Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Thorne, John E. (John Ebson), 1921-2002 and Thorne, John E. (John Ebson), 1921-2002
- Abstract:
- John Ebson Thorne (January 20, 1921-May 10, 2002) was a San Jose-based attorney and activist who specialized in civil rights and constitutional law. Over the course of his career, Thorne extended his legal services to organizations including the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), the American Indian Movement (AIM), and anti-Vietnam War activists. He also represented Black Panther Party member and activist George Jackson, and intellectual Angela Davis. Thorne was also a prominent figure in Santa Clara County and California state Democratic Party politics. The collection primarily consists of Thorne's correspondence, legal documents, client and witness interviews, case research materials, and publications related to his professional and activist work.
- Extent:
- 54.4 Linear Feet 123 boxes
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
John E. Thorne Papers. MS 423. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
This collection is comprised of the correspondence and legal papers of John Ebson Thorne, an attorney and activist who practiced civil rights and constitutional law in the San Jose, California-area between 1950 and the early 1980s. This holding specifically contains letters, case files, research materials, court documents, and notes connected to Thorne's legal service in the 1960s and 1970s. The collection notably includes an extensive amount of Thorne's personal correspondence and papers relating to his participation in local and state Democratic Party politics and civil rights advocacy organizations. Particularly amongst the papers are those related to Thorne's work with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, American Indian Movement, anti-Vietnam War activists, and his 1979 trip Iran, in which he met with Iranian officials as a means of improving relations between the U.S. and the newly proclaimed Islamic Republic.
- Biographical / historical:
-
John Ebson Thorne (January 20, 1921-May 10, 2002) was a San Jose, California-based attorney and activist born in Richmond, Indiana. Throughout his legal career, Thorne specialized in civil rights issues and constitutional law. He collaborated with African Americans and Native Americans in their struggles for racial and political justice, pursued legal action against the United States (U.S.) government as a means of demonstrating the illegality of the Vietnam War, and was a prominent figure in Santa Clara County and California state Democratic Party politics.
Thorne attended Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana from 1938 to 1942, and the University of Hawaii between 1940 and 1941. He joined the U.S. Navy following the December 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor and served as a bomb disabling officer in the Pacific between 1942 and 1946, when he was honorably discharged at the rank of Lieutenant. After completing his service, Thorne attended Stanford Law School and graduated in 1949.
While practicing law in San Jose the 1950s, Thorne ran for a California State Senate seat as a member of the Democratic Party, and later served as chair of the Santa Clara Democratic Party. In 1960, he co-founded the law firm of Thorne, Clopton, Herz, Stanek, and Manchester, and remained with the firm until he moved to Olympia, Washington in the early 1980s.
Thorne was an active member of multiple professional associations that advocated for social change and civil rights. He raised funds for and traveled on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild, was a member of the American Civil Liberties Union, and participated in the activities of the California Farm Research and Legislative Committee. Thorne also worked on behalf of the Legal Aid Society of Santa Clara and the Human Relations Commission of San Jose during the 1960s.
Throughout the 1950s, Thorne advocated against the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee, and also opposed the McCarran Act, which threatened Communists and other "subversives" with detention or deportation. He also opposed the use of the death penalty in California, and sought a reprieve for San Quentin State Prison inmate Caryl Chessman in a 1960 case that generated national attention. Additionally, in 1964 and 1965 Thorne volunteered his legal services to the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which challenged the constitutionality of elections in which African Americans were barred from voting.
Thorne was also involved in anti-Vietnam War activism. He assisted individuals who sought draft deferments, and defended those who refused military service. Thorne also represented San Jose State University students who protested against the presence of United States Marine Corps recruiters on campus in 1967. Additionally, Thorne collaborated with and represented Stanford Physicist Pierre Noyes in a 1969 lawsuit against the U.S. government in which he alleged that the Vietnam War was an illegal use of taxpayer money.
In 1970, Thorne became Black Panther Party member George Jackson's criminal defense attorney. Jackson was imprisoned for armed robbery in 1960, and emerged as a prominent writer, activist, and intellectual while serving his sentence. Thorne became Jackson's attorney in 1970, after Jackson was accused of participating in the murder of a prison guard at Soledad State Prison (now known as the Correctional Training Facility) and was transferred to San Quentin State Prison. Thorne was heavily involved in the Soledad Brothers Defense Committee and served Jackson in a legal capacity until Jackson was shot and killed by a prison guard at San Quentin in 1971. Thorne also represented activist and intellectual Angela Davis during this same period.
Beginning in the mid-1970s, Thorne was one of several attorneys who represented members of the American Indian Movement (AIM) who were indicted following AIM's 71-day occupation of the town of Wounded Knee, South Dakota in 1973. Thorne argued that, based on the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, the U.S. government did not have jurisdiction over events that occurred on Native American reservations, and thus sought the dismissal of the government's charges against his clients. Furthermore, in the 1970s Thorne served as a delegate to the International Indian Treaty Conference, an international advocacy group for Indigenous peoples.
In 1971, he traveled to Iran on behalf of the National Lawyers Guild to advise and meet with a group of Iranian political prisoners with connections to Iranian student organizations in the U.S. He traveled to Iran again in December 1979, in the immediate aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, with the goal of easing tensions and encouraging understanding between the United States and the new Iranian government.
John Thorne died on May 10, 2002. He was survived by his wife Nancy, his former wife Jacqui, and his three daughters.
Chronology Date Event 1921 Born January 20, Richmond, Indiana1938-1942 Attended Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana1940-1941 Attended University of Hawaii1942-1946 Served in U.S. Navy as a bomb disabling officer1949 Graduated Stanford Law School1950 Ran for California State Senate seat1950s Advocated against the House Un-American Activities Committee1950-1960 Served as chair of the Santa Clara Democratic Party1960 Argued for a stay of execution for inmate Caryl ChessmanCo-founded Thorne, Clopton, Herz, Stanek, and Manchester1964-1965 Worked with Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party1967 Represented San Jose State University students protesting thepresence of United States Marine Corps recruiters on campus1969 Sued U.S. government for prosecuting an illegal war in Vietnam1970-1971 Represented activists George Jackson and Angela Davis1971 Traveled to Iran to meet with political prisoners1973-1976 Represented AIM activists indicted in Wounded Knee standoff1979 Traveled to Iran to improve relations between Iran and the U.S.Early 1980s Moved to Olympia, Washington2002 Deceased, May 10, Olympia, Washington - Acquisition information:
- Donated by Nancy Thorne-Chambers in 2011.
- Processing information:
-
Processed by Annie Tang, with assistance from Samantha Williams, graduate fellow in the Center for Archival Research and Training (CART) at UC Santa Cruz. Initial inventory by Mary DeVries. Additional processing by Kate Dundon.
This finding aid was revised in the Reparative Archival Redescription Project in 2021-2022. Previous versions of this finding aid are available upon request.
- Arrangement:
-
This collection is arranged into the following series:
Series 1: George Jackson
Series 2: Wounded Knee
Series 3: Vietnam
Series 4: Turner vs. FBI
Series 5: Iran
Series 6: Olympia demonstrators
Series 7: Other cases and activities
Note on the arrangement of resticted materials (due to attorney-client privilege): restricted folders are physically arranged at the end of the collection, but are presented in this colleciton guide in the order original to the creator.
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Indexed terms
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
This collection is open for research. Access to certain material is restricted due to attorney-client privilege. Within this guide, restricted material is marked with an Access note at the file level, specifying the extent of the closure period.
- Terms of access:
-
Copyright for the items in this collection is owned by the creators and their heirs. Reproduction or distribution of any work protected by copyright beyond that allowed by fair use requires permission from the copyright owner. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether a use is fair use, and to obtain any necessary permissions. For more information see UCSC Special Collections and Archives policy on Reproduction and Use.
- Preferred citation:
-
John E. Thorne Papers. MS 423. Special Collections and Archives, University Library, University of California, Santa Cruz.
- Location of this collection:
-
Special Collections and Archives, University Library1156 High StreetSanta Cruz, CA 95064, US
- Contact:
- (831) 459-2547