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Donald Meiklejohn Papers

An inventory of his papers at the Syracuse University Archives

Summary

Creator: Meiklejohn, Donald.
Title: Donald Meiklejohn Papers
Dates: 1926-1994
Size: 1 box, 1 oversized drawer (2.5 linear feet)
Abstract: The Donald Meiklejohn Papers contain publications, teaching materials, correspondence, lectures, and other materials related to his time as a professor at Syracuse University and other institutions.
Language: English
Repository: University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries
222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600
Syracuse, NY 13244-2010
https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives

Biography

Photograph of Donald Meiklejohn

Donald Meiklejohn was born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1909, the son of Alexander Meiklejohn, one of the country's leading educational reformers and free speech advocates. A 1930 graduate of the University of Wisconsin, Donald Meiklejohn received a doctorate in philosophy from Harvard University in 1936. From 1942 to 1946 he served in Army Intelligence. Before joining the faculty of the Maxwell School at Syracuse University in 1963, Meiklejohn taught courses at Dartmouth College, the College of William and Mary, and the University of Chicago. At Syracuse University, he taught courses in political philosophy and served as director of the undergraduate program in Citizenship and Public Affairs. His primary areas of research were civil liberties, the political theories of Kant and Rousseau, and the First Amendment.

In 1965, Meiklejohn published a book entitled Freedom and the Public. In 1969, he presented a lecture on “The Culture of Impatience,” describing the University’s responsibility to foster students’ desire to recognize and actively challenge society's failures, remarking that it is the academic responsibility of adults to “intellectualize that impatience.” Meiklejohn retired in 1975 and was awarded the title Emeritus. He remained an active adjunct professor at Syracuse University and was awarded the Chancellor’s Citation for Distinguished Contributions by Emeritus Faculty in 1995. He died in Syracuse in 2001.

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Scope and Content Note

The Donald Meiklejohn Papers contain materials related to his scholarly activities while a faculty member at Syracuse University and other institutions. Materials include correspondence, class materials and lectures. Most of the collection is made up of published and unpublished writings by Donald Meiklejohn, including writings on Rousseau, Kant, and Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger. A copy of his book Freedom and the Public (1965) can also be found in the collection.

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Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

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Related Material

The Archives also hold a clipping file related to Donald Meiklejohn's life and work.

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Selected Search Terms

Names

Meiklejohn, Donald.
Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.
Syracuse University -- History.
Syracuse University.

Associated Titles

Freedom and the public.

Subjects

Philosophy.
Political ethics.
Political science.
College teachers.
Higher education.

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

Donald Meiklejohn Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

The Donald Meiklejohn Papers were deposited in the Archives in 1994 by Donald Meiklejohn.

Processing Information

Materials were placed in acid-free folders and boxes.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: Katie Swingly
Date: 2015
Revision history:

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Arrangement

Items in this collection are arranged alphabetically.

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Inventory

Papers
Awards and Citations
Note on alternate formats: Access photocopies of awards and citations are included in Box 1.
FC 2-1 Taft School- Cum Laude 1926
FC 2-1 University of Wisconsin- Participation in Intercollegiate Athletics 1930
FC 2-1 United States Strategic Bombing Survey in the Pacific Theater 1945
FC 2-1 War Department Citation, Military Intelligence Service 1945
Box 1 Calendar 1961
Box 1 Chancellors' Citation Nomination Materials 1979
Box 1 Clippings 1952-1976
Box 1 Commencement Addresses 1962-1974
Box 1 Correspondence 1930-1959
Box 1 Correspondence 1960-1994
Box 1 Correspondence undated
Box 1 Curriculum Vitae undated
Box 1 Maxwell School Materials 1973-1986
Box 1 Photographs undated
Publications by Donald Meiklejohn
Box 1 Book Reviews 1960-1976
Box 1 "Civil Liberties in the American Community" 1940
Box 1 "Commercial Speech and the First Amendment" 1977
Box 1 "Conscientious Objection and the Supreme Court" 1966
Box 1 "The Courts, the Press, and the Public" 1979
Box 1 Freedom and the Public 1965
Box 1 Freedom and the Public Materials 1965-1966
Box 1 "Graduate Students as Assistant Teachers" 1960s
Box 1 "Jane Addams and the American Democracy" 1960
Box 1 "Kantian Formalism and Civil Liberty" 1954
Box 1 "Labels and Libertarians" 1955
Box 1 "Moral Philosophy and Public Affairs" 1962
Box 1 "Privacy in the Burger Court" 1977
Box 1 "Public Administration and Public Speech" 1981
Box 1 "Public Speech and Libel Litigation: Are They Compatible?" 1986
Box 1 "Public Speech and the First Amendment" 1966
Box 1 "Public Speech in the Burger Court" 1977
Box 1 "Reconciliation of First Amendment Freedoms and Local Control Over the Moral Development of Minors" 1978
Box 1 "Religion in the Burger Court" 1977
Box 1 "Reporting to Parents" 1966
Box 1 "The Teacher as Informer" 1954
Box 1 "What is a University?" 1968
Box 1 Publications and Writings- Other Authors 1952-1993, undated
Teaching Materials
Box 1 Dartmouth College 1937-1953
Box 1 Syracuse University 1963-1964
Box 1 Syracuse University 1965-1975
Box 1 Unidentified Institution undated
Box 1 University of Chicago 1947-1959
Unpublished Writings by Donald Meiklejohn
Box 1 "Are Our Civil Liberties Threatened?" undated
Box 1 "The Clear and Present Danger Doctrine" undated
Box 1 "Comments on 'On Minutes to Midnight'" 1950
Box 1 "Education for Citizenship" 1937
Box 1 "The Human Right" undated
Box 1 "John Stuart Mill and the First Amendment" undated
Box 1 "Justice Black" undated
Box 1 "Liberalism and the Leviathan of Thomas Hobbes" undated
Box 1 "The Metropolis as a Political Problem" undated
Box 1 "Moral Education in a Pluralistic Society" undated
Box 1 "Philosophers and Citizens" 1963
Box 1 "We Are All Jeffersonians" undated
Box 1 "William James" BA Thesis, University of Wisconsin 1930

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