Scope and Content Note
The papers of Harlan Fiske Stone (1872-1946) span the period 1889-1953, but most of the papers are dated 1925-1946 when Stone served on the Supreme Court of the United States. The collection consists of Family Correspondence , General Correspondence , Special Correspondence , Subject File , Supreme Court File , and Miscellany series.
Stone's Family Correspondence consists chiefly of letters exchanged between Stone and his brother Lauson Stone, sister Helen Stone Willard, and sons Marshall Stone and Lauson Stone. Very few letters in the collection are between Stone and his wife, Agnes Harvey Stone. Although Stone occasionally mentioned the Supreme Court or other issues of the day, the letters in this series are mainly concerned with personal and family matters.
The General Correspondence covers a broader range. It contains letters of recommendation supporting friends for various positions, Stone's comments on the large number of addresses and articles sent him by others in the legal profession, and discussions of court matters, the judicial process, legal education, and related subjects. His correspondence with Felix Frankfurter and John Bassett Moore is voluminous and relates mainly to legal affairs. Other correspondents in this series include Charles C. Burlingham, Nicholas Murray Butler, Sterling Carr, John Foster Dulles, Learned Hand, Herbert Hoover, Luther Ely Smith, Young Berryman Smith, and George Sutherland. The earliest letters in the collection are from Stone's high school teachers, Jessamine Dixon and Edith Field, in 1889-1892, and concern the course of his future education after being dismissed from Massachusetts Agricultural College.
In the Special Correspondence series are congratulatory messages that Stone received on his appointments as attorney general, associate justice, and chief justice, as well as the condolences received by the family after his death. In addition to the telegrams and rather perfunctory messages, there are communications commending Stone for his conduct in the various public offices he held, especially for his statement before the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1925 concerning his involvement in the prosecution of Senator Burton K. Wheeler of Montana.
Stone's varied interests and activities are reflected in the Subject File . His long service as a trustee of Amherst College and as a chairman of its committee on the Folger Shakespeare Library, and his abiding interest in these situations, are well documented. He also served as chairman of the board of trustees of the National Gallery of Art and as chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution; files on these institutions are also in this series. The Columbia University Law School material, which dates from 1899 to 1923, reflects Stone's connection with that institution, first as a teacher and later as dean. His interest in legal education is also reflected in the files on the American Law Institute and various bar associations. Other significant files in this series include those relating to Stone's efforts in appointing new U.S. attorneys during his tenure as attorney general.
The Supreme Court File , which contains correspondence, near-print and printed matter, and clippings, is divided into three subseries: Case Files , Correspondence , and General Office Files .
The Case files , which make up the largest part of the Supreme Court File , constitute a record of Stone's written opinions, concurrences, and dissents for his years on the court from the 1924 through 1945 terms. The cases are arranged chronologically by term and alphabetically therein by case name. The first folder of the case files contains a memorandum prepared by Stone's secretary explaining the color codes on the folder labels. Contained in the case files are printed drafts of opinions, memoranda on individual cases, and notes exchanged by the justices on the cases. The printed drafts of Stone's opinions that he circulated among the other justices (known as “returns”) often contain their comments on the back.
The Correspondence in the Supreme Court File is organized in two parts: correspondence with other justices and correspondence with attorneys and petitioners. The correspondence with other justices covers the years they served on the court with Stone; correspondence prior to this is located in the General Correspondence series. The justices' correspondence is arranged alphabetically by name and then chronologically. Files for William O. Douglas, Felix Frankfurter, Charles Evans Hughes, and Owen J. Roberts contain the largest amounts of correspondence. Stone's correspondence with attorneys and petitioners regarding cases before the court is arranged chronologically, and involves in the main procedural matters such as requests for extensions of filing deadlines. Also included is material concerning affairs of the Second Circuit to which Stone was assigned.
The General Office File subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject and contains correspondence with court officers such as the clerk and the reporter regarding administrative matters. The file also contains newspaper clippings and correspondence with the public concerning the court's procedures and decisions. Examples include clippings and letters sent to Stone supporting his dissent in the flag salute case of 1940 (Minnersville School District v. Gobitis).
Included in the Miscellany series are letters to Alpheus T. Mason, Stone's biographer, containing reminiscences of Stone by Irving N. Brant, Mabel Walker Williebrandt, and others, and clippings relating to Stone's life and a copy of a letter of 1907 by Theodore Roosevelt in which he defends his judicial appointments. Other material confirms Stone's reputation as a wine connoisseur.