Frank Murphy papers, 1908-1949

Summary

Creator:

Murphy, Frank, 1890-1949

Abstract:

Michigan-born lawyer, judge, politician and diplomat, served as Detroit Recorder's Court Judge, Mayor of Detroit, Governor General of the Philippines, Governor of Michigan, U. S. Attorney General and U.S. Supreme Court Justice. Papers include extensive correspondence, subject files, Supreme court case files, scrapbooks, photographs, newsreels and audio recordings, and other material.

Extent:

166 microfilms
24 linear feet (in 28 boxes)
7 oversize volumes
2 oversize folders
474 MB (online)
18 digital video files (online)

Language:

English.

Call Number:

86734 Aa 2, Ac,UAl

Authors:

Finding aid prepared by: Thomas E. Powers. Several subsequent revisions followed.

Background

Scope and Content:

The Frank Murphy Collection documents in detail the life and career of one of Michigan's most distinguished public servants. Through correspondence, subject files, scrapbooks, visual materials, and other documentation, the collection traces Murphy's life from his years as Detroit judge, later Mayor, to his service in the Philippines, his tenure as governor, his stint as U.S. Attorney General, and culminating in his final years as U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

The Frank Murphy Collection consists of eight series: Correspondence, Other Papers, Supreme Court Case Files, Speech File, Speech Material, Miscellaneous, Visual Material, and Newsclippings/Scrapbooks.

Biographical / Historical:

Frank Murphy, named at birth William Francis Murphy, was born April 13, 1890 in Sand Beach (later Harbor Beach), Michigan, and an Irish American family. Murphy graduated from the University of Michigan (BA 1912, LLB 1914). At the university, he was a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity and the senior society Michigamua. After graduation from Law School in 1914, he was admitted to the Michigan State Bar and clreked at a Detroit law firm for three years. After the United States entered World War I in 1917, he served in the infantry. After the war, Murphy enrolled in graduate studies at Lincoln's Inn in London and Trinity College in Dublin.

In 1919, Murphy was appointed as the first Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan. He eventually became a U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District. But in 1922 he resigned this post and formed a law firm with his Michigan classmate Edward G. Kemp.

In 1923, he was elected Detroit Recorder's Court judge. Here, he won national attention with his one-man grand jury probe into various departments. Notably, he presided in the Dr. Ossian Sweet trial (1925; ended in mistrial) and the Hentry Sweet trial (1926; not guilty verdict). In 1930, following the removal by recall of the Detroit mayor Charles Bowles, Murphy was elected mayor of the city. He was reelected in 1931 and served until May 1933.

Murphy strongly supported Franklin Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential campaign. Once FDR became president, he appointed Murphy as governor-general of the Philippines. Murphy served in this position until the inauguration of the Philippine Commonwealth in November 1935 at which time he became the United States high commissioner. At President Roosevelt's urging, he returned to the United States in 1936 to run for governor of Michigan, which Murphy won. His term as governor was marked by the Flint sit-down strike and his efforts to bring New Deal reforms to Michigan government.

In 1939, Roosevelt appointed Murphy to serve as attorney general of the United States. As such, Murphy led campaigns against crime and corruption. The attorney general was primarily responsible for establishing a civil liberties unit within the Justice Department. Murphy served as head of the Justice Department until January 1940 when he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Murphy servied on the Court until 1949, often in the role of a dissenter. In his opinions, Murphy often supported the rights of African Americans and other marginalized groups, immigrants, and strikers. For example, he sharply criticized uphelding by the Supreme Court the constitutionality of deportation of Japanese American citizens to concentration camps, calling it "legalization of racism" (Korematsu v. United States (1944)). Other important cases included Falbo v. United States (1944); Steele v. Louisville & Nashville Railway Co. (1944); Securities and Exchange Commission v. W. J. Howey Co. (1946) opinion; among others. In the mid-1940s, Murphy acted as chairman of the National Committee against Nazi Persecution and Extermination of the Jews and of the Philippine War Relief Committee.

Following difficulties with his heart, Frank Murphy died July 19, 1949.

Acquisition Information:

The Frank Murphy collection came to the library from a variety of sources, but primarily from the estate of his brother George Murphy. The bulk of the collection came to the library in 1961 and 1965. Smaller accessions of materials came throughout the 1960s. The donor number for the collection is 3074 .

Processing information:

This finding aid combines the microfilm edition and the portions of the Murphy papers that were not microfilmed in a single listing which reflects the intellectual arrangement of the collection. The contents list integrates Roll numbers and Box numbers. The microfilmed portions are listed as Rolls 1-165. The unfilmed materials are listed as part of boxes. Among the materials not microfilmed are routine personal and business papers, appointment books, printed material and audio-visual material.

In preparing digital material for long-term preservation and access, the Bentley Historical Library adheres to professional best practices and standards to ensure that content will retain its authenticity and integrity. For more information on procedures for the ingest and processing of digital materials, please see Bentley Historical Library Digital Processing Note. Access to digital material may be provided either as a direct link to an individual file or as a downloadable package of files bundled in a zip file.

In preparing digital material for long-term preservation and access, the Bentley Historical Library adheres to professional best practices and standards to ensure that content will retain its authenticity and integrity. For more information on procedures for the ingest and processing of digital materials, please see Bentley Historical Library Digital Processing Note. Access to digital material may be provided either as a direct link to an individual file or as a downloadable package of files bundled in a zip file.

Arrangement:

1. Series I: Correspondence, 1908-1949. - Rolls 1-91 Index to correspondence, Boxes 100-103
2. Series II: Other Papers, 1890-1949. - Rolls 91-121
   • Pre-Detroit Mayoralty, 1890-1929. - Rolls 91-97
   • Mayor of Detroit, 1930-1933. Rolls 97-98
   • P.I. Governor General/High Commissioner, 1933-1936. - Rolls 98-108
   • Governor of Michigan, 1936-1938. - Rolls 108-111
   • U.S. Attorney General, 1939-1940. - Rolls 111-116
   • U.S. Supreme Court Justice, 1940-1949. - Rolls 117-120
3. Series III: Supreme Court Case Files. - Rolls 121-141; Boxes 104-105
4. Series IV: Speech File. - Rolls 141-146
5. Series V: Speech Material.
   • Frank Murphy related. - Rolls 146-147
   • Non-Frank Murphy. - Boxes 78-83
6. Series VI: Miscellaneous Material - Rolls 147-154; Boxes 84-85, 87-94
   • Personal correspondence
   • Appointment calendars
   • Printed material
7. Series VII: Visual Materials - Boxes 95-98; oversize folders
8. Series VIII: Newsclippings/Scrapbooks - Rolls 155-165
9. Finding Aid - Roll 166

Related

Alternative Form Available:

Digitization: The Library has undertaken the digitization of a number of sound recordings within this collection. The resulting audio files are available for playback only in the Bentley Library Reading Room. Links to item images and additional information are available within this finding aid. Original sound recordings are only available for staff use.

Digitization: A number of recordings within this collection have been digitized. The resulting files are available for playback online or in the Bentley Library Reading Room according to rights. Original media are only available for staff use.

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:

African Americans -- Work.
Building dedications.
Capitols -- Michigan -- Lansing.
Civil service.
Courts -- Michigan.
Judges -- United States.
Labor -- Michigan.
Strikes and lockouts -- Michigan.
General Motors Corporation Sit-Down Strike, 1936-1937.
Governors -- Michigan.
Sit-down strikes -- Michigan -- Flint.
Clothing and dress -- 1921-1930.
Clothing and dress -- 1931-1940.
Crowds.
Demonstrations.
Dentistry -- Michigan.
Dwellings -- Michigan -- Harbor Beach.
Diseases.
Funeral rites and ceremonies.
Galleries and museums -- Michigan -- Harbor Beach.
Governors -- Michigan.
Governors -- Philippines.
Horseback riding.
Interiors.
Judges -- United States.
Hospitals -- Philippines.
Laborers.
Lying in state.
Mayors -- Michigan -- Detroit.
Military camps.
Military training.
Newspaper carriers.
Newspaper industry -- Michigan -- Detroit.
Newsreels.
Oaths.
Offices.
Painting.
Parades & processions.
Political elections -- 1936.
Politics and government -- 1929-1938.
Politics and government -- 1939-1945.
Politics and government -- 1946-1960.
Public speaking.
Radio broadcasting -- Michigan -- Detroit.
Recreation.
Religious services.
Strikes.
Tanks (Military science)
Toasting.
Voting.
War casualties.
War damage -- Philippines.
Warships.
Women.
Presidential inaugurations -- 1930-1940.

Formats:

Christmas cards.
Drawings.
Motion pictures.
Cartoons.
Photographs.
Postcards.
Posters.
Scrapbooks.
Sound recordings.
Videotapes.
Video recordings.
Digital file formats.

Names:

Democratic Party (Mich.)
Detroit (Mich.). Mayor.
Detroit (Mich.). Recorder's Court.
United States. Attorney General.
United States. Supreme Court.
American Legion.
City Hall (Detroit, Mich.)
Michigan. Legislature.
Philippine War Relief of the United States.
United States. Dept. of Justice.
Murphy family.
Murphy, Frank, 1890-1949.
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 1884-1962.
Roosevelt, Franklin D. (Franklin Delano), 1882-1945.
Vandenberg, Arthur H. (Arthur Hendrick), 1884-1951.
Williams, G. Mennen, 1911-1988.
Acheson, Dean, 1893-1971.
Andrews, Roger, 1874-
Arnold, Thurman Wesley, 1891-1969.
Ashurst, Henry Fountain, 1874-1962.
Austin, Warren Robinson, 1877-1963.
Baker, Newton Diehl, 1871-1937.
Barkley, Alben William, 1877-1956.
Barnes, Russell.
Barrymore, Ethel, 1879-1959.
Bates, Henry Moore, 1869-1949.
Bennett, Harry Herbert, 1892-1979.
Biddle, Nicholas, 1893-
Bingay, Malcolm, 1884-1953.
Black, Hugo LaFayette, 1886-1971.
Borah, William Edgar, 1865-1940.
Brandeis, Louis Dembitz, 1856-1941.
Browder, Earl, 1891-1973.
Brown, Prentiss M. (Prentiss Marsh), 1889-1973.
Bumgardner, Eleanor M. (Eleanor Margaret)
Burton, Harold H. (Harold Hitz), 1888-1964.
Butler, Pierce.
Byrnes, James Francis, 1879-1972.
Chandler, Happy, 1898-1991.
Chrysler, Walter Percy, 1875-1940.
Clark, Champ, 1850-1921.
Clark, Tom C. (Tom Campbell), 1899-1977.
Coblentz, Edmond D.
Cohen, Benjamin V.
Comstock, William Alfred, 1877-1949.
Cooley, Mortimer E. (Mortimer Elwyn), 1855-1944.
Corcoran, Thomas Gardiner, 1900-
Coughlin, Charles E. (Charles Edward), 1891-1979.
Couzens, James, 1872-1936.
Creighton, Joseph.
Crittenberg, Willis.
Cromwell, James Henry Roberts.
Cropley, Charles Elmore.
Cummings, Homer S.
Curley, James M.
Daniels, Josephus, 1862-1948.
Davies, Joseph Edward.
De Kruif, Paul, 1890-1971.
Dern, George Henry, 1872-1936.
De Valera, Eamonn, 1882-1975.
Dever, Paul A. (Paul Andrew), 1903-1958.
Dewey, Thomas E. (Thomas Edmund), 1902-1971.
Dickinson, Luren Dudley, 1859-1943.
Dingell, John D. (John David), 1894-1955.
Donnelly, Joseph P.
Douglas, William O. (William Orville), 1898-1980.
Early, Stephen.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969.
Farley, James A. (James Aloysius), 1888-1976.
Fellers, Bonner Frank, 1896-1973.
Fitzgerald, Frank Dwight, 1885-1939.
Ford, Edsel, 1893-1943.
Ford, Henry, 1863-1947.
Foy, Byron Cecil, 1893-1970.
Frankfurter, Felix, 1882-1965.
Fuller, Glenn.
Gallagher, Michael James, 1866-1937.
Garner, John Nance, 1868-1967.
Giannini, Amadeo Peter, 1870-1949.
Green, William, 1870-1952.
Gressman, Eugene, 1917-2010.
Haber, William, 1899-1988.
Hannah, John A., 1902-1991.
Hawes, Harry B.
Hayden, Joseph Ralston, 1887-1945.
Hays, Arthur Garfield, 1881-1954.
Hearst, William Randolph, 1863-1951.
Hill, Norman Hingston, 1887-1971.
Hillman, Sidney, 1887-1946.
Hoffman, Clare Eugene, 1875-1967.
Hoover, J. Edgar (John Edgar), 1895-1972.
Hopkins, Harry L. (Harry Lloyd), 1890-1946.
Hotzoff, Alexander.
Howe, Louis McHenry, 1871-1936.
Hughes, Charles Evans, 1862-1948.
Hull, Cordell, 1871-1955.
Hurley, Patrick J. (Patrick Jay), 1883-1963.
Ickes, Harold L. (Harold LeClair), 1874-1952.
Jackson, Robert Houghwout, 1892-1954.
Jones, Jesse H. (Jesse Holman), 1874-1956.
Kemp, Edward Gearing, 1887-1962.
Kennedy, Joseph P. (Joseph Patrick), 1888-1969.
Knox, Frank, 1874-1944.
Knudsen, William S., 1879-1948.
Krock, Arthur, 1886-1974.
LaFollette, Philip Fox, 1897-1965.
La Follette, Robert M. (Robert Marion), 1855-1925.
La Guardia, Fiorello H. (Fiorello Henry), 1882-1947.
LeHand, Margaret.
Lehman, Herbert H. (Herbert Henry), 1878-1963.
Lewis, James H.
Lewis, John Llewellyn, 1880-1969.
Lincoln, Esther, 1879-1961.
Lindley, Ernest Kidder, 1899-
Littell, Norman M.
Lodge, Henry Cabot, Jr., 1902-1985.
Long, Breckinridge, 1881-1958.
Luce, Clare Boothe, 1903-1987.
McAdoo, William Gibbs, 1863-1941.
MacArthur, Douglas, 1880-1964.
MacDonald, Kenneth.
McEvoy, Joseph P.
McGrath, J. Howard (James Howard), 1903-1966.
McGuire, Matthew F., 1921-
McKay, Frank, 1883-1965.
McKellar, Kenneth Douglas, 1869-1957.
McMahon, Brien, 1903-1952.
McNutt, Paul Vories, 1891-1955.
McReynolds, James C.
Malcolm, George A. (George Arthur), 1881-1961.
Maloney, Francis.
Manning, John C. (John Charles), 1893-1967.
Marshall, George C. (George Catlett), 1880-1959.
Marshall, S. L. A. (Samuel Lyman Atwood), 1900-1977.
Marshall, Thurgood, 1908-1993.
Martel, Frank Xavier, 1888-
Mershon, Elsie.
Minton, Sherman.
Moehlman, Arthur B. (Arthur Bernard), 1889-1952.
Moley, Raymond L., 1886-
Montague, Gilbert H.
Moody, Blair, 1902-1954.
Mooney, Edward, Archbishop, 1882-1958.
Moore, James W.
Morgenthau, Henry, 1856-1946.
Murphy, George, 1897-1961.
Murphy, William F.
Murray, Philip, 1886-1952.
Norris, George W. (George William), 1861-1944.
Nowicki, Leo J., 1904-
O'Brien, John J.
Olander, Oscar G. (Oscar Gustaf), 1899-1963.
Olson, Culbert L. (Culbert Levy), 1876-1962.
Osborn, Chase S. (Chase Salmon), 1860-
Osmeña, Sergio, 1878-1961.
Parker, Francis LeJau, 1873-1966.
Patterson, Robert Porter, 1891-1952.
Patton, George S. (George Smith), 1885-1945.
Pearson, Drew, 1897-1969.
Pepper, Claude, 1900-1989.
Perkins, Frances, 1882-1965.
Picard, Frank A., 1889-1963.
Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946.
Pittman, Key, 1872-1940.
Pollock, James K. (James Kerr), 1898-1968.
Porter, Russell B.
Pressman, Lee.
Quirino, Elpidio, 1890-1956.
Rabaut, Louis Charles, 1886-1961.
Reed, Stanley F.
Roberts, Owen J. (Owen Josephus), 1875-1955.
Rogge, O. John (Oetje John), 1903-1981.
Romulo, Carlos P. (Carlos Peña), 1899-1985.
Roosevelt, Dorothy Kemp, 1899-1985.
Roosevelt, Elliott, 1910-1990.
Roosevelt, G. Hall.
Roosevelt, James, 1907-1991.
Roper, Daniel C.
Roxas, Manuel.
Ruthven, Alexander Grant, 1882-1971.
Rutledge, Wiley Blount, 1894-1949.
Sadowski, George Gregory, 1903-1961.
Sandburg, Carl, 1878-1967.
Sayre, Francis Bowes, 1885-1972.
Schlesinger, Arthur Meier, 1888-1965.
Schlesinger, Arthur M., Jr. (Arthur Meier), 1917-2007.
Shafroth, Morrison.
Sheen, Fulton J. (Fulton John), 1895-1979.
Shields, Edmund Claude, 1871-1947.
Sigler, Kim, 1894-
Sloan, Alfred P. (Alfred Pritchard), 1875-1966.
Smathers, William H.
Smith, Alfred Emanuel, 1873-1944.
Snyder, John W. (John Wesley), 1895-1985.
Spellman, Francis, 1889-1967.
Stark, Lloyd C.
Starr, Raymond Wesley, 1888-1968.
Stason, E. Blythe (Edwin Blythe), 1891-1972.
Stettinius, Edward R. (Edward Reilly), 1900-1949.
Stidger, William L. (William LeRoy), 1886-
Stimson, Henry L. (Henry Lewis), 1867-1950.
Stone, Harlan Fiske, 1872-1946.
Straus, Nathan.
Summers, Halton W.
Swope, Herbert Bayard, 1882-1958.
Thomas, Norman, 1884-1968.
Tobin, Daniel J.
Tobin, Maurice Joseph, 1901-
Topping, Daniel J.
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972.
Tydings, Millard E.
Vanderbilt, Neil.
Van Wagoner, Murray Delos, 1898-
Vinson, Fred M., 1890-1953.
Wallace, Henry Agard, 1888-1965.
Wheeler, Burton K. (Burton Kendall), 1882-1975.
White, Walter Francis, 1893-1955.
White, William Allen, 1868-1944.
Willkie, Wendell L. (Wendell Lewis), 1892-1944.
Winchell, Walter, 1897-1972.
Yost, Fielding Harris, 1871-1946.

Places:

Detroit (Mich.)
Michigan -- Politics and government -- 1922-1928.
Michigan -- Politics and government -- 1929-1938.
Philippines -- History -- 1898-1946.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1933-1945.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-1953.
Detroit (Mich.)
Detroit (Mich.) -- Mayors.
Detroit (Mich.) -- Newspaper industry.
Europe.
Harbor Beach (Mich.)
Harbor Beach (Mich.) -- Dwellings.
Harbor Beach (Mich.) -- Galleries and museums.
Michigan -- Capitols.
Philippines -- History -- 1898-1946.
Philippines -- War damage.
United States -- Politics and government -- 1929-1933.
United States -- Foreign relations -- Philippines.