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This collection has access restrictions. For details, please see the restrictions.
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.
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Collection Overview
| Size | 105.0 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 40,000 items) |
| Abstract | Kenneth Royall was born in Goldsboro, N.C., in 1894. He served as the last U.S. secretary of war in 1947 and as the first secretary of the Army, 1947-1949. He also had an active law career in Goldsboro and Raleigh, N.C., and in New York. The collection includes speeches, writings, correspondence, audiovisual materials, and other papers reflecting Kenneth Royall's military career, his work as an attorney, his membership on private boards and federal commissions, his involvement in government activities and private organizations in New York and North Carolina, and his Democratic Party activities nationally and in North Carolina. There are also family and other personal materials, including scrapbooks and photograph albums. |
| Creator | Royall, Kenneth C. (Kenneth Claiborne), 1894-1971. |
| Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
| Language | English |
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Information For Users
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Processing Information
Processed by: Gregory Smith, Christopher Ryland, July 1994
Encoded by: Eben Lehman, April 2006
Updated by: Dawne Howard Lucas, December 2021
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Subject Headings
The 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.
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Biographical Information
Kenneth Claiborne Royall was born in Goldsboro, N.C., on 24 July 1894, the son of George Claiborne and Clara Howard Jones Royall. His father was a manufacturer and a leader in civic affairs.
Royall attended Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va. He entered the University of North Carolina in 1911 and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1914. At UNC, Royall was a member of Delta Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. In 1917, Royall also earned a LL.B. degree from Harvard Law School. He served as an editor of the Harvard Law Review from 1915 to 1917.
On 18 August 1917, Royall married Margaret Best. They had two children: Kenneth Claiborne Royall, Jr., and Margaret (Mrs. James Evans Davis), and four grandchildren.
In May 1917, Royall entered the Officers' Training Camp at Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery Reserve on 15 August 1917. He was assigned to the 317th Field Artillery, 81st Division, at Camp Jackson, S.C. On 17 January 1918, he was promoted to first lieutenant.
In August 1918, Royall sailed for France with the 317th Field Artillery, serving overseas until January 1919. Upon his return to the United States on 25 February 1919, he was honorably discharged.
Royall was admitted to the North Carolina Bar in 1916 and subsequently practiced law in Goldsboro, N.C., from 1919 to 1942 and in Raleigh, N.C., from 1931 to 1942. In 1937, he was a senior partner of Ehringhaus, Royall, Gosney, & Smith at Raleigh and Goldsboro. From 1938 to 1942, he was a senior partner of Royall, Gosney & Smith.
In 1926, Royall was elected to the North Carolina State Senate, where he was chairman of the Banking Committee. There he introduced the present North Carolina Bank Liquidation Statute. He also served as president of the North Carolina Bar Association, 1929-1930.
On 5 June 1942, Royall retired from his law practice in Goldsboro and Raleigh, was commissioned a colonel in the United States Army, and placed in charge of the War Department's legal services. In August 1942, Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed Royall defense counsel for eight German "saboteurs." The case reached the United States Supreme Court.
In May 1943, Royall was made deputy fiscal director of the Army Service Forces, Washington, D.C., and was promoted to brigadier general on 3 November 1943. In April 1945, he became special assistant to the secretary of war, and, on 9 November 1945, Royall took the oath of office as undersecretary of war, having been relieved from active duty the previous day. In November 1945, Royall also received the Distinguished Service Medal with the following citation:
"Brigadier General Kenneth C. Royall performed exceptionally meritorious services from May 1943 to November 1945 in positions of great responsibility as Deputy Fiscal Director, Army Service Forces, and as Special Assistant to the Secretary of War. He rendered highly valuable assistance in organizing the office of the Fiscal Director and field installations furnishing fiscal assistance to the Army, as well as in the formulation and execution of basic policies and operational procedures. As Special Assistant to the Secretary of War, he undertook certain assignments requiring him to act for the Secretary and Under Secretary. He maintained contact with the Department of Justice in fraud cases involving war procurement and related matters, and represented the War Department at Congressional hearings. In addition, he maintained liaison between the War Department and Congressional committees investigating various phases of procurement, supervised the selection of witnesses and presentation of evidence to these committees, coordinated visits of the legislative branch to War Department establishments, and recommended action designed to meet valid Congressional obligations. In all his important assignments, General Royall discharged his responsibilities with great effectiveness, acting in the best traditions of the military service and bringing great credit to himself and the United States Army."
On 18 July 1947, Royall was appointed secretary of war by President Truman. His nomination was confirmed by the Senate on 19 July 1947, and he took the oath of office on 24 July 1947. In September 1947, the secretary of war position was terminated and Royall was appointed secretary of the Army. He resigned as secretary of the Army on 27 April 1949.
In December 1949, Royall became a partner at the New York City law firm of Dwight, Harris, Koegel and Caskey. He was promoted to head of that firm in 1958. On 1 January 1968, Royall retired from his law practice.
On 25 May 1971, Kenneth Claiborne Royall died in Durham, N.C., at the age of 76.
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Scope and Content
Speeches, writings, correspondence, audiovisual materials, and other papers reflecting Kenneth C. Royall's military career, his work as an attorney, his membership on private boards and federal commissions, his involvement in government activities and private organizations in New York and North Carolina, and his Democratic Party activities nationally and in North Carolina. There are also family and other personal materials, including scrapbooks and photograph albums.
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Series Quick Links
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Series 1. Military Files, 1942-1949.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Material from Royall's service in World War II as well as material from his tenure in the Truman administration. Most of this material was originally classified either "Secret" or "Confidential," but is now declassified. (Note: military-related materials also are included in each of the other series.) Most of Royall's folder titles have been retained.
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Subseries 1.1. United States Army Files, 1942-1945.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Material from Royall's service in the Army, 1942-1945. Contents include documents from Royall's property accounting surveys for NATOUSA (North African Theater of Operations, United States Army), which included Italy and the Persian Gulf as well as North Africa. This 1944 trip took him to Italy, Iran, Bahrain, and Egypt, where he investigated the efficiency of the distribution of United States Army property. This distribution included the use of railroad depots in Iran, ports in Egypt, refugee and infantry rations in Italy, and oil wells in Bahrain. This material also includes the administrative organization of the Allied Command Commission (ACC) in Italy, the abuse of lend-lease programs in the Middle East, and legal wrangling over ARAMCO (Arab-American Oil Company) and BAPCO contracts.
Other material includes items relating punishment of war criminals, and Royall's legal representation of German "saboteurs" who had landed in New England. This material is largely correspondence with various general officers. Also included are song and poem parodies (especially of Rudyard Kipling) apparently composed by General Royall, journal entries, circulating memos, printed material, and summaries of books about punishing German war criminals.
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Subseries 1.2. Department of War/Army (Subject Files), 1945-1949.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Miscellaneous material from Royall's tenure in the of War and the Army departments, 1945-1949. Material includes copies of memos to General Marshall about the Marshall Plan, 1949 letters and memos about the situation in Korea, intelligence reports about global matters, routine and miscellaneous department files, letters of commendation and congratulation, and newspaper criticisms. Of special interest are files concerning atomic energy and its regulation, which include discussions of the Atomic Energy Act and Commission, the sharing of secrets with other governments, and a report by H. D. Smyth about military use of atomic energy. These files have been declassified from their original "Top Secret" designation.
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Subseries 1.3. Undersecretary of War Files: 1946-1947, 1946-1947.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Personal files, chiefly correspondence, created during Royall's service as Undersecretary of War, 1946-1947. Correspondence includes requests for help from civilians and servicemen, including many enlisted men in post-war Europe and Japan who were dissatisfied with how they had been treated. The Army in general was in a period of transition, and this state of affairs is reflected in the correspondence. There are also letters requesting the location of missing relatives and soldiers MIA. This subseries also includes subject files that chiefly deal with administrative matters.
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Subseries 1.4. Audiovisual Materials, 1944 and undated.
Processing information: Materials added to finding aid in December 2017. Titles compiled from original containers and title cards.
Audiovisual materials related to Kenneth C. Royall's military career. Materials consist of a sound recording on flexi disc that was created by Kenneth C. Royall while he was in the army. The flexi disc features spoken word by Royall about his trips to Africa and Asia, and was designed to easily ship in the mail. Also included is a motion picture newsreel that was produced by Paramount News.
| Audiodisc D-4651/1 |
"Entry into Army, Trip to Africa and Asia", 1944Flexi disc |
| Film F-4651/1 |
Royall Takes Over16mm motion picture film Newsreel produced by Paramount News. Found in box addressed from Robert Denton. Box reads: "Subjects contained in the package: Royall and Patterson" |
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Series 2. Activities Files, 1916-1970.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Included are correspondence, memoranda, reports, financial records, and notes relating to Royall's legal career, files reflecting his membership on private boards and commissions of the national and state governments, and his various political activities.
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Series 3. Speeches, 1943-1963.
Arrangement: chronological.
Transcripts and drafts of speeches by Royall. Other files include published speech excerpts and research notes.
| Box 26 |
Speeches, June 1943-May 1946 |
| Box 27 |
Speeches, May-October 1946 |
| Box 28 |
Speeches, October 1946-May 1947 |
| Box 29 |
Speeches, May-October 1947 |
| Box 30 |
Speeches, October 1947-January 1998 |
| Box 31 |
Speeches, January-April 1948 |
| Box 32 |
Speeches, April-September 1948 |
| Box 33 |
Speeches, September 1948-April 1949 |
| Box 34 |
Speeches: Miscellaneous, 1949-1953 |
| Box 35 |
Speeches: Miscellaneous, 1950-1963 |
| Box 36 |
Military Procurement Speeches, 1950 |
| Box 37 |
Military Procurement Speeches: Correspondence |
| Box 38 |
Speech Excerpts |
| Box 39 |
Speech Data: Research |
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Series 4. Writings by Kenneth Royall, 1951-1964.
Typed drafts of a book and articles, published versions of articles, and other items relating to Royall's writings.
| Box 40 |
Book: The Reminiscences of Kenneth Claiborne Royall (1964) and Research notes |
Journal articles and other writings |
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Series 5. Miscellaneous Correspondence, 1943-1971.
Arrangement: as received.
Chiefly business and personal correspondence of Kenneth Royall, including many congratulatory letters, holiday and get-well cards, and invitations to parties and functions. There is a great deal of correspondence between Royall and his brother George Claiborne Royall, and much correspondence concerning Royall's children, grandchildren, and mother Clara Royall Caparn. Most items are post-1950, when Royall had returned to private life. Much of the correspondence is collected into expandable folders, and the contents of these folders have been grouped together. Individual folders are listed separately. Royall's folder labels have been retained. Note that materials have not be organized chronologically or alphabetically.
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Series 6. Other Personal Papers, 1920-1971.
Arrangement: alphabetical.
Personal and miscellaneous records of Royall and his family. Included are correspondence, published and unpublished biographical sketches, invitations, newspaper clippings, and diaries.
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Series 7. Scrapbooks/Photograph Albums, 1940-1970.
Scrapbooks and photo albums dating from the 1940s-1960s. Included are photo albums documenting the atomic blasts in Nagasaki and atomic tests in the South Pacific. Most of these volumes are contain newspaper clippings of Royall, documenting his service and the various controversies associated with him and his role in the Army. Volumes also contain invitations to society and state affairs. Highlights of materials in oversize (S) volumes are detailed below.
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/1 |
Army Secretariat Alumni Conference, 1963Includes photograph of former Army Secretaries with Cyrus Vance (color) and photograph of General Royall with Secretary Cyrus Vance (black-and-white). |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/2 |
Scrapbook, Secretary of the Army, 1947-1949Includes clippings, invitations, thank-you notes, social photographs, etc. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/3 |
Scrapbook, Undersecretary of War, 1946Includes photograph (black-and-white) of Truman with Royall and General Larkin. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/4 |
Philippine Republic Inauguration Commemorative Special Issues, 1946Contains newspaper and magazine special issues published of 4 July 1946. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/5 |
YWCA of the City of New York Building and Program Fund, 1950-1951Includes photographs and clippings relating to Kenneth C. Royall, General Chair, and photograph (black-and-white) of Royall with sportscaster Red Barber. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/6 |
FBI: courtroom photographs, saboteur trial: Department of Justice, 1942Includes eight rare court photographs (black-and-white) of the attorneys and the alleged perpetrators; TLS, personal and confidential, J. Edgar Hoover to Royall, enclosing photos; photograph (black-and-white) of Lloyd N. Cutler of the attorney general's office (rear view). |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/7 |
Scrapbook, Undersecretary/Secretary of War, 1946-1947Includes clippings, press releases, and taped in photographs (black-and-white). |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/8 |
Scrapbook, Margaret B. Royall, 1946-1958Includes clippings, invitations, programs, and photographs (black-and-white) of Royall overseas; ALS, Secretary of Defense James Forrestal to Mrs. Royall, January 1947. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/9 |
Scrapbook, Scott Field, Illinois Army Air Force Day, Aug. 1, 1946. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/10 |
Scrapbook, Margaret B. Royall, ca. 1949Includes clippings, invitations, programs, photographs (black-and-white); ANS, get-well note of James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, to Mrs. Royall; telegram from Perle Mestal photos (back-and-white) of the Royalls' visit to West Point, 1949. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/11 |
Scrapbook, European Trip, Mrs. Royall, 1948-1949Includes photographs (black-and-white) of the Royalls with Pope Pius XII. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/12 |
Scrapbook, General Omar Bradley Party, 24 July 1948Contains about 15 photographs (black-and-white) of Bradley with various guests. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/13 |
Scrapbook, Saboteur Trial, July-August 1942Contains clippings only. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/14 |
Scrapbook, New York State Committee for White House Conference on Education, 1955. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/15 |
Scrapbook, Margaret Royall, March 1948-November 1948Includes clippings, invitations programs, photographs (black-and-white)]; photo (black-and-white) of Kenneth Royall with Truman at Army Day Parade, 1948. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/16 |
Scrapbook, Snowbound Operations, 1949, Army and blizzard of 1949. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/17 |
Scrapbook, Democratic Convention/Truman Campaign/Inauguration, 1949Includes six items of Truman paraphernalia (buttons, badges, inauguration souvenirs). |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/18 |
Scrapbook, Margaret Royall, 1947-1948Includes photograph (black-and-white) of Secretary Royall with General of the Army Eisenhower (2); photograph (black-and-white) of Mrs. Royall with Cecil B. DeMille and Dorothy Lamour; photograph (black-and-white) of Royall with General Leslie Groves, Director of Manhattan Project; and photograph (black-and-white) of Eisenhower swearing in Omar Bradley with Truman present, 1948. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/19 |
Scrapbook, 1947Contains news clippings, schedules, and photographs (black-and-white) of Secretary of the Army Royall, including many photographs and clippings of the Goldsboro (N.C) Centennial, 1947. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/20 |
Scrapbook, ca. 1948-1959: clippings, programs, and photographs chiefly of Royall's later career; TNS, 9 April 1956, President Eisenhower to Mrs. Royall, signed "DE"; photograph (b&w) of John Wayne and Mrs. Royall, Los Angeles, 1958. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/21 |
Scrapbook, Undersecretary Royall in Philippine Islands, 1946Includes photographs (black-and-white) of Japanese P.O.W. Camp on Luzon; photographs (black-and-white) of Japanese prisoner of wars on Corregidor Island; and photographs (black-and-white) of woman's stockade, Japanese prisoner of war camp, Luzon. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/22 |
Scrapbook: McBarron, H. Charles. The American Soldier , print. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/23 |
Scrapbook, New York State Committee for the White House Conference on Education. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/24 |
Scrapbook, Undersecretary of War Royall's Tour of Overseas Facilities, 1947Includes clippings and unidentified photographs (black-and-white) of sites and cities visited. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/25 |
Scrapbook, Margaret Royall, Football Season, 1948. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/26 |
Scrapbook, Undersecretary Royall's Tour of Overseas Facilities, 1946Includes eight photographs (black-and-white) of Bikini Atoll natives relocated to Kwajalein and six photographs (black-and-white) of B-26 bombers exploded as salvage near Wiesbaden, Germany. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/27 |
Scrapbook, "Operation Crossroads," 1946)Includes limited edition photographs by the Air Photo unit of the 58th Wing of the Army Air Forces, "charged with obtaining photographic records of atomic energy's destructiveness, its potentialities and possible defense against it" and record of the "Able" and "Baker" atomic test bombings at Bikini Atoll. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/28 |
Scrapbook of Secretary Royall's Tour of Alaska/Far East/Pacific Installations. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/29 |
Scrapbook, European Trip, December 1948-January 1949Includes portrait photograph of Attorney General Tom Clark, signed and inscribed, 1950. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/30 |
Scrapbook, Congratulations Received On Appointment as Secretary of WarIncludes telegraphed message, 19 July 1947, noted and signed by President Truman. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/31 |
Scrapbook, Secretary of War Royall, 1948-1949Includes TNS, 13 November 1948, President Truman to Kenneth Royall; TLS, 8 December 1948, General Douglas MacArthur to Secretary Royall; Truman Inaugural Commemorative License Plates, 1949 (2); TLS, 21 April 1949, Truman accepting Royall's resignation; TNS, 15 September 1950, Truman note to Kenneth Royall; TNS, 23 September 1950, Truman thank-you to Royall; TNS, 12 January 1951, Truman thank-you to Royall; TLS, 16 January 1951, Truman brief letter to Royall; TNS, 19 January 1951, Truman brief note to Royall; TNS, 1 February 1951, Truman note to Royall; TLS, 7 April 1951, General Dwight Eisenhower to Royall; TLS, 27 June 1951, Truman to Royall, about Acheson; TLS, 29 June 1951, Secretary of State Acheson to Royall; TNS, 18 July 1951, General Eisenhower, congratulating Royall; TLS, 27 September 1951, Chief Justice Vinson to Royall. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/32 |
Scrapbook, Undersecretary of War, November 1945-July 1946Includes TNS, 20 December 1945, Chief of Staff Eisenhower to Royall. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/33 |
Scrapbook, Margaret Royall, Nov. 1945-July 1946Includes photographs (black-and-white), Justice Frankfurter swearing in Royall (2). |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/34 |
Scrapbook, Railroad Strike, 1948. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/35 |
Scrapbook, Secretary of the Army's Visit to Japan, February 1949. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/36 |
Scrapbook, Margaret Royall, 1947. |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/37 |
Scrapbook, Margaret Royall, 1948-1949.Includes TNS, 10 November 1948, General Eisenhower to Mrs. Royall; photograph (black-and-white), the Royalls with General Eisenhower, 1949 |
| Oversize Volume SV-4651/38 |
Scrapbook, Margaret Royall: White House, Forrestal Party, Christmas 1948. |
Box 69-70
Box 69Box 70 |
Scrapbooks/photograph albums |
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