]> vo1000-190 Guide to the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers Repeal Papers, 1927 - 1943 Processed by: Andrea Benefiel; machine-readable finding aid created by: Andrea Benefiel &hdrsca;

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 Machine-readable finding aid derived from XML authoring program. Date of source: March 2010 Description is in English Finding aid was prepared using DACS Guide to the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers Repeal Papers, 1927 - 1943 Special Collections & ArchivesWesleyan University Middletown, CT, USA

© 2010 Wesleyan University. All Rights Reserved.

 Descriptive Summary Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University Voluntary Committee of Lawyers. Voluntary Committee of Lawyers Repeal Papers, 1927 - 1943 1000-190 Material in English 2.5 5 For current information on the location of these materials, please consult Special Collections & Archives staff. In 1927, The Voluntary Committee of Lawyers, Inc. was organized by a group of young New York lawyers who felt that the national prohibition law was both unjust and unenforceable. Its leaders were Joseph H. Choate, Jr., who served as chairman of the Executive Committee, and Harrison Tweed, Treasurer. The organization existed to organize like-minded associates, take opinion polls of lawyers across the country, issue bulletins and annual reports reciting arguments against the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and work closely with the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment. They stressed that a Repeal Amendment should provide for ratification by state convention and then proceeded to prepare and place before all state governors in February 1933 draft bills providing for election at large of all delegates. The alertness and prestige of the members of the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers contributed to the fact that most states enacted the model convention bill verbatim. When the Twenty-First Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers disbanded. The repeal papers of The Voluntary Committee of Lawyers, Inc. 1928-1944, were originally working files of Joseph Hodge Choate, Jr. (1876-1968) and of Harrison Tweed (1885-1969) when they were among the leaders of this single-purpose organization. The Choate materials are correspondence and publications. The Tweed records represent financial aspects of the organization, of which he was treasurer. These papers include the records of the financial transactions of the organization, all known publications, and a original correspondence. Administrative Information Access Restrictions

No restrictions.

 Copyright Notice

Copyright for Official University records is held by Wesleyan University; all other copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

 Preferred Citation

[Identification of item], Voluntary Committee of Lawyers Repeal Papers, Collection #1000-190, Special Collections & Archives, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, USA.

 Acquisitions Information

In 1968 Harrison Tweed arranged that both sets of materials be used for research purposes. He also agreed preliminarily, prior to his death, that the financial records he held in the law offices of Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy could be transferred to Wesleyan. The understanding was confirmed by Mrs. Harrison Tweed who donated the Tweed portion of the papers to Wesleyan University in 1969.

The Choate papers had been held in the law firm of Choate, Regan, Davis & Hollister from the time they were generated until 1969 when they were donated to Wesleyan University by Joseph H. Choate, III. Arrangements for this donation were aided by Dickerman Hollister, Esq.

Processing Information

Processed by Andrea Benefiel, March 2010

Encoded by Andrea Benefiel, March 2010

 Biographical and Historical Note

In 1927, The Voluntary Committee of Lawyers, Inc. was organized by a group of young New York lawyers who felt that the national prohibition law was both unjust and unenforceable. Its leaders were Joseph H. Choate, Jr., who served as chairman of the Executive Committee, and Harrison Tweed, Treasurer. The organization existed to organize like-minded associates, take opinion polls of lawyers across the country, issue bulletins and annual reports reciting arguments against the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, and work closely with the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment. They stressed that a Repeal Amendment should provide for ratification by state convention and then proceeded to prepare and place before all state governors in February 1933 draft bills providing for election at large of all delegates. The alertness and prestige of the members of the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers contributed to the fact that most states enacted the model convention bill verbatim. When the Twenty-First Amendment was ratified on December 5, 1933, the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers disbanded.

JOSEPH H. CHOATE, JR. was the acknowledged leader and moving force in the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers, Incorporated. His interest in this subject was preceded by an association during World War I and the 1920s with the chemical section of the Alien Property Custodians Bureau where he came to know A. Mitchell Palmer, also later to be active in the repeal movement. Upon ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment in 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt named Choate, a Republican, chairman of the Federal Alcohol Control Administration. He served in this position for two years.

He was born in New York February 2, 1876. His father was Joseph H. Choate, a famous lawyer and Ambassador to England from 1899 to 1905. Joseph H. Choate, Jr. graduated from Harvard College in 1897 and from Harvard Law School. At his death in 1968, at age 91, he was counsel in Choate, Regan, Davis and Hollister in the Graybar Building in Manhattan. He had residences at 950 Park Avenue, New York, in Mount Kisco, and in North Haven, Maine. [See New York Times, January 20, 1968, p. 29.]

HARRISON TWEED served as treasurer of the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers and did so in the spirit of civic interest that marked many other of his activities. The task was done with easy dispatch but with gusto as one of a string of similar public activities he believed should concern lawyers. While he was one of the country's best known and most successful lawyers, Tweed worked for years in the legal aid movement to extend legal services to the poor and underprivileged. In 1963 he joined Bernard Segal of Philadelphia as co-chairman of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, formed at the invitation of President John F. Kennedy at a White House meeting. Tweed served as president of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York from 1945 to 1948 and was also president at different times of the American Law Institute and of the National Legal Aid Association.

Tweed was born in New York on October 18, 1885 of New England ancestry, not related to William Marcy Tweed, the Boss of Tammany Hall in the l870s. Tweed's father, Charles Harrison Tweed, was general counsel to prominent railroads while his mother, Helen Minerva Evarts, was the daughter of William M. Evarts who was successively Attorney General, Secretary of State and a United States Senator between 1868 and 1891. Tweed was himself little interested in genealogy. He graduated from Harvard in 1907 and the Harvard Law School in 1910. At the end of his career he was a partner in Milbank, Tweed, Fadley & McCloy at One Manhattan Chase Plaza. His home was at 10 Gracie Square. Tweed died on June 16, 1969 at the age of 83. [See New York Times, June 18, 1969, p. 41.]

Historical Note on the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers 1851-1917 THE TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT. The evolution of prohibition covers the entire sweep of American history beginning with colonial settlement in the 17th century. The clergy, the educated, and other members of the Eastern elite at first practiced and advocated temperance. Over several generations and as a part of the movement West and the democratization of elite values, temperance came to hold an appeal for the middle and lower classes. By the second third of the 19th century temperance was a widely enough shared value in the United States that organized advocates sought to outlaw alcoholic beverages. Statewide prohibition came first in the State of Maine in 1851 through the leadership of Neal Dow of Portland, later a candidate for President on the Prohibition Party ticket. The Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) led by Frances Willard was the most prominent of many 19th century organizations which sought state prohibition or, at least, local option laws, of which many were enacted by the turn of the century. [The best intellectual account is Joseph R. Gusfield, Symbolic Crusade (Urbana and London: University of Illinois Press, 1966).] 1893-1933 THE ANTI-SALOON LEAGUE OF AMERICA. A more militant organization that was prohibitionist in spirit was founded at Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio in 1893 called the Anti-Saloon League. After forming chapters in most communities in the state, led mainly by Baptists and Methodists, Ohio became a model for similar organizations throughout the country. With a mass following, well-financed, closely related to fundamentalist churches, with full-time staffs and dynamic leaders, the Anti-Saloon League's work exemplified skilled lobbying and had the services of zealous and able lawyers like Wayne B. Wheeler. An increasing number of states went dry by voting in prohibition laws. In 1913 the Anti-Saloon League of America voted to seek national prohibition through a constitutional amendment. With wide popular support, especially from among the leading Progressive politicians of the day, and by persisting, Congress was persuaded to submit a prohibition amendment on December 18, 1917. Ratification was completed on January 16, 1919. The amendment took effect one year later. [For an exposition of the view that the appeal of prohibition "lay largely with the oldstock, middle class section of the American community" which "constituted the backbone of the Progressive Movement," see James H. Timberlake, Prohibition and the Progressive Movement 1900-1920 (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1963), pp. 2-3.] The Anti-Saloon League continued on to help draft the Volstead Act and to administer national prohibition, and began only after Wheeler's death in 1927 to decline. [For a contemporary, muckraking account by a political scientist, see Peter Odegard, Pressure Politics (New York: Columbia University Press, 1928). For a view stressing litigation and court enforcement by the Anti-Saloon League, see Clement E. Vose, Constitutional Change: Amendment Politics and Supreme Court Litigation Since 1900 (Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1972), chapter 4, pp. 69-100.] 1918-1920 THE EIGHTEENTH AMENDMENT. The National Prohibition Amendment was ratified on January 16, 1919 and took effect on January 16, 1920. Its three sections read as follows: Section 1. After one year from the ratification of this article the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States and all territory subject to the jurisdiction thereof for beverage purposes is hereby prohibited. Section 2. The Congress and the several States shall have concurrent power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation. Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by the legislatures of the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. 1920-1933 ASSOCIATION AGAINST THE PROHIBITION AMENDMENT. There had always been opposition to laws banning the sale of alcohol and the most important single voluntary association to enlist in the campaign for the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment was officially formed on December 31, 1920. The organization called the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment had been advocated as early as November 12, 1918 by Navy Captain William H. Stayton. By the mid-1920s, a group of wealthy businessmen who had earlier thought the Amendment might be beneficent joined the AAPA because they were alarmed "over the rising crime rate, the violence of the enforcement effort, the growth of federal power, and the perceived threat to constitutional liberties." They included Pierre and Irenee du Pont, John J. Raskob, James W. Wadsworth and later, Jouett Shouse. By publicity, state organization and attention to lobbying Congress, the AAPA was always in the forefront of the campaign to see a repeal amendment proposed by Congress. Their success came when a repeal amendment was proposed by Congress on February 20, 1933. [For the best account of the arguments against national prohibition by amendment and of the organized activities of the AAPA, see David E. Kyvig, "In Revolt Against Prohibition: The Association Against the Prohibition Amendment and the Movement for Repeal, 1919-1933" (Ph.D. dissertation, Northwestern University, 1971).] 1927-1933 VOLUNTARY COMMITTEE OF LAWYERS, INC. In 1927 some young New York City lawyers who believed national prohibition to be wrong and unenforceable public policy formally established a single-purpose organization called the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers. In the lead were Joseph H. Choate, Jr., who served as chairman of the Executive Committee, and Harrison Tweed, Treasurer. As lawyers they believed the Eighteenth Amendment to be illegitimate as well as unwise policy. They organized associates in every state, took polls on the opinions of city lawyers across the country, issued bulletins and annual reports reciting arguments against the Eighteenth Amendment and worked closely with the Association Against the Prohibition Amendment. The papers of Choate and Tweed in the Collection on Legal Change today show that the most important contribution of the VCL was in the ratification process. They stressed that a Repeal Amendment should provide for ratification by state convention and then proceeded to prepare and place before all state governors in February 1933 draft bills providing for election at large of all delegates. The alertness and the prestige of the members of the Voluntary Committee of Lawyers contributed to the fact that most states enacted the model convention bill verbatim. This helps to account for the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933. The VCL then closed its books. [For an account based on these papers see the chapter entitled "Lawyers for Repeal," in Clement E. Vose, Constitutional Change, chapter 5, pp. 101-138.] 1933 THE TWENTY-FIRST AMENDMENT. Section 1. The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed. Section 2. The transportation or importation into any State, Territory, or possession of the United States for delivery or use therein of intoxicating liquors, in violation of the laws thereof, is hereby prohibited. Section 3. This article shall be inoperative unless it shall have been ratified as an amendment to the Constitution by conventions in the several States, as provided in the Constitution, within seven years from the date of the submission hereof to the States by the Congress. Collection Overview

The repeal papers of The Voluntary Committee of Lawyers, Inc. 1928-1944, were originally working files of Joseph Hodge Choate, Jr. (1876-1968) and of Harrison Tweed (1885-1969) when they were among the leaders of this single-purpose organization. The Choate materials are correspondence and publications. The Tweed records represent financial aspects of the organization, of which he was treasurer. These papers include the records of the financial transactions of the organization, all known publications and a great deal of original correspondence.

 Online Catalog Headings

These and related materials may be found under the following headings in online catalogs.

Prohibition--United States. Choate, Joseph H., Jr. Tweed, Harrison. Association Against the Prohibition Amendment. Voluntary Committee of Lawyers. Prohibition--Alabama. Prohibition--Arizona. Prohibition--Arkansas. Prohibition--California. Prohibition--Colorado. Prohibition--Connecticut. Prohibition--Delaware. Prohibition--Florida. Prohibition--Georgia. Prohibition--Illinois. Prohibition--Indiana. Prohibition--Iowa. Prohibition--Kentucky. Prohibition--Maine. Prohibition--Maryland. Prohibition--Massachusetts. Prohibition--Michigan. Prohibition--Minnesota. Prohibition--Missouri. Prohibition--Montana. Prohibition--Nevada. Prohibition--New Jersey. Prohibition--New Mexico. Prohibition--New York. Prohibition--North Carolina. Prohibition--Ohio. Prohibition--Oklahoma. Prohibition--Oregon. Prohibition--Pennsylvania. Prohibition--Rhode Island. Prohibition--South Carolina. Prohibition--South Dakota. Prohibition--Tennessee. Prohibition--Texas. Prohibition--Utah. Prohibition--Vermont. Prohibition--Virginia. Prohibition--Washington. Prohibition--West Virginia. Prohibition--Wisconsin. Temperance--United States--History. Constitutional amendments--United States. United States. Constitution. 18th Amendment--History. United States. Constitution. 21st Amendment--History. Liquor laws--United States--History. Detailed Description of the Collection Voluntary Committee of Lawyers Records 1 1 Statement of Purpose, By laws, etc. circa 1930 1 2 Lists of State Representatives, 1927-1933 1 Membership lists 1 3 Alabama-Idaho 1 4 Illinois-Massachusetts 1 5 Michigan-New York 1 6 North Carolina-Wyoming 1 7 Executive Committee reports and statements, 1929-1933 1 The Constitutional Convention Amending Process 1 8 Historical precedent 1 9 Related to appeal 1 10 Comments 1 11 Film: Paramount Newsreel, "Joseph H. Choate, Jr. Attacks Bootlegging," 16 mm. 1 minute. 2 copies. 1933 1 12 Duplicate copies of draft bills 1 13 Early writings on the 18th Amendment and Prohibition 1930-1932 1 14 Later Writings on the repeal of Prohibition, 1932-1933 1 15 Writings on the economic effect of Prohibition, 2 16 Media notices on repeal activities, 1932 May-1933 February 2 17 Media notices on repeal activities, 1933 March 2 18 Media notices on repeal activities, 1933 April 2 19 Media notices on repeal activities, 1933 May-November 2 20 Association Against the Prohibition Amendment papers 2 21 VCL miscellaneous papers 2 22 Miscellaneous related legislation 2 23 The 21st Amendment 2 VCL Revival 2 24 Correspondence, 1942 October 2 25 Correspondence, 1942 November-December 2 26 Correspondence and other materials, 1943 January-April Joseph H. Choate, Jr. Correspondence 2 27 1932 January 21-April 31 2 28 1932 May 1-October 31 2 29 1932 November 1-December 31 2 30 1933 January 1-27 2 31 1933 January 28-31 2 32 1933 February 1 2 33 1933 February 2 2 34 1933 February 3 2 35 1933 February 4-5 2 36 1933 February 6 2 37 1933 February 7 2 38 1933 February 8-9 2 39 1933 February 10-11 2 40 1933 February 13-14 2 41 1933 February 15-16 2 42 1933 February 17 2 43 1933 February 18 2 44 1933 February 20 2 45 1933 February 21 3 46 1933 February 22-23 3 47 1933 February 24-25 3 48 1933 February 27 3 49 1933 February 28 3 50 1933 March 1 3 51 1933 March 1 3 52 1933 March 2 3 53 1933 March 3 3 54 1933 March 4 3 55 1933 March 6-7 3 56 1933 March 8-9 3 57 1933 March 10 3 58 1933 March 11-14 3 59 1933 March 15-16 3 60 1933 March 17-18 3 61 1933 March 20 3 62 1933 March 21 3 63 1933 March 22 3 64 1933 March 23-24 3 65 1933 March 25-27 3 66 1933 March 28-30 3 67 1933 March 31 3 68 1933 April 1-3 3 69 1933 April 4-9 3 70 1933 April 10-11 3 71 1933 April 12-18 3 72 1933 April 19-20 3 73 1933 April 21-30 3 74 1933 May 1-7 3 75 1933 May 8-13 3 76 1933 May 14-20 3 77 1933 May 21-23 3 78 1933 May 24-26 3 79 1933 May 27-31 3 80 1933 June 1-10 4 81 1933 June 11-20 4 82 1933 June 21-25 4 83 1933 June 26-30 4 84 1933 July 1-12 4 85 1933 July 13-31 4 86 1933 August 1-September 19 4 87 1933 September 20-30 4 88 1933 October1-31 4 89 1933 November 1-10 4 90 1933 November 11-15 4 91 1933 November 16-20 4 92 1933 November 21-1934 January 17 VCL State Files 4 93 Alabama 4 94 Arizona 4 95 Arkansas 4 96 California 4 97 Colorado 4 98 Connecticut 4 99 Delaware 4 100 Florida 4 101 Georgia 4 102 Illinois 4 103 Indiana 4 104 Iowa 4 105 Kentucky 4 106 Maine 4 107 Maryland 4 108 Massachusetts 4 109 Michigan 4 110 Minnesota 4 111 Missouri 4 112 Montana 4 113 Nevada 4 114 New Jersey 4 115 New Mexico 4 116 New York 4 117 North Carolina 4 118 Ohio, Part 1: General 4 119 Ohio, Part 2: Newspaper clippings 1933 June-July 4 120 Ohio, Part 3: Court case material 4 121 Ohio, Part 3: Court case material 5 122 Oklahoma 5 123 Oregon 5 124 Pennsylvania 5 125 Rhode Island 5 126 South Carolina 5 127 South Dakota 5 128 Tennessee 5 129 Texas 5 130 Utah 5 131 Vermont 5 132 Virginia 5 133 Washington 5 134 West Virginia 5 135 Wisconsin Harrison Tweed Records 5 136 Check book stubs, 1928 October 19-1929 August 6 5 137 Check book stubs, 1929 August 6-1930 July 24 5 138 Check book stubs, 1930 August 1-1932 August 11 5 139 Check book stubs, 1932 August 11-1933 November 23