Konvitz, Milton Personal Correspondence, 1941-2003
Collection Number: /4241
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Cornell University Library
DESCRIPTIVE SUMMARY
Title:
Milton Konvitz Personal Correspondence, 1941-2003
Repository:
Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation & Archives
Collection Number:
/4241
Creator:
Konvitz, Milton
Quanitities:
2.5 cubic feet
Language:
Collection material in English
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.
Access to the collections in the Kheel Center is restricted. Please contact a reference
archivist for access to these materials.
This collection must be used in keeping with the Kheel Center Information Sheet and
Procedures for Document Use.
INFORMATION FOR USERS
Milton Konvitz Personal Correspondence #/4241. Kheel Center for Labor-Management Documentation
and Archives, Cornell University Library.
Related Collections: /4261m: "Some Aspects of Negro-Jewish Relationships in Detroit, Michigan" Manuscript /4085: Milton R. Konvitz Additional Papers /4039 AV: Milton R. Konvitz American Ideals Lectures Audio-Visual Materials /4039 L: Milton R. Konvitz Liberian Codification Project /3033: Milton R. Konvitz Liberian Project Files /4039: Milton R. Konvitz Papers /4039 B: Milton R. Konvitz Additional Papers /4220m: Milton Konvitz Additional Papers /4242 AV: Milton Konvitz Memorial Service Audio-Visual Materials /4039 AV: Milton R. Konvitz American Ideals Lectures Audio-Visual Materials /4315 G: ILR School Milton Konvitz Memorial Lecture Posters
Names:
Konvitz, Milton R. (Milton Ridvas), 1908-2003
New York State School of Industrial and Labor Relations
CONTAINER LIST
Container
|
Description
|
Date
|
|
Series I. Personal Correspondence
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 1 |
Abramsky, Chimera
|
1973-1975 |
Box 1 | Folder 2 |
Adams, James Luther
|
1989 |
Scope and Contents
11/7/1989
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 3 |
American Ideals Course
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 4 |
Cohen, Morris Raphael
|
|
Box 1 | Folder 5 |
Cohn, Justice Haim
|
1971-1974 |
Box 1 | Folder 6 |
Contributors to Konvitz chair
|
1997-1998 |
Scope and Contents
7/21/97 - 9/23/98
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 7 |
Cornell chair special letters
|
1998 |
Scope and Contents
April - May 1998
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 8 |
Cornell University correspondence
|
1997-1998 |
Box 1 | Folder 9 |
Cornell University presidents
|
1946-2003 |
Scope and Contents
6/24/46 - 4/15/03
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 10 |
Dedication of Konvitz chair
|
1998 |
Scope and Contents
5/18/1998
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 11 |
Eisensten, Rabbi Ira
|
1996 |
Scope and Contents
11/4/1996
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 12 |
Fundamental Liberties of a Free People
|
2001-2002 |
Scope and Contents
7/12/01 - 9/17/02
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 13 |
Glass, Rabbi Scott
|
1990-2003 |
Scope and Contents
8/14/1990 - 3/20/03
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 14 |
Goldfarb, Rabbi Morris
|
2003 |
Box 1 | Folder 15 |
Gussman, Herbert and Roseline
|
1991-1998 |
Box 1 | Folder 16 |
Hook, Sidney and Anne Hook
|
1989 |
Scope and Contents
1/30/1989
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 17 |
Journal of Law and Religion
|
1993-2001 |
Scope and Contents
1/12/1993 - 3/12/2001
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 18 |
Judaism and Human Rights
|
1999-2002 |
Scope and Contents
August 1999 - January 2002
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 19 |
Kallen, H. M. (son David Kallen)
|
1997-2002 |
Box 1 | Folder 20 |
Kampelman, Max
|
1989-2001 |
Scope and Contents
10/11/1989 - 6/18/2001
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 21 |
Liberia
|
1966 |
Box 1 | Folder 22 |
Materials regarding Konvitz chair dedication
|
1998 |
Scope and Contents
5/9/1998 - 5/18/1998
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 23 |
Midstream. Minutes of Board Meetings
|
1988-1996 |
Scope and Contents
3/24/1988 - 5/30/1996
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 24 |
Midstream. Konvitz reviews
|
1987-2001 |
Scope and Contents
October 1987 - April 2001
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 25 |
Midstream. 1 of 2
|
1989-1997 |
Scope and Contents
6/89 - 4 /97
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 26 |
Midstream. 2 of 2
|
1990-2001 |
Scope and Contents
11/6/1990 - 4/10/2001
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 27 |
Miscellaneous correspondence
|
1984-1998 |
Scope and Contents
10/22/1984 - 4/21/1998
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 28 |
Miscellaneous Letters, 1 of 4
|
1999 |
Scope and Contents
March - July 1999
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 29 |
Miscellaneous Letters, 2 of 4
|
1989-1991 |
Scope and Contents
October 1989 - October 1991
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 30 |
Miscellaneous Letters, 3 of 4
|
1941-2000 |
Scope and Contents
9/12/41 - 8/7/00
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 31 |
Robinson, Greg
|
1996-1998 |
Scope and Contents
4/3/1996 - 10/5/1998
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 32 |
Rutgers - Nine American Jewish Thinkers
|
1999-2000 |
Box 1 | Folder 33 |
Rutgers - Fundamental Rights
|
1999-2001 |
Box 1 | Folder 34 |
Supreme Court Justices.
|
1990-2001 |
Scope and Contents
May 1990 - April 2001
|
|||
Box 1 | Folder 35 |
Szekely, Yoram.
|
1993-1995 |
Box 1 | Folder 36 |
Students
|
1990-2000 |
Box 1 | Folder 37 |
Tanner, Harold and Stephen Weiss
|
1997-2002 |
Scope and Contents
5/1/1997 - 12/3/2002
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 1 |
Adams, James Luther
|
1972-1993 |
Scope and Contents
1/10/1972 - 5/28/1993
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 2 |
Cohn, Justice Haim
|
1991-2001 |
Scope and Contents
9/29/1991 - 11/25/2001
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 3 |
Cornell Jewish Studies. 1 of 2.
|
1987-1998 |
Scope and Contents
12/10/1987 - 11/5/1998
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 4 |
Cornell Jewish Studies. 2 of 2.
|
1990-2003 |
Scope and Contents
9/28/1990 - 4/22/2003
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 5 |
Gaulkin, Judge Edward.
|
|
Box 2 | Folder 6 |
Goldfarb, Rabbi Morris. 1 of 2.
|
2001-2002 |
Scope and Contents
10/8/01 - 8/12/02
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 7 |
Goldfarb, Rabbi Morris. 2 of 2.
|
1990-2001 |
Scope and Contents
1/12/1990 - 6/3/2001
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 8 |
Gotesky, Rubin.
|
1997 |
Box 2 | Folder 9 |
Grade, Mrs. Chaim
|
1980-1995 |
Scope and Contents
1/7/1980 - 12/15/1995
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 10 |
Grade, Inna Hecker.
|
1993-1998 |
Scope and Contents
4/93 - 5/98
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 11 |
Hebrew Culture Foundation.
|
1987-1995 |
Scope and Contents
5/22/1987 - 6/13/1995
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 12 |
Hertzberg, Arthur; Hannah Arendt; Frank Rhodes; Alfred Gottschalk; Norman Lamm
|
1970-1990 |
Scope and Contents
12/31/1970 - 4/23/1990
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 13 |
Jewish Studies
|
2003 |
Scope and Contents
January - April 2003
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 14 |
Jung, Rabbi Leo
|
|
Box 2 | Folder 15 |
Letter from Student
|
2001 |
Scope and Contents
3/21/2001
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 16 |
Levy, Harold. 1 of 3
|
1999-2001 |
Scope and Contents
8/7/99 - 1/17/2001
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 17 |
Levy, Harold. 2 of 3
|
1991-1996 |
Scope and Contents
1/30/1991 - 2/11/1996
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 18 |
Levy, Harold. 3 of 3
|
1989-2002 |
Scope and Contents
11/26/1989 - 5/31/2002
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 19 |
Major Donors to the Konvitz professorship
|
|
Box 2 | Folder 20 |
Memorial papers by Konvitz
|
1983-1990 |
Scope and Contents
9/12/1983 - 3/25/1990
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 21 |
Miscellaneous correspondence
|
1987-1993 |
Scope and Contents
8/6/1987 - 7/8/1993
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 22 |
Miscellaneous letters. 1 of 2
|
1966-2000 |
Scope and Contents
2/28/1966 - 2/9/2000
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 23 |
Miscellaneous letters, 2 of 2
|
|
Box 2 | Folder 24 |
Personal papers. Milton Konvitz
|
1945-1990 |
Scope and Contents
3/10/1945 - 9/24/1990
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 25 |
Rackman, Rabbi Emanuel, 1 of 2
|
1990-1998 |
Box 2 | Folder 26 |
Rackman, Rabbi Emanuel, 2 of 2
|
1999-2003 |
Scope and Contents
1/22/99 - 4/9/03
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 27 |
Rutgers - General Correspondence.
|
1999-2003 |
Scope and Contents
6/12/99 - 4/30/03
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 28 |
Saloveitchik, Rabbi Joseph B.
|
1950-1999 |
Scope and Contents
11/9/50 - 8/8/99
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 29 |
Supreme Court Justices
|
1990-2003 |
Scope and Contents
7/3/90 - 6/11/03
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 30 |
Vicious Circle
|
1986 |
Scope and Contents
May-86
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 31 |
Encyclopedia Judaica Articles
|
1980-1986 |
Scope and Contents
7/17/80 - 7/30/86
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 32 |
Goldstein, Morris
|
1995-2003 |
Scope and Contents
5/12/95 - 3/5/03
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 33 |
Hertzberg, Arthur
|
1990-2002 |
Scope and Contents
6/30/90 - 10/16/02
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 34 |
Lamm, Rabbi Norman
|
1989-2001 |
Scope and Contents
9/6/89 - 3/28/01
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 35 |
Letters from Cornell faculty
|
1991-2003 |
Scope and Contents
1/9/91 - 6/4/03
|
|||
Box 2 | Folder 36 |
Miscellaneous letters, 1 of 2
|
1992-1997 |
Box 2 | Folder 37 |
Miscellaneous letters, 2 of 2
|
1988-2003 |
Series II. Publications
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 1 |
1954
|
1954 |
Scope and Contents
One publication with notes to Prof. Konvitz
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 2 |
1964
|
1964 |
Scope and Contents
Two publications with notes to Prof. Konvitz
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 3 |
1968-1969
|
1968-1969 |
Scope and Contents
Four publications with notes to Prof. Konvitz
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 4 |
1973-1978
|
1973-1978 |
Scope and Contents
Four publications with notes to Prof. Konvitz
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 5 |
1981
|
1981 |
Scope and Contents
One publication with notes to Prof. Konvitz
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 6 |
1990-1995
|
1990-1995 |
Scope and Contents
Six publications with notes to Prof. Konvitz. One is in Hebrew.
|
|||
Box 3 | Folder 7 |
2000-2001
|
|
Scope and Contents
Two publications with notes to Prof. Konvitz, both are from the Berman Memorial Lecture
Series, Queens College, by Emanuel Rackman. Also includes a greeting card and circular
letter.
|