Scope and Contents
Biographical / Historical
Conditions Governing Access
Conditions Governing Use
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Preferred Citation
Language of Material:
English
Contributing Institution:
Department of Special Collections and University Archives
Title: Jackson Ralston Autobiography typescript
source:
Ulvang, Leanne
creator:
Ralston, Jackson H. (Jackson Harvey), 1857-1945
Identifier/Call Number: SCM0466
Physical Description:
.25 Linear Feet
Date (inclusive): before 1945
Physical Location: Special Collections and University Archives materials are stored offsite and must be paged 48 hours in advance. For more information
on paging collections, see the department's website: http://library.stanford.edu/spc.
Scope and Contents
Ralston's autobiography, which touches on topics including: family and childhood; life in Quincy, Illinois; life in Washington;
congressional cases; work with labor organizations; civil liberties; European travels; and California, among others.
Biographical / Historical
(1857 – 1945) Jackson H. Ralston was a prominent lawyer at the turn of the twentieth century who devoted his career to the
growing fields of international arbitration, domestic taxation issues, and teaching, Jackson H. Ralston argued before the
supreme court on many occasions and his scholarly contributions were many as the author of numerous books and articles. He
also lectured at Stanford University between 1929 and 1933.
He represented the United States as agent and counsel in the first dispute to be submitted to the permanent court of arbitration
at The Hague under the Hague Convention of 1899. In the case of The Pious Fund of the Californias v. Mexico, acting as United
States agent, Ralston secured a significant victory and large financial award, including payments in perpetuity. Settlement
of this dispute gave practical reality to The Hague’s new court for international dispute resolution, with the victory clearly
establishing his reputation as a leader in this emerging legal field.
Ralston was the son of Judge James H. Ralston, a prominent attorney and statesman who served in the Illinois State Legislature
with Abraham Lincoln and Steven A. Douglas, and who was also once a candidate for chief justice of the California State Supreme
Court. Despite his father’s untimely death when he was a young child, Ralston was committed to following in his footsteps,
graduating from Georgetown University with a LLB degree in 1876 and gaining admittance to the bar. Two years later, he started
a legal practice in Quincy, Illinois. In 1897, he was awarded a Doctor of Law degree in Washington, D.C. by the National University
School of Law, which later merged with George Washington University Law School.
While Ralston spent many years in the Washington, D.C. area and traveled abroad extensively, Northern California was his home.
Born in 1857 in Sacramento, CA, he later died in 1945 at the age of 88 in Palo Alto, CA.
The Jackson H. Ralston Prize in International Law was established at Stanford Law School in 1972 in his memory by his widow,
Opal V. Ralston.
Biographical information cited from: law.stanford.edu/directory/jackson-ralston/
Conditions Governing Access
The materials are open for research use; materials must be requested at least 48 hours in advance of intended use. Audio-visual
materials are not available in original format, and must be reformatted to a digital use copy.
Conditions Governing Use
All requests to reproduce, publish, quote from, or otherwise use collection materials must be submitted in writing to the
Head of Special Collections and University Archives, Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, California 94304-6064. Consent
is given on behalf of Special Collections as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include or imply permission
from the copyright owner. Such permission must be obtained from the copyright owner, heir(s) or assigns. Restrictions also
apply to digital representations of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational
purposes.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift of Leanne Ulvang, 2017.
Preferred Citation
[identification of item] Jackson Ralston Autobiography typescript (SCM0466). Dept. of Special Collections and University Archives,
Stanford University Libraries, Stanford, Calif.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Ulvang, Leanne
Ralston, Jackson H. (Jackson Harvey), 1857-1945