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David E. Lilienthal Papers
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Held at: Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers [Contact Us]
This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held at the Princeton University Library: Public Policy Papers. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in their reading room, and not digitally available through the web.
Overview and metadata sections
1931 Wisconsin Railroad Commission 1931-1932 Wisconsin Public Service Commission, Member Commissioner 1933-1946 Tennessee Valley Authority Member, Board of Directors, 1933-1940 Director and Chairman, 1941-1946 1946 United States Department of State, Board of Consultants on the International Control of Atomic Energy, Chairman 1946-1950 U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Chairman Publications by Lilienthal: TVA, Democray on the March (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1944), This I Do Believe (New York: Harper, 1949), Big Business, A New Era (New York: Harper, 1953), Change, Hope, and the Bomb (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1963), The Journals of David E. Lilienthal, vols. I-VII. (New York: Harper, 1964-1983), and Atomic Energy, A New Start (New York: Harper & Row, 1980)
This collection consists of the papers of Lilienthal spanning his entire career. Included are correspondence, reports, articles, speeches, and printed matter relating to his positions with the Wisconsin Public Service Commission (1923-1932), as a member of the board of directors (1933-1941) and then chairman (1941-1946) of the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), as first chairman (1946-1950) of the Atomic Energy Commission, and, later, in private business as an industrial consultant and chairman (1955) of the Development and Resources Corporation, which was involved with the Khuzestan Program in Iran. Also present are manuscripts for six works, including TVA, Democracy on the March (1944), Big Business, A New Era (1953), Atomic Energy, A New Start (1980), and the published Journals of David E. Lilienthal, Vols. I-VII, 1939-1981 (1964-1983), as well as his personal, unpublished, manuscript journals (1915-1981).
Other personal papers include documents, early correspondence (1917-1923) with his future wife, Helen Lamb, and other family members, appointment books, scrapbooks, film and tape recordings, photographs, and memorabilia.
The materials in this collection may have been put in this order by Lilienthal or his administrative staff before transfer to Princeton, and further arrangement may have been done by an archivist at Princeton but no information is available regarding the extent to which an archivist was involved in the current arrangement. In 2019 a number of materials after series 22 were rehoused and merged with corresponding series into series 8, 10-13, and 25. Other series that are are broken up in in two, including speeches and correspondence, are left intact.
The original collection was a gift from David E. Lilienthal in 1965. Several additions to the collection were received over the next two decades, the last one for which documentation exists was in July 1987. Amendments to the original 1965 Deed of Gift allow access to previously restricted materials.
Additional family correspondence was added to the collection in 2022. The accessions associated with this material are ML-2019-022 and ML-2021-002.
For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.
There is no processing information available for this collection. Existing content lists provided a preliminary inventory, and and machine-readable finding aid was created in January 2007 by Cristela Garcia Spitz.
No information about appraisal is available for this collection
Organization
- Development and Resources Corporation
- U.S. Atomic Energy Commission.
- United States
- Tennessee Valley authority
- Railroad Commission of Wisconsin
- Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Subject
- Big business -- United States -- 20th century
- Chemical industries -- United States -- 20th century
- Dams -- Iran. -- 20th century
- Dams -- Tennessee. -- 20th century
- Economic development projects -- Iran -- Khuzestan. -- 20th century
- Economic development projects -- Tennessee. -- 20th century
- Flood control -- Tennessee. -- 20th century
- Flood dams and reservoirs -- Tennessee. -- 20th century
- Industries -- Power supply. -- 20th century
- Mineral industries -- United States -- 20th century
- Natural resources -- Developing countries. -- 20th century
- Nuclear nonproliferation
- Power resources -- Tennessee. -- 20th century
- Public utilities -- Wisconsin
- Railroads and state -- United States -- 20th century
- Regional planning -- Tennessee. -- 20th century
- Rural development -- Tennessee. -- 20th century
- Rural electrification -- Tennessee. -- 20th century
- Water resources development -- Tennessee. -- 20th century
- Industries -- Power supply -- United States -- 20th century
Place
- Khuzestan (Iran) -- Economic conditions. -- 20th century
- Tennessee -- Politics and government -- 1865-1950.
Occupation
- Publisher
- Public Policy Papers
- Finding Aid Date
- 1998
- Access Restrictions
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Collection is open for research use.
- Use Restrictions
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Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, any copyright vested in the donor has passed to The Trustees of Princeton University and researchers do not need to obtain permission, complete any forms, or receive a letter to move forward with use of donor-created materials within the collection. For materials in the collection not created by the donor, or where the material is not an original, the copyright is likely not held by the University. In these instances, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have a question about who owns the copyright for an item, you may request clarification by contacting us through the Ask Us! form.
Collection Inventory
Series 1: Articles, books, and lecture notes includes articles and books written by Lilienthal from 1918-1949 and lecture notes from Lilienthal's time at law school.
The materials in this series are arranged in chronological order.
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Includes: TVA - Democracy On The March, Harper & Brothers, 1944. [Filed in Boxes 6-11.1]
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Includes: This I Do Believe, Harper & Brothers, 1949. [Filed in Boxes 15-16.]
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Series 2: Speeches consists of drafts and final versions of speeches given by Lilienthal.
Speeches are arranged chronologically by year and month. Individual folders within each year are labeled with the location and/or organization where the speech was given, and possibly the title of the speech.
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Series 3: Correspondence and Related Materials includes Lilienthal's correspondence to and from colleagues and professional contacts. There is some personal correspondence and in some cases reference to personal correspondence that is included in other series or subseries. Materials include correspondence about Lilienthal's publications and occassionally drafts of memoranda or speeches on particular subjects.
The correspondence in this series is arranged first chronologically by year, and within each year alphabetically by last name of correspondent.
Physical Description105 boxes
This subseries includes correspondence to and from Lilienthal from 1912 to 1949.
Correspondence is arranged first chronologically by year and within each year alphabetically by last name of correspondent.
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Includes Medal for Oratory.
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This subseries includes correspondence to and from Lilienthal in 1930-1931.
Correspondence is arranged first chronologically by year and within each year alphabetically by last name of correspondent.
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Remarks by William L. Ransom At Dinner Tendered to David E. Lilienthal by Members of the Chicago Bar... On His Appointment to the Railroad Commission of Wisconsin, March 20, 1931.
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Includes Address by David E. Lilienthal Concerning Public Utilities Regulation, February 3, 1931.
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Includes Address by David E. Lilienthal, "Some Problems of Municipally-Owned Utilities."
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Includes Report of Committee on Public Utilities.
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Includes Remarks At Dinner Tendered to David E. Lilienthal Upon His Appointment as a Member of the Railroad Commission of Wisconsin.
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This subseries includes correspondence to and from Lilienthal in 1931-1932.
Correspondence is arranged first chronologically by year and within each year alphabetically by last name of correspondent.
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Includes 1931 Materials;
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This subseries includes correspondence to and from Lilienthal in 1934-1938.
Correspondence is arranged first chronologically by year and within each year alphabetically by last name of correspondent.
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Includes Policy on Territorial Restriction.
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Includes his article entitled "Public Ownership of Power," Atlantic Monthly, September 1937.
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Located in Boxes 89-90
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Related Papers: Includes papers entitled, "Chief Power Economist" "Power Program and/or Policies"; etc.
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This subseries includes correspondence to and from Lilienthal in 1939-1941.
Correspondence is arranged first chronologically by year and within each year alphabetically by last name of correspondent.
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Includes 1940 Correspondence.
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Includes letters from: Chase, Stuart; Jackson, Robert; Knox, Frank; Stettinius, Edward R. Jr., etc.
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This subseries includes correspondence to and from Lilienthal in 1914-1944.
Correspondence is arranged first chronologically by year and within each year alphabetically by last name of correspondent.
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Includes correspondence with Bryson, Lyman; Finkelstein, Louis, etc.;
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