Scope and Content Note
The papers of Clarence Darrow (1857-1938) span the years 1894-1941, but are concentrated in the period between 1910 and 1935 and consist largely of material collected by Darrow's biographer, Irving Stone, in the course of his research.
The papers relate to Darrow and his career, especially his literary activities. The Speech, Article, and Book File contains drafts of published and unpublished articles and includes handwritten and typewritten copies of his autobiography. Many of the drafts are written on the back of incoming correspondence. One set of printed matter includes an almost complete collection of Darrow's published works as well as articles about him and his interests. Another set contains publications pertaining to Darrow and those of interest to Irving Stone.
Topics in the Subject File include prohibition, religion, and capital punishment. Darrow was interested in literature and literary figures, especially Leo Tolstoy, whose philosophy he admired. His correspondence contains a letter from a friend in Hawaii continuing a discussion of Joseph Conrad and the themes of his work. W. Somerset Maugham wrote Darrow praising his autobiography; Frank Harris wrote seeking his legal counsel.
Other correspondents include Lillian Gish, Bolton Hall, John Haynes Holmes, Donald R. Richberg, Charles Edward Russell, Walter Francis White, and Brand Whitlock. There are also letters from people Darrow had befriended or assisted in court: both Richard A. Loeb and Nathan Freudenthal Leopold wrote to him, and a file of letters from James B. McNamara covers almost twenty years. At the time of Darrow's trial on a charge of bribery in 1913, scores of people expressed their faith in his honesty and innocence.
Treated in the Subject File series are Darrow's roles in the Anthracite Coal Strike Commission of 1902, the Scopes evolution trial, and other controversial cases. Correspondence between Irving Stone and Darrow's wife, Ruby Darrow, in the Biography File describes events from her point of view. The Miscellany series includes Darrow's laundry bag, a ration book, certificate of membership in a “John Brown Cult,” birthday toasts, and partially finished crossword puzzles.