Scope and Content Note
The papers of Cord Meyer span the years 1922-2000, with the bulk of the material dating from 1982 to 1989. The collection pertains chiefly to his work as an advocate for a one-world government and writings on international affairs, with a smaller amount related to his twenty-six-year career with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and tenure as one of its highest-ranking officers. His personal life and family matters are also heavily documented. The collection is organized into seven series: Correspondence, Writings, Miscellany, 2001 Addition, 2024 Addition, National Security Classified Information, and Oversize.
The Correspondence series includes letters to and from Meyer. Principal correspondents include his mother, Katharine Thaw Meyer, youngest son, Mark Meyer, and brother and business partner, William B. Meyer. Other correspondents include his CIA colleague and friend, James Angleton, and mother-in-law, Ruth P. Pinchot. Newspaper clippings and draft book contracts are attached to several cover letters. Primary subjects include family matters, United World Federalists, and Meyer's book Facing Reality: From World Federalism to the CIA.
The Writings consist of items authored by Meyer, including scholarly papers, articles, a journal, newspaper columns, playscript, short story, speeches, and lectures. The journal includes entries dated 1945-1965 and complements correspondence documenting personal matters.
The Miscellany consists of newspaper clippings and articles pertaining primarily to Meyer's work with the United World Federalists and the CIA. Many of these items are pasted in scrapbooks in approximate chronological order.
The 2001 Addition includes correspondence regarding issues of foreign affairs and columns Meyer wrote for the Washington Times, 1990-1997.
The 2024 Addition contains awards, clippings, correspondence, lectures, legal papers, photographs, writings, and a scrapbook. A substantial amount documents Meyer’s defense against accusations of communist activities brought against him by the FBI and his subsequent suspension from the CIA. Notable writings include drafts of an unpublished book titled "Development of the U.S. Policy of Containment" and an essay on the 1946 Japanese American evacuation, with attached responses from Charles E. Wyzanski Jr., a United States district judge, and Dillon S. Myer, president of the Institute of Inter-American Affairs. A signed 1946 letter from Albert Einstein, written in response to one of Meyer's articles and critiquing the Acheson-Lilienthal report on the international control of atomic weapons, is also noteworthy.
The remaining series contain Oversize and National Security Classified Information.