Finding Aid for the Mitchell Franklin Papers, 1922-1986

Biographical Note

Mitchell Franklin was known as a well traveled lawyer, professor, legal advisor, and philosopher. He was one of the foremost scholars in Marxist legal theory and much of his work focused on, but was not limited to Hegel, Kantian and Marxist philosophies, Comparative, Roman, Civil and International laws. Franklin also took a particular interest in Louisiana law as it differed from the rest of the United States and became a focus of comparison for much of his work.

Franklin's extensive career spanned almost seven decades. Over the years his advice and council were sought by many including the United Nations, the United States Army, the National Lawyers Guild, and by students at two different universities.

1902	(February 19) Mitchell Franklin born in Montreal Canada
1922	A.B., Harvard Law School
1925	J.D. (Juris Doctor), Harvard Law School
1928	S.J.D. (Scientum Juris Doctor), Harvard Law School
1925-1928	Worked as a legal advisor for the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts preparing judicial memorandums of law. Franklin prepared the recommendation for an acquittal (which was rejected) of Sacco and Vanzetti for their trial in 1927.
1928	Worked for a time as a lawyer for the private New York City firm, Chadbourne, Stanchfiled, and Levy.
1930-1967	I.R. Irby Professor of Law at Tulane University. Franklin was instrumental in founding the Institute of Comparative Law in 1949 (today the Eason-Weinmann Center of Comparative Law).
1939-1940	Franklin received the Rosenwald fellowship to study the interrelationship of American and French legal history (from Soviet Russia Today, January 1943).
1946	Worked as a legal advisor in Southwestern Europe and the Middle East for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration.
1947-1948	Campaigned for the Progressive Party's candidate, Henry A. Wallace, in his run for United States presidency. Franklin was an avid supporter of Wallace who, he said, "unites all segments of the Louisiana people [for the first time since the Civil War] and overcomes rivalries and discriminations among them" (from "A Report to the Citizens of Louisiana," draft, box 12, folder 16).
1948	Worked as a legal officer in the department of the Secretariat at the United Nations.
1967	Named Professor Emeritus at Tulane Law School.
1967	University at Buffalo, visiting Professor of Philosophy
1968-1971	UB, Professor of Philosophy
1969	The Mitchell Franklin Award was established by the Tulane Law School senior class of 1969.
1972	UB's mandatory retirement was enforced on Franklin, but later overturned by an extension granted by the Board of Trustees.
1972-1974	UB, Professor of Law
1978	Received an honorary degree of L.L.D, (Legum Doctor or Doctor of Laws) from Tulane University.
1986	Franklin died in his Buffalo home.

Scope and Content

The Mitchell Franklin Papers, 1922-1986, contain the studies, writings, and teachings of UB Professor of Law, Mitchell Franklin. Also includes photographs from Franklin's travels to Europe, and clippings about him and his work.

Series I, Personal, contains information relating to Franklin's personal life.

Subseries A, Biographical information, iincludes Franklin's application for admission to the bar, Franklin's father, Adolph Franklin's will, certificates, awards, passports, clippings, personal correspondence, and a sampling from Franklin's personal notebooks (1949-1962).

Subseries B, Harvard class notes, ithought to be mimeographs of the notes Franklin took while attending law school at Harvard from 1925-1928. The undated notes were perhaps used by Franklin as a teaching assistant for classes.

Subseries C, Travel photography, includes two boxes (originally labeled France and Italy) of various Western European cities. Also includes a sampling of the many Leica photographic manuals Franklin collected relating to his extensive camera collection.

Series II, Professional, contains memoranda, correspondence, translations and other information from his professional career.

Subseries A, Judiciary memoranda, 1925-1930, includes copies of the memos prepared by Franklin for court cases such as the high profiled case of Sacco-Vanzetti. Previously arranged in alphabetical order by case name or by underlined section of the memo.

Subseries B, Codes, includes translations of German and Japanese legal codes completed while Franklin serving as a Major in the United States Army.

Subseries C, National Lawyer's Guild, contains information pertaining to Franklin's time with the National Lawyers Guild, which he co-founded and was President of for many years. It includes correspondence, statements and speeches, clippings, and publications.

Subseries D, Other professional activities, includes United Nations correspondence, clippings and press conference agendas; Henry A. Wallace presidential campaign of 1948 correspondence and reports; and The Committee to Abolish the House of Un-American Activities memos.

Series III, Correspondence, is arranged chronologically from 1925-1983 (non-inclusive). Most of Franklin's correspondence with his Harvard Law professor, Roscoe Pound, falls between 1938-1942.

Series IV, Teachings, is arranged alphabetically by subject heading and then by course name. The lecture notes taken by students were most likely used by Franklin in a publication as noted by correspondence from student, Anita Comick (box 15 folder 8). A sampling of Mitchell Franklin's course preparation notes (case notes) was retained.

Series V, Writings, includes Franklins' published and unpublished writings arranged in chronological order.

Subseries A, Individual writings, is arranged chronologically. Re-prints of published articles were filed with the corresponding drafts.

Subseries B, Other writings, includes other re-prints of published articles, speeches, articles written about Franklin, Franklin's book reviews, fragments of writings, translations, and a sampling of Franklin's research notes.

Subseries C, Colleague writings, includes writings done by colleagues and students. Writings which had no author noted were also included here.

Subseries D, Student writings, includes papers and presentations completed by Franklin's students from UB and Tulane Law Schools. The dissertations included were by students Franklin supervised or advised.

Container List

Series I. Personal

Subseries A. Biographical Information
1.1			Admission to the Bar, 1931
1.2			Biographical, 1939, 1945, 1953, 1977-1978, 1981, n.d.; includes photographs, membership cards, passport, certificates, awards, U.S. Army "Call to Duty".
1.3-1.4			Clippings, 1910, 1936-1959, 1966, 1971-1973, 1981, n.d.
1.5			Curriculum vitae, c. 1970, 1980, n.d.
1.6			Father, Adolph Franklin's will, 1951
1.7			Harvard Law School, class of 1922, 1922, 1972, n.d.
1.8			Harvard Law School, class of 1925: Bibliography of the Writings of the Harvard Law School, compiled by George A. Strait, 1960
1.9			Inventory lists: "Gifts to Tulane", 1967
1.10			Inventory lists: "Left at Tulane", 1957, 1960-1962, n.d.
1.11			Photography: insurance, 1940, 1944, 1953, 1955-1956, 1959, 1962
1.12			Photography: notes and correspondence, 1939, 1948-1957, 1965, n.d.
1.13			Personal correspondence, 1946-1956, 1965, 1968, 1972, n.d.
1.14			Personal notes, 1949, 1950, 1960, n.d.
1.15			Mitchell Franklin memorial gathering, 1986; includes transcript, audio cassette.

Subseries B. Harvard class notes
2.1			Jurisprudence: annotations, 1925-1926
2.2			Jurisprudence: seminar, 1925-1926
2.3-2.9			Jurisprudence: notes, 1926-1928
2.10			Roman Law: annotations, 1925-1926
2.11-2.15			Roman Law: notes, 1926-1928
3.1			Untitled class text: Unit I-a, Nineteenth Century Schools, c. 1925-1926
3.2			Untitled class text: Unit I-b, Jurisprudence, c. 1925-1926
3.3			Untitled class text: Unit II, Analytical Jurisprudence, c. 1925-1926
3.4-3.5			Untitled class text: Unit III, Historical Jurisprudence, c. 1925-1926
3.6			Untitled class text: Unit IV, Philosophical Jurisprudence, c. 1925-1926
3.7			Untitled class text: Unit V, The Social Utilitarians, c. 1925-1926
3.8			Untitled class text: Unit XIII/IX, The Nature of Law, c. 1925-1926
3.9			"Objective Element of Fault", n.d.
3.10-3.11			"Theories of Concepts", n.d.
3.12-3.18			"Persons", n.d.
4.1			Lorenzen's Comparative Law, n.d. (bound volume)

Subseries C. Travel Photography
5.1-5.7			Architecture and monuments, c.1930s
5.8-5.9			Landscape, c. 1930s
5.10			People, c. 1930s
5.11-5.14			Photographic Leica and Kodak manuals and catalogs: a sampling, c.1950s

Series II. Professional

Subseries A. Judiciary memos

6.1-8.14

Massachusetts Supreme Court c. 1925-1928; includes judiciary memoranda from Sacco-Vanzetti trial.
(39 folders)

9.1-10.15

Chadbourne, Stanchfield, and Levy, c. 1928-1930
(27 folders)

Subseries B. Codes

11.1-11.2			"Decree on Special War Crimes," 1938, "German Military Criminal Code," 1940
11.3			"Military Criminal Code (Militärstrafgesetzbuch)," 1940
11.4-11.5			"Disciplinary Criminal Code of the Wehrmacht," 1942
11.6			"Sketch of German Legal System," 1944
11.7			"Outline of German Criminal Law and Procedure," 1944
11.8			"Glossary of German and English Legal Terms," 1944
11.9			"Nazi Changes in Criminal Procedure," 1945
11.10			"The Statutory Criminal Law of Germany," contributions by Mitchell Franklin (unattributed), 1947
11.11			"Die Gesetzebende Gewalt" (legislative power), n.d.
11.12			"Die Regierungsgewalt" (governance), n.d.
11.13-11.14			"German Criminal Code: Particular Crimes. . . ," n.d.
11.15-11.16			"German Criminal Code: Supplementary Material. . . ," n.d.
12.1-12.2			"Japanese Legal Affairs," 1944
12.3			"Japanese Criminal Code" and "Japanese Code of Criminal Procedure," n.d.

Subseries C. National Lawyers Guild

12.4			Submitted memoranda of law, 1947-1948, 1952, n.d.
12.5			Clippings, 1936, 1939, 1942-1943, 1951, n.d.
12.5-12.9			Correspondence, 1938-1958, n.d.; includes invitation to the 1958 convention, "Progress Towards Freedom Under Law."
12.10			Statements and speeches, n.d.

Subseries D. Other professional activities

12.11			Congressional Record, 1948
12.12			National Committee to Abolish Un-American Activities, 1960-1961, 1964
12.13			Sacco-Vanzetti clippings, 1969, 1977, n.d.
12.14			United Nations, 1948-1949, n.d.
12.15			United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA), 1946, 1948, n.d.
12.16-12.17			Henry A. Wallace presidential campaign, 1947-1948, n.d.; includes clippings.

Series III. Correspondence

13.1-14.14

Correspondence, 1925-1983, n.d.; includes undated fragments of letters.
(31 folders)

Series IV. Teachings

Subseries A. Tulane University

15.1-15.7			Classes: Conflict of Laws, 1965
15.8-15.9			Classes: Contracts, lecture notes by student Anita Comick, c. 1962-1963
15.10-15.11			Classes: Contracts, lecture notes by student Carl Cleveland, c. 1962-1963
15.12			Classes: Contracts, lecture notes by student Richard Kennedy, c. 1962-1963
15.13			Classes: Contracts, course outline, c. 1962-1963
15.14-15.15			Classes: French Law: outline by Professor Pierre Catala, 1962, n.d.
15.16			Classes: outlines and articles, 1956-1967, n.d.
16.1			Classes: preparation notes, n.d.
15.17			Lecture notes, 1966, n.d.
16.2			Textbook: Judicial Method, 1932
16.3			Textbook: Readings in the Civil Law of Contractual Obligations and Sales, 1934

Subseries B. University at Buffalo

17.1			Classes: Civil Law Property outline, n.d.
17.2			Classes: Civil Liability for Delicts, Professor Pierre Catala, n.d.
17.3-17.4			Classes: Conflicts of Law, lecture notes by students Bohdan Harasym and Herbert Siegel, 1968
17.5-17.6			Classes: European Continental Law, lecture notes, n.d.
17.7-17.8			Classes: Legal and Philosophical Foundations of the Bill of Rights, 1974
17.9-17.11			Classes: Philosophy of Law, Mitchell Franklin's handwritten notes, c. 1970
17.12			Correspondence, announcements, minutes, 1966-1973, n.d.
17.13-17.14			Course outlines, exams, evaluations, 1967-1975, 1981, n.d.

Series V. Writings

Subseries A. Individual works

18.1			"Annotation of Civil Code Texts on Obligation," 1934
18.2-18.3			"Hegel on the American Constitutional Crisis," 1937
18.4			"The American Constitution," 1938
18.5			"The Democratic Legal Conceptions of Jefferson Livingston," 1938
18.6			"The Effect of the History of National Codification on International Law," 1948
18.7			"The Law of the Soviet State," 1948
18.8			Two essays on Henry A. Wallace: "Mr. Wallace and the Apparent Revolt of the Southern Democrats," Mr. Wallace and the Revival of Jacksonian Politics in Louisiana," 1948
18.9			"The Constitution, the Supreme Court, and Integration," 1958
18.10-18.13			"Bracton, Para-Bracton(s) and the Vicarage of the Roman Law," 1968
18.14			"Marxism and the Intellectuals," 1968
18.15			"Crime at Attica," 1970
18.16			"Legal Method in the Philosophies of Hegel and Savigny," 1970
18.17			"The Philosophy of Chaïm Perelman," 1970
18.18-18.20			"The Irony of the Beautiful Soul of Herbert Marcuse," 1970, 1977, n.d.
19.1-19.4			"Reflections and the Warren Majority pt. I-III," 1971
19.5-19.8			"Concerning the Dialectic of Romanist Tribunal Intercessio During a Period of Social Ambiguity and Social Irony," 1972
19.9			"Dialectic of Abstract/Concrete in Hegel's Philosophy of Law," 1973
19.10-20.2			"The Mandarinism of Phenomenological Philosophy of Law, pt. I-IV," 1973 (7 folders).
20.3			"Romanist Infamy and the American Constitutional Conception of Impeachment," 1973
20.4-20.7			"Further Considerations relating to Romanist Infamy and the American Constitutional Conception of Impeachment," 1973
20.8			"Confrontation between Hegel and Kierkegaard Concerning the trial of Socrates and its Relation to the Irony of German Romanticism," 1973
20.9-20.11			"The Place of Socrates in the Confrontation of Kierkegaard with Hegel," 1973
20.12			"The Paper of Professor Jerzy Topolski (Posnan) entitled Lenin as a Historian," 1976
20.13			"Interpretation as Possibility," 1978
20.14-20.15			"Contemporary Theory of Interpretation," n.d.
20.16			French Law: "Legislative Management of History: Notes on the Philosophical Foundations of the Civil Code," n.d.
20.17			French Law: "Some Observations on the Influence of French Law on the Early Codes of Louisiana," n.d.
21.1-21.6			Hegel: manuscript, n.d.
21.7			International Law: "Existentialist Spatiality in International Law with Reference to Contemporary International Social Struggle," n.d.
21.8			International Law: "Impact of the Cold War on the New International Law," n.d.
21.9			International Law: "Ius Cogens (Imperative Norms) in Contemporary International Law," n.d.
21.10-21.12			Louisiana Law: draft pertaining to Louisiana Law, n.d.
21.13			Louisiana Law: "How the Law of Louisiana Differs from that of the Other States," n.d.
21.14			Louisiana Law: "The Law of Las Siete Partidas which are still in Force in the State of Louisiana," n.d.
21.15			Louisiana Law: "The Law of Las Siete Partidas which are still in Force in the State of Louisiana," n.d.
21.16			Marxism: "The Magic of Meritocracy," n.d.
21.17			Roman Law: "The Basis in Roman Law for Presidential Impeachment," n.d.
21.18			Roman Law: "Some Considerations on the Existential Force of Roman Law in the Early History of the United States," n.d.
21.19			United Nations: "The Formulation of the Conception of Aggression," n.d.
21.20			United Nations: "Legality Under the United Nations Charter," n.d.
21.21-21.22			United Nations: "Studies of the Nuernberg Charter," n.d.
22.1			United States: "The Fourteenth Amendment and the Three Constitutions," n.d.
22.2			Fragments of drafts, 1938-1942, n.d.
22.3			Fragments of untitled Hegel essay, n.d.

Subseries B. Other writings

Contains re-prints, speeches, articles, book reviews, fragments, research notes, translations

22.4			Book review: "D'une Sainte Famille à L'autre Essais sure les Marxismes Imaginaires," 1969
22.5			Book reviews/reports, 1956, 1969-1970, n.d.
24.8			Digest of the Civil Laws: Territory of Orleans 1808
22.6-22.7			Fragments, n.d.
24.7			Louisiana State Law, 1971
22.8			Notes, n.d.
22.9-24.6			Publications, 1930-1982, n.d. (27 folders)
25.1			Research notes, 1971-1973, n.d.
25.2			Speeches, n.d.
25.3			Translation: Il Contratto, by Gino Gorla, c. 1958

Subseries C. Colleague writings

25.4-25.6			Essays, 1800-1801, 1886, 1890, 1892, 1907-1934, n.d.; includes Roscoe Pound, Felix Frankfurter.
25.7			Fragments, 1975, n.d.
25.8			"Report of my Six Months Study-Trip to the USA," by Carl Josef Kluger, n.d.
25.9			"Soviet Criminal Law Administration," author unknown, n.d.
25.10			"System des Heutigen Roemischen Rechts I" (draft) ss. 32-51, author unknown, n.d.

Subseries D. Student writings

25.11-25.13			Discussion/presentation papers, 1960-1962, n.d.
25.14-26.2			Dissertation: Robert D'Amico, n.d. (4 folders).
26.3-26.4			Dissertation: "Hegel and Nietzsche on Christianity," by Morgan Pierce, c.1970
26.5-26.13			Papers, c. 1970, n.d.
26.14			"Relics for the Tooth Mouse," ( poetry) by Garic Kenneth Barranger, n.d.

Search Terms

Authors

Pound, Roscoe

Rugg, Arthur Prentice, 1862-1938

Wallace, Henry A.

Harvard Law School.

State University of New York at Buffalo.

State University of New York at Buffalo. Faculty of Law and Jurisprudence.

Tulane Law School.

Chadbourne, Stanchfield and Levy.

Massachusetts. Supreme Judicial Court.

National Committee to Abolish the Un-American Activities Committee.

National Lawyers Guild.

State University of New York at Buffalo. University Archives.

Subjects

Franklin, Mitchell, 1902-1986--Archives.

Franklin, Mitchell, 1902-1986--Correspondence.

Franklin, Mitchell, 1902-1986--Travels.

Franklin, Mitchell, 1902-1986--Miscellanea.

Hegel, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich, 1770-1831--Influence.

State University of New York at Buffalo. Faculty of Law and Jurisprudence.

State University of New York at Buffalo. Faculty of Law and Jurisprudence--Faculty.

State University of New York at Buffalo. Faculty of Law and Jurisprudence--Curricula.

State University of New York at Buffalo. Dept. of Philosophy.

State University of New York at Buffalo. Dept. of Philosophy --Faculty.

Tulane Law School--Faculty.

Tulane Law School--Curricula.

Harvard Law School.

Harvard Law School--Curricula.

National Lawyers Guild.

Massachusetts. Supreme Judicial Court.

State University of New York at Buffalo--Archival resources.

Law--Study and teaching--United States.

Law--Philosophy--Study and teaching--United States.

Jurisprudence--Study and teaching--United States.

Comparative law--Study and teaching--United States.

International law--Study and teaching--United States.

Contracts--Study and teaching--United States.

Philosophy--Study and teaching--United States.

Law--United States--Philosophy--History.

Law--United States--Interpretation and construction.

Practice of law--United States--Philosophy.

Law--United States--Methodology.

Law--United States--Language.

Legal research--United States.

College teachers--United States.

Law teachers--United States.

Philosophy teachers--United States.

Lawyers--Training of--United States.

Mentoring in the professions--United States.

Sacco-Vanzetti Trial, Dedham, Mass., 1921.

Evidence (Law)--United States.

Briefs--United States.

Legal literature--Publishing--United States.

Scholarly publishing--United States.

Faculty advisors--United States.

Roman law--Philosophy--History.

Roman law--Influence.

Law--United States--Roman influences.

Law--Louisiana--History.

Criminal law--Germany. Criminal procedure--Germany.

Law--Japan. Civil law systems.

Judicial process--Political aspects.

Legal composition. Dialectic.

Doctor of laws degree.

Travel photography.

Memorial service.

Clippings (Books, newspapers, etc.)

State University of New York at Buffalo--Archival resources.

Collection Title:	Mitchell Franklin Papers, 1922-1986
Collection Number:	21/F/982
Creator:	Franklin, Mitchell, 1902-1986
Extent:	25 manuscript boxes, 1 half box (10.63 linear feet)
Repository:	University Archives, The State University of New York at Buffalo
Abstract:	Professional writings and research from lawyer, professor, legal advisor, and philosopher, Mitchell Franklin who was well known for his work in Contracts, Roman, and International Laws.