Sam J. Ervin Papers, Subgroup B: Private Papers, 1898-1990

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Summary

Creator:
Ervin, Sam J. (Samuel James), 1896-1985.
Abstract:

Samuel James Ervin, Jr., was a Burke County, N.C., attorney, North Carolina legislator, judge, United States senator, and long-time champion of civil liberties. Ervin was first appointed to the North Carolina General Assembly in 1923, where he also served in 1925 and 1931. After the death of his brother Joseph W. Ervin (1901-1945), Ervin was appointed to the House of Representatives. In 1954, Ervin was appointed to the United States Senate, where he served on the Judiciary Committee, the Rackets Committee (Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor Management), and the Watergate Committee (Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities. The Private Papers Subgroup contains letters, subject files, financial material, and writings chiefly of Ervin and his wife Margaret. The bulk of the material is dated after his Senate appointment in 1954. Earlier items include letters from Ervin while he was stationed in France during World War I, 1917-1919; collegiate material from the University of North Carolina, 1913-1917, and Harvard University Law School, 1919-1922; and letters relating to Ervin's judicial appointments, 1930s-1954. Post-1954 items include letters from colleagues, family members, and others; subject files documenting his chief interests, including constitutional law, Watergate, the Equal Rights Amendment, and school desegregation; and speeches, articles, and books by and about Ervin. Also included are Ervin family history materials; biographical materials; items relating to the estates of Ervin family members; photographs of Ervin; films, videos, and audio tapes he recorded; and items relating to trips the Ervins made and to organizations in which they were active, especially the North Carolina Society of Washington, D.C.

Extent:
40350 items (63.0 linear feet)
Language:
English.
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

See biographical note in Sam J. Ervin Papers, Subgroup A: Senate Records (#3847A).

Scope and content:

Subgroup B contains the letters, subject files, financial material, and writings of Sam J. Ervin and his family. The bulk of the material dates after his Senate appointment in 1954.

Early items include letters from Ervin while he was stationed in France during World War I (1917-1919), collegiate material from the University of North Carolina (1913-1917) and Harvard University Law School (1919-1922), and letters relating to Ervin's judicial appointments (1930s-1954). The post-1954 items include letters, subject files, collected material, and writings. Files on Ervin's financial dealings with the William Morris Agency of New York City highlight his contracts with ABC News and American Express.

Writing show that Ervin was a prolific writer. He wrote numerous articles on the United States Constitution. He was the author of three books: The Whole Truth (a work on Watergate), Preserving the Constitution (autobiography); and Humor of a Country Lawyer. Ervin was also the subject of many books. The most acrimonious correspondence surrounds Richard L. Dabney's A Good Man: The Life of Sam J. Ervin (1975).

Ervin and his wife Margaret Bell Ervin maintained memberships in several historical and genealogical organizations, such as the Society of Mayflower Descendants, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Sons of the Confederacy. There are also family histories and genealogical materials about the Ervin family.

Acquisition information:

Received from Samuel James Ervin, Jr., 1979-1984; the estate of Samuel James Ervin, Jr., 1985-1989; and Jean Conyers Ervin, 1987.

Processing information:

Sam Ervin's Senate papers have been filed and described as Sam J. Ervin Papers, Subgroup A: Senate Records (#3847A).

Series 16 is not used.

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

Access to audio or moving image materials may require production of listening or viewing copies.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

No usage restrictions.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Sam J. Ervin Papers, Subgroup B: Private Papers #3847B, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu