Milton R. Konvitz Liberian Project Files, 1953-1967
Collection Number: /3033

Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library


DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY

Title:
Milton R. Konvitz Liberian Project Files, 1953-1967
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
/3033
Abstract:
Professor Konvitz's files regarding the drawing up of the official body of statutory laws for the Republic of Liberia.
Creator:
Konvitz, Milton R.
Quanitities:
4 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English

Biographical / Historical

March 12, 1908 - September 5, 2003
Milton Konvitz, a Cornell University faculty member and authority on constitutional and labor law, and civil and human rights, died Sept. 5 at the age of 95. Konvitz was a founding faculty member in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations from 1946 until his retirement in 1973. He was also a professor in Cornell's Law School.
Konvitz is perhaps best known for his American Ideals course, which he taught to more than 8,000 students over the course of his career, never giving the same lecture twice. "I saw the U.S. Constitution as it has been interpreted as a magnificent depository of our ideals, both individual and social," he said. His course exposed students to the great intellectual thinkers and philosophers throughout history whose writings had shaped those ideals. They included Sophocles, whose play Antigone is Cornell's New Student Reading Project this year. One student he influenced was U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Cornell Class of 1954, who considers him a mentor.
At Cornell Konvitz also was a founder of the university's Department of Near Eastern Studies and Program of Jewish Studies. "I felt it was essential for a college interested in the humanities not to leave out Hebrew language and literature," he said. "And the knowledge of Jewish history, which began 4,000 years ago and has contributed to civilization no less than Greek, Roman or English history, is important to today's students -Jewish and non-Jewish." He often hosted students at his Ithaca home and helped start the first Kosher dining option at Cornell, Young Israel House.
In addition, for nearly 30 years he directed the Liberian Codification Project, which drew up the official body of statutory laws that is still in force in the Republic of Liberia today, despite the current political upheaval there. Konvitz also edited the opinions of Liberia's Supreme Court and received the Grand Band of the Order of the Star of Africa, the highest award given to foreigners, as well as an honorary degree from the University of Liberia, one of seven honorary degrees he received in his lifetime.
Active as a scholar and writer until his death, he wrote books and articles on American constitutional law that won him wide recognition and were cited in U.S. Supreme Court opinions. Among his nine books is Fundamental Liberties of a Free People: Religion, Speech, Press, Assembly, which was republished earlier this year with an expanded introduction by him that is strongly critical of the Rehnquist Supreme Court. Other books include A Century of Civil Rights (1983) and Judaism and Human Rights (2nd ed. 2001). He also edited a dozen volumes, including two on American philosopher Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose thinking shaped his views. One Emersonian idea he absorbed was that readers give life to books, which Konvitz recast as follows: "It is in their hearing that students bring life to the words, the thoughts, the teacher."
Konvitz was born in Safed, Palestine (now Israel ), in 1908, the son of a rabbi. He immigrated to the United States in 1915 and became a naturalized citizen in 1926. He received a bachelor's degree in 1929 and a law degree in 1930, both from New York University, and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Cornell in 1933. Before joining Cornell's faculty, he was one of three assistant general counsels to Thurgood Marshall at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund for three years.
He is survived by his wife, Mary, of Oakhurst, N.J.; a brother, Phillip, of Elberon, N.J.; a son and daughter-in-law, Josef and Isa, of Paris, France; and two grandsons, Eli and Ezra. Josef Konvitz, who grew up in Ithaca, is now an official at the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Biographical / Historical

Founded in 1945 as the New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations, the ILR School today is advancing the world of work through teaching, research and outreach. ILR's mission is to prepare leaders, inform national and international employment and labor policy, and improve working lives, but as the world of work evolves, the school's focus broadens to keep pace with that change.
ILR studies many areas that shape the working world and contribute to an organization's success in a global economy. These include human resource management; labor-management relations; labor economics; organizational behavior; international and comparative labor; labor relations, labor law and history; conflict resolution; management development; diversity management; employment and disability; and social statistics.
An ILR education is grounded in the social sciences. Students and faculty explore and gain an understanding of human behavior through the lens of the workplace. Students also learn how organizations work and how they fit into the larger society and economy. As a result, they acquire knowledge and skills that help them to solve problems on- the-job and to build and manage productive work relationships. An ILR education, for students and professionals, is practical and applied.
ILR has more full-time faculty involved in teaching and research that spans the broad range of work and employment disciplines than any other educational institution of its kind. Its Martin P. Catherwood Library is regarded as the most comprehensive source of information in North America on work, employment and labor issues.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference archivist for access to these materials.
Conditions Governing Use

This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and Procedures for Document Use.

INFORMATION FOR USERS

Preferred Citation

Milton R. Konvitz Liberian Project Files #/3033. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation and Archives, Cornell University Library.

Related Materials

Related Collections: /4039: Milton R. Konvitz Papers /4341: Milton R. Konvitz Collections

SUBJECTS

Names:
Konvitz, Milton R. (Milton Ridvas), 1908-2003

CONTAINER LIST
Container
Description
Date
Box 1 Folder 1
Liberian Codification Project Associations Law
1955
Box 1 Folder 2
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality
1953
Box 1 Folder 3
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality
1953
Box 1 Folder 3
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality Law
1954
Box 1 Folder 4
Maritime Law
1953
Box 1 Folder 5
Liberian Codification Project - Maritime Law
1953
Box 1 Folder 6
Liberian Codification Project - Labor Laws - Apprentices
Box 1 Folder 7
Liberian Codification Project, Maritime Law
1953
Box 1 Folder 8
Liberian Codification Project, Injuries Law
1955
Box 1 Folder 9
Liberian Codification Project - Banking and Insurance Law
1955
Box 1 Folder 10
Liberian Codification Project, Public Works Law
1955
Box 1 Folder 11
Liberian Codification Project, Revenue and Finance Law
1955
Box 1 Folder 12
Liberian Codification Project, Revenue and Finance Law
1955
Box 1 Folder 13
Liberian Codification Project, Transportation and Communications Law
1955
Box 1 Folder 14
Liberian Project, Vehicle and Traffic Law
1954
Box 1 Folder 15
ABA - Government Employee Relations
1960
Box 1 Folder 16
NEA Position
1967
Box 1 Folder 17
NYS JLC Report
1962-1963
Box 1 Folder 18
The American Labor Movement: Its Historical, Political, and Philosophical Development
Box 1 Folder 19
The American Labor Movement: Its Historical, Political, and Philosophical Development
1962
Scope and Contents
2 of 2
Box 2 Folder 1
Liberian Codification Project - Aborigines Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 2
Liberian Codification Project, Agriculture Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 3
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 4
Liberian Codification Project, Civil Procedure Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 5
Liberian Codification Project, Civil Procedure Law
1954
Scope and Contents
2 of 2
Box 2 Folder 6
Liberian Codification Project, Civil Procedure Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 7
Liberian Codification Project, Commercial Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 8
Liberian Codification Project, Constitution of Republic of Liberia
Box 2 Folder 9
Liberian Codification Project, Criminal Procedure
1955
Box 2 Folder 10
Liberian Codification Project, Criminal Procedure
1955
Scope and Contents
2 of 2
Box 2 Folder 11
Liberian Codification Project - Criminal Procedure
1955
Box 2 Folder 12
Liberian Codification Project, Decedents Estate
1955
Box 2 Folder 13
Liberian Codification Project, Domestic Relations
1954
Box 2 Folder 14
Liberian Codification Project, Education Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 15
Liberian Codification Project Election Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 16
Liberian Codification Project, Executive Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 17
Liberian Codification Project Executive Law
1954
Scope and Contents
2 of 2
Box 2 Folder 18
Liberian Codification Project Foreign Relations Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 19
Liberian Project, General Construction Law
1953
Box 2 Folder 20
Liberian Project, Judiciary Law
1953
Box 2 Folder 21
Liberian Codification Project, Local Government Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 22
Liberian Project Legislative Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 23
Liberian Codification Project, National Defense Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 24
Liberian Codification Project, Natural Resources Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 25
Liberian Codification Project, Patent, Copyright and Trade Mark Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 26
Liberian Codification Project Patriotic Observances Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 27
Liberian Project Penal Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 28
Liberian Codification Project, Postal Service Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 29
Liberian Codification Project, Property Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 30
Liberian Codification Project, Public Employment Law
1954
Box 2 Folder 31
Liberian Codification Project - Public Health & Safety Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 32
Liberian Codification Project - Public Lands Law
1955
Box 2 Folder 33
Liberian Codification Project - Public Welfare Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 1
Index Cards on Legal Codes
Scope and Contents
1 of 2
Box 3 Folder 2
Index Card on Legal Codes
Scope and Contents
2 of 2
Box 3 Folder 3
Inventory in Safe in Dr. Konvitz' Office in Ithaca
Box 3 Folder 4
Liberian Codification Project - Aborigines Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 5
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 6
Liberian Codification Project - Associations Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 7
Criminal Procedure Law
Box 3 Folder 8
Election Law
Box 3 Folder 9
Liberian Codification Project - Agriculture Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 10
Liberian Codification Project - Aliens & Nationality Law
1953
Box 3 Folder 11
Liberian Codification Project - Banking and Insurance Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 12
Corrected Pages - Civil Procedure Law
Scope and Contents
volume 1
Box 3 Folder 13
Civil Procedure Law
Box 3 Folder 14
Liberian Codification Project - Civil Procedure Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 15
Liberian Codification Project - Civil Procedure Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 16
Liberian Codification Project - Commercial Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 17
Liberian Codification Project - Constitution of Republic of Liberia
1954
Box 3 Folder 18
Liberian Codification Project - Constitution of Republic of Liberia
Box 3 Folder 19
Liberian Codification Project - Criminal Procedure
1955
Box 3 Folder 20
Liberian Codification Project - Domestic Relations
1954
Box 3 Folder 21
Liberian Codification Project - Education Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 22
Liberian Codification Project - Election Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 23
Election Law Material
Box 3 Folder 24
Liberian Codification Project - Executive Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 25
Liberian Codification Project - Foreign Relations Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 26
Liberian Codification Project - General Business Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 27
Liberian Codification Project - Labor Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 28
Liberian Project - Legislative Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 29
Liberian Codification Project - Local Government Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 30
Liberian Codification Project - Maritime Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 31
Liberian Codification Project - Natural Resources Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 32
Liberian Codification Project - Patent, Copyright, and Trade Mark Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 33
Liberian Project - Penal Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 34
Liberian Project - Penal Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 35
Liberian Codification Project - Property Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 36
Liberian Codification Project - Property Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 37
Liberian Codification Project - Patriotic Observances Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 38
Liberian Codification Project - Postal Service Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 39
Liberian Codication Project - Public Employment Law
1954
Box 3 Folder 40
Liberian Codification Project - Public Health & Safety Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 41
Liberian Codification Project - Public Lands Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 42
Liberian Codification Project - Public Welfare Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 43
Liberian Codification Project - Public Works Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 44
Liberian Codification Project - Revenue and Finance Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 45
Liberian Codification Project - Revenue and Finance Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 46
Civil Procedure and Finance Minutes
Box 3 Folder 47
Liberian Codification Project - Law of Torts
1955
Box 3 Folder 48
Liberian Codification Project - Law of Torts
1955
Box 3 Folder 48
Liberian Codification Project - Transportation & Communications Law
1955
Box 3 Folder 49
Constitution of the Republic of Liberia
Scope and Contents
as amended through 1951
Box 4 Folder 1
Aborigines Law
Box 4 Folder 2
Agriculture Law
Box 4 Folder 3
Aliens and Nationality Law
Box 4 Folder 4
Associations Law
Box 4 Folder 5
Banking & Insurance Law
Box 4 Folder 6
Civil Procedure Law - Folder 1
Box 4 Folder 7
Civil Procedure Law - Folder II
Box 4 Folder 8
Commercial Law
Box 4 Folder 9
Constitution - Republic of Liberia
Box 4 Folder 10
Criminal Procedure Law
Box 4 Folder 11
Decedents Estates
Box 4 Folder 12
Domestic Relations
Box 4 Folder 13
Education Law
Box 4 Folder 14
Election Law
Box 4 Folder 15
Executive Law
Box 4 Folder 16
Foreign Relations
Box 4 Folder 17
General Business Law
Box 4 Folder 18
General Construction Law
Box 4 Folder 19
Injuries Law
Box 4 Folder 20
Judiciary Law
Box 4 Folder 21
Labor Law
Box 4 Folder 22
Legislative Law
Box 4 Folder 23
Local Government Law
Box 4 Folder 24
Maritime Law
Box 4 Folder 25
National Defense Law
Box 4 Folder 26
Natural Resources Law
Box 4 Folder 27
Patent, Copyright & Trade Law
Box 4 Folder 28
Patriotic Observances Law
Box 4 Folder 29
Penal Law
Box 4 Folder 30
Postal Service Law
Box 4 Folder 31
Property Law
Box 4 Folder 32
Public Employment Law
Box 4 Folder 33
Public Health & Safety Law
Box 4 Folder 34
Public Lands Law
Box 4 Folder 35
Public Welfare Law
Box 4 Folder 36
Public Works Law
Box 4 Folder 37
Revenue and Finance Law - Folder I
Box 4 Folder 38
Revenue and Finance Law - Folder II
Box 4 Folder 39
Transportation & Communications Law
Box 4 Folder 40
Vehicle & Traffic Law