Call Number:

MC084

Repository:

Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers

Extent:

• 395 boxes
• 2 items

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

Identification of specific item; Date (if known); David Lawrence Papers, Box and Folder Number; Public Policy Papers, Special Collections, Princeton University Library.

Date:

1901-1975 (inclusive) and 1933-1970 (bulk)

Creator:

Lawrence, David, 1888-1973

Form:

Audio tapes., Correspondence., Manuscripts., Phonographs., Radio scripts., and Scrapbooks

Abstract:

David Lawrence, Princeton Class of 1910, was an American magazine and news service founder, editor, columnist, and author. This collection contains papers of Lawrence, including correspondence with notable twentieth century figures, articles, speeches, correspondent dispatches, radio broadcast transcripts, and manuscripts for several books.

David Lawrence was an American magazine and news service founder, editor, columnist, and author. Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1888, Lawrence spent his childhood in Buffalo, New York, and graduated from Princeton University in 1910. While at Princeton, Lawrence was active in campus journalism and garnered the attention of the Associated Press, which hired him upon graduation. He covered political and international affairs for the AP until 1916, when he became the Washington correspondent for the New York Evening Post. In 1926, Lawrence founded the United States Daily, the first publication to be dedicated solely to national affairs. In 1947, this publication merged with another and evolved into the popular weekly news magazine U.S. News and World Report. Lawrence covered some of the most seminal issues that arose in the 20th century, including World War I, World War II, and domestic crises within the United States. He authored several books and wrote a nationally syndicated column that generally expounded a conservative opinion. Lawrence died in 1973.

Consists of the papers of Lawrence (Princeton Class of 1910), including correspondence with John Foster Dulles, Dwight D. Eisenhower, George Gallup, Herbert Hoover, Catherine Joseph, Ellanor Campbell Lawrence, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and many others; articles and speeches; a large file of his dispatches (1915-1973) as a correspondent for the Associated Press and later as an independent; editorials (1933-1973) for the U.S. News & World Report; transcripts (1927-1951) of radio broadcasts including his weekly series "Our Government"; and manuscripts for his books The True Story of Woodrow Wilson (New York: George H. Doran Co., 1924), The Other Side of the Government (New York: Charles Scribners Sons, 1929), and Beyond the New Deal (New York: McGraw, 1934).

The files also contain material concerning his early involvement in the negotiations after the Mexican revolution in 1911 and his article "The Truth About Mexico" (1917); reports and correspondence as chairman (1950) of the research project for the study of the county executive form of government in Fairfax County, Virginia; material about civil rights and the 14th Amendment; and letters (1942-1973) from senators, congressmen, and other members of the "Breakfast Group." In addition, there are geographical files of newspaper publishers, scrapbooks (1915-1973), tape recordings of radio broadcasts, a few photographs, a file of "reader mail," and memorabilia.

This is an unprocessed collection and remains in its original arrangement.