Finding aid for the University of California loyalty oath collection 6279

Bo Doub -- with collection-level notes adapted from the seller, Mark Funke, Bookseller

USC Libraries Special Collections

2023 August

Doheny Memorial Library 206

3550 Trousdale Parkway

Los Angeles, California 90089-0189

specol@usc.edu

URL: http://libraries.usc.edu/locations/special-collections

Contributing Institution: USC Libraries Special Collections

Title: University of California loyalty oath collection

Creator: American Civil Liberties Union

Creator: Lathrop, Britomar, 1921-2011

Identifier/Call Number: 6279

Identifier/Call Number: /repositories/3/resources/3426

Physical Description: 0.06 Linear Feet 1 pamphlet binder

Date (inclusive): 1949-1951

Abstract: The University of California loyalty oath collection consists of five pamphlets and one letter pertaining to the U.C. Berkeley loyalty oath controversy of 1949-1951. The collection documents anti-Communist movements in the early 1950s, their impact on higher education, and Ernst Kantorowicz's involvement in the University of California loyalty oath.

Language of Material: English .

Container: 1

Biographical / Historical

The University of California loyalty oath famously involved German exile historian and medievalist Ernst Kantorowicz (1895-1963), who was fired from the University of California, Berkeley for refusing to sign the oath. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Kantorowicz was closely associated with the culturally conservative George-Kreis group. Kantorowicz's connection to Nazi Germany is complex and somewhat contradictory. Kantorowicz was Jewish and forced into exile in the United States, but he was also a cultural conservative and a nationalist.

Scope and Contents

The University of California loyalty oath collection consists of five pamphlets and one letter pertaining to the U.C. Berkeley loyalty oath controversy of 1949-1951. Specifically, the collection comprises:

The Consequences of the Abrogation of Tenure. University of California, February 1, 1951. Stapled pamphlet; 58, [4] pp.
Crisis at the University of California. A Statement to the People of California. ACLU, November 1949. Stapled pamphlet; 9 pp.
Crisis at the University of California, II. A Further Statement to the People of California. ACLU, December 1950. Stapled pamphlet; 12 pp.
Loyalty Oaths and Academic Freedom. Address of John Francis Neylan. Commonwealth Club: San Francisco, November 23, 1951. Stapled pamphlet; 29 pp.
Decision of the District Court of Appeal, State of California, Third Appellate District, Concerning the Special Loyalty Declaration at the University of California. In a Suit for Writ of Mandate Brought by... Ernst H. Kantorowicz... 1951 . Stapled pamphlet; 12 pp. Reprinted from Advance California Reports.
Single page undated letter from Britomar J. Handlon, President of Academic Assembly addressed to "Dear Colleagues" sent as a cover letter with the above Decision of the Court of Appeal.

Conditions Governing Access

Advance notice required for access.

Conditions Governing Use

All requests for permission to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Department of Special Collections at specol@usc.edu. Permission for publication is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained.

Rights Statement for Archival Description

Finding aid description and metadata are licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Purchased from Mark Funke, Bookseller, July 17, 2023.

Preferred Citation

[Box/folder no. or item name], University of California loyalty oath collection, Collection no. 6279, Special Collections, USC Libraries, University of Southern California

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Anti-communist movements -- United States -- History -- 20th century -- Archival resources

Loyalty oaths -- California -- 20th century -- Archival resources

Universities and colleges -- California -- 20th century -- Archival resources

Correspondence

Pamphlets

Printed ephemera

American Civil Liberties Union -- Archives

Kantorowicz, Ernst H. (Ernst Hartwig), 1895-1963 -- Archives

Lathrop, Britomar, 1921-2011 -- Correspondence

University of California, Berkeley -- Archives