Collections

Indifference to Our History

While the daily conduct of the war is not within the special competence of lawyers and judges, the factors that have slowed the democratic response to the challenge of war is something with which we may usefully concern ourselves.

The Besieged Strongholds of the Mind

When the times cry for action rather than words, an international discussion meeting such as this can justified only by the assumption that the deeds of men are the products of their thoughts. It is idle to deny that by and large the deeds of the United Nations, except in defense of actual homelands in Russia and England, have been on a disappointing level of accomplishment.

The Law Above Nations

At this time dissension and lawlessness have the upper hand in much of the world. But we members of the legal profession throughout the Americas happily are united in a community of interest in the development and improvement of the legal systems of our several countries.

The Law Is a Rule for Men to Live By

I believe it was Emerson who said that institutions are but the lengthened shadows of individuals. It is my purpose to speak of Mr. Justice Brandeis, the man under whose lengthen shadow we gather tonight.

Society and the Graduate

Commencement season is traditionally a time for casting up accounts between society and the graduate. This year some unusual items throw the account out of its normal balance. For many years American youth at this high moment of life took its place in a society that was regarded as collectively secure under national institutions that were sage from external attack.

The America We’re Fighting For

How can American determine what its domestic goals after the war shall be? And why should we bother about it now? It is already plain that the Government will be pressed in favor of many plans by various planners. Important choices must be made. Intelligent decisions take time and preparation.

Swedish Contributions to Our Law

Three centuries make only a short pan in the long national life of Sweden, but they twice measure the entire national existence of the United States. our annals are concentrated in so few years that our interest in particular events sometimes appears extravagant to older peoples with longer histories.

The Challenge of International Lawlessness

We lawyers would commit only a pardonable larceny if we should appropriate as an affirmation of the ideals of the legal profession a prayer from ancient liturgy:... As men experienced in the conduct of legal institutions which, among men, have largely displaced violence by adjudication, we should have some practical competence in measures to maintain justice among nations.

American Courts

Over the next half century I cannot foresee, of course, the kind of world that will surround us at our work. We know that courts do not function well in an atmosphere of pressure and tumult and passion. Some people are voicing fears, or hopes, that the post-war world will move sharply to the right; and others thing, to the left.

Thomas Jefferson

It was the high character of the man that captivated even his rivals and left an imperishable impression on American history. He was pitted against the severest competition. Not only did able men from the North, such as Hamilton, Franklin, and Adams- measure their talents against his, but Virginia itself provided such contemporaries as Washington, Madison, Mason, Henry, Monroe, and many others in whose company it would be hard for any man to distinguish himself. However, we appreciate the true stature of Jefferson the more when we stand him beside the other strong men of his time.