University of California loyalty oath collection, 1949-1951

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Summary

Creators:
American Civil Liberties Union and Lathrop, Britomar, 1921-2011
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.
Extent:
0.06 Linear Feet 1 pamphlet binder
Language:
English .
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

Background

Scope and content:

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:

  1. The Consequences of the Abrogation of Tenure. University of California, February 1, 1951. Stapled pamphlet; 58, [4] pp.
  2. Crisis at the University of California. A Statement to the People of California. ACLU, November 1949. Stapled pamphlet; 9 pp.
  3. Crisis at the University of California, II. A Further Statement to the People of California. ACLU, December 1950. Stapled pamphlet; 12 pp.
  4. Loyalty Oaths and Academic Freedom. Address of John Francis Neylan. Commonwealth Club: San Francisco, November 23, 1951. Stapled pamphlet; 29 pp.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
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.

Acquisition information:
Purchased from Mark Funke, Bookseller, July 17, 2023.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

Advance notice required for access.

Terms of access:

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.

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

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

Location of this collection:
Special Collections
Doheny Memorial Library, Room 209
Los Angeles, CA 90089-0189, US
Contact:
(213) 740-5900
specol@usc.edu
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