This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | 1.5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 550 items) |
Abstract | Correspondence, newspaper clippings, and other material documenting the life of Lawrence Carmen Roush, salesman, social activist, and militant atheist. Roush wrote prolifically to newspaper editors about various social, economic, and religious issues, 1960s-1985. These papers consist largely of clippings of Roush's letters to editors of North Carolina newspapers concerning religion, capital punishment, civil rights, gun control, prison reform, and other matters; and material concerning a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina to force the removal of a prayer from the official state highway maps. |
Creator | Roush, Lawrence Carmen, 1920- |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
Processed by: Connie Cartledge, January 1986; Mark Beasley, January 1987
Encoded by: ByteManagers Inc., 2008
Back to TopThe following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Lawrence Carmen Roush was born 1 July 1920 in Elmira, New York, the only son of an illiterate, Italian immigrant. During World War II, he served three years in the United States Navy. After the war, he attended Sampson College, Sampson, New York, 1948-1949. He graduated from George Washington University in May 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science and began work on a master's degree there until his G. I. Bill funding ended in 1952.
From 1952 to 1954, Roush worked in the business department of the Library of Congress. In 1954 he became a traveling salesman for Lincoln Institute, a correspondence college in Illinois, retaining that position until 1979. (The organization went bankrupt in 1979.) During most of this period, he lived in Fayetteville and Wilson, North Carolina. In 1962, Roush began writing frequent letters to newspaper editors on various social, economic, and religious issues. Roush achieved much public attention because of his public opposition to religion and his dedication to Free Thought.
Back to TopCorrespondence, newspaper clippings, and other material documenting the life of Lawrence Carmen Roush, salesman, social activist, and militant atheist. Roush wrote prolifically to newspaper editors about various social, economic, and religious issues, 1960s-1985. These papers consist largely of clippings of Roush's letters to editors of North Carolina newspapers concerning religion, capital punishment, civil rights, gun control, prison reform, and other matters; and material concerning a suit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina to force the removal of a prayer from the official state highway maps.
Back to TopArrangement: chronological.
Letters chiefly to Roush from government and political officials, usually in response to Roush's letters to them. The letters to Roush are typically brief, formal replies with little substance. Notable correspondents include U. S. Supreme Court Justices Hugo L. Black, William J. Brennan, Jr., William O. Douglas, Abe Fortas, UNC President William Friday, Hubert H. Humphrey, James B. Hunt, Jr., James G. Martin, Richard M. Nixon, Nelson A. Rockefeller, and General W. C. Westmoreland.
Three items of interest are letters from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (30 October and 5 November 1963) relating to Roush's criticism of the bureau and J. Edgar Hoover, and one from James G. Martin (19 February 1985) responding to Roush's criticism about his apparent lack of interest and concern in aiding the poor. Correspondence about the "Motorist's Prayer" Case is in Series 3.
Folder 1 |
Correspondence 1963-1983 |
Folder 2a |
Correspondence 1985 |
Folder 2b |
Correspondence 1986 |
Clippings of Roush's letters to various newspaper editors, chiefly from North Carolina newspapers. Roush wrote on a wide range of social, economic, and religious issues. Topics include religion, capital punishment, civil rights, gun control, and prison reform. Clippings in folder 23 consist of biographical information about Roush. Roush gained public notoriety because of his militant atheism, public opposition to religion, and his dedication to Free Thought.
Folder 3-4
Folder 3Folder 4 |
Clippings 1962-1963 |
Folder 5 |
Clippings 1964 |
Folder 6 |
Clippings 1965 |
Folder 7 |
Clippings 1966 |
Folder 8 |
Clippings 1967 |
Folder 9 |
Clippings 1968 |
Folder 10-12
Folder 10Folder 11Folder 12 |
Clippings 1969 |
Folder 13-14
Folder 13Folder 14 |
Clippings 1970 |
Folder 15-16
Folder 15Folder 16 |
Clippings 1971-1972 |
Folder 17 |
Clippings 1973 |
Folder 18 |
Clippings 1974-1976 |
Folder 19 |
Clippings 1984-1986 |
Folder 20 |
Clippings Gun Control, 1963-1964, 1970, 1973-1974 |
Folder 21 |
Clippings Prison Reform, 1968-1971, 1974-1985 |
Folder 22 |
Clippings Religion, 1964, 1967, 1980 |
Folder 23 |
Clippings About Lawrence C. Roush, 1975, 1980, 1985 |
Correspondence, clippings, legal items, and other material relating chiefly to the "Motorist's Prayer" Case, a lawsuit brought by the North Carolina Civil Liberties Union to force the removal of a prayer from the official state highway map. Roush was a co-plaintiff in the case. Additional items include two copies of Roush's college newspaper (The Arrowhead/Sampson College, New York), and a copy of his student activities record at Sampson College.
Folder 24 |
"Motorist's Prayer" Case 1974 |
Folder 25 |
"Motorist's Prayer" Case 1975-1981 |
Folder 26 |
Miscellaneous, 1946, 1949, n.d. |