Corcoran's activities as a speech writer for Roosevelt and other New Deal officials. Corcoran also frequently reviewed the speech drafts of others in the administration to insure they were consistent with administration policies. This subseries contains extensive reference material and reports that Corcoran used to write speeches.
The largest of the New Deal subseries, the Subject File, contains material pertaining to New Deal legislation such as the Public Utility Holding Company Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, and the Securities and Exchange Act. This subseries conveys the dynamics of the legislative process and chronicles the role of Benjamin V. Cohen and others who helped shape these new statutes. The evolution of the Securities and Exchange Commission is well documented, including files about early litigation such as the Electric Bond and Share suit. Also represented in the subseries is Corcoran's increasing involvement in campaigns and political strategy. Included in the campaign files are materials on fund-raising activities for the reelection of George Norris, correspondence about the effort to purge Walter George and John J. O'Connor, and information about Democratic Party publicity efforts. The "Personnel file" in the Miscellany subseries reveals not only the number of people with whom Corcoran was acquainted, but also the number of people who sought his help in obtaining work. The files demonstrate his understanding of how inconspicuous positions could have a major impact on the functioning of government.
The Civil Aviation File, 1941-1969, and the Legal File, 1932-1981, include correspondence, memoranda, briefs, opinions, congressional testimony, and business records. These two series document Corcoran's legal practice and business interests after he left government service. Clients prominently featured are China Defense Supplies, American International Underwriters, Madame Paul DuPuy, Ernest K. Halbach, Sterling Drug, Tennessee Gas Transmission Company, and United Fruit Co.
The bulk of the Miscellany series, 1792-1982, consists of papers concerning Corcoran's unpublished autobiography, "Rendezvous with Democracy," and office files. The office files include a chronological correspondence file from 1965 through 1970, calendars and schedules, résumés and recommendations, and telephone messages. Also included in this series is material from Corcoran's law firm, Cotton and Franklin.
The Addition, 1932-1975, consists mainly of correspondence and memoranda concerning New Deal legislation. The bulk of the correspondence is between Corcoran and Felix Frankfurter. Subjects represented in the Addition are the reorganization of the Supreme Court in 1937 and the staffing of the Securities and Exchange Commission.