Institute of Law records
Scope and Contents
The records of the Institute of Law range in date from 1924 to 1939, although the bulk of the material dates from 1928 to 1933. Most of the records detail efforts to acquire moral and financial support for the Institute. Also included are publications of the Institute, faculty correspondence and manuscripts (neither comprehensive nor complete), and letters from contemporary businessmen and legal figures. Many of the letters are brief replies to form letters, but some deal at length with ideas for the work of the Institute. Most of the records pertain to fundraising efforts, showing in detail the way that a large-scale fundraising operation was conducted at that time, as well as illustrating some of the administrative and managerial techniques of the Institute. The records of B. Howell Griswold and Edwin Baetjer, in particular, deal with the closing of the Institute and the controversy surrounding it. The record group has been arranged as follows:
Subgroup 1, Institute of Law, 1928-1939
Series 1, Fundraising and Promotion, 1928-1932
Series 2, Publications and Responses, 1929-1932
Subseries 1, Publications, 1929-1932
Subseries 2, Responses to Mass Mailings, 1929-1932
Series 3, Studies of Judicial Administration, 1929-1939
Subseries 1, New York Study, 1929-1933
Subseries 2, Ohio Study, 1929-1939
Subseries 3, Maryland Study, 1931
Series 4, Correspondence, 1928-1933
Subseries 1, Faculty Correspondence, 1927-1933
Subseries 2, General Correspondence, 1928-1933
Series 5, Administrative Records, 1928-1933
Subgroup 2, Edwin Baetjer, 1928-1933
Subgroup 3, B. Howell Griswold, 1924-1938
Subgroup 4, Donald Hammond, 1928-1933
Dates
- Creation: 1924-1939
Creator
- Institute of Law, The Johns Hopkins University (Organization)
Conditions Governing Use
Single copies may be made for research purposes. Researchers are responsible for determining any copyright questions. It is not necessary to seek our permission as the owner of the physical work to publish or otherwise use public domain materials that we have made available for use, unless Johns Hopkins University holds the copyright.
History
The Institute of Law of The Johns Hopkins University was established as a separate academic division in June 1928, after two years of active planning and twelve years of discussion. Walter Wheeler Cook, a visiting professor from Columbia Law School, was invited to Hopkins specifically for this task at the urging and with the financial support of Victor Morawetz. The Institute was to serve not as a traditional law school dedicated to the training of lawyers, but as a research center organized to study the structure and impact of the law and its administration.
The Institute began its work in September 1928 with four faculty members: Cook, Leon C. Marshall, Herman Oliphant, and Hessel Yntema. The purpose of the Institute was research; it was designed to have a minimum of bureaucratic organization, and the directorship was to rotate on a yearly basis among the faculty. Relying upon contemporary support for its activities, the Institute raised no endowment. Despite acclaim for its goals and achievements, the economic disaster of the Great Depression caused the demise of the Institute, as outside contributions dwindled and the resources of the University were strained to the breaking point. The Institute ceased operation in 1934 and was completely eliminated from the University's organization by 1935.
Bibliography:
Cook, Walter W. "Scientific Method and the Law." Johns Hopkins Alumni Magazine 15 (1927):213-236.
French, John C. A History of the University Founded by Johns Hopkins. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins Press, 1946.
Willoughby, W. W. "The Problem of a Law School at Hopkins." Johns Hopkins Alumni Magazine 3 (1915):95-101.
Extent
3.61 Cubic Feet (9 letter size document boxes, 1 letter half-size document box)
Language of Materials
English
Provenance
These records were found in disarray in the Gilman Hall Clock Tower. "Analysis of Comments on the Institute of Law" was transferred by the Special Collections Division, Milton S. Eisenhower Library. Edwin Baetjer's correspondence was transferred by Arthur Machen, of Venable, Baetjer and Howard.
Accession Number
79.45, 81.44, 89.23
Processing Information
Finding aid prepared by Deborah Jeffrey, Charles Russell, and Jennifer D'Urso.
- Title
- Institute of Law records
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid written in English
Repository Details
Part of the Special Collections Repository
The Sheridan Libraries
Special Collections
3400 N Charles St
Baltimore MD 21218 USA
specialcollections@lists.jhu.edu