Arthur Garfield Hays (December 12, 1881 – December 14, 1954) was an American
lawyer
A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...
and champion of civil liberties issues, best known as a co-founder and general counsel of the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
and for participating in notable cases including the
Sacco and Vanzetti
Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, ...
trial. He was a member
of the
Committee of 48
The Committee of 48 was an American liberal political association established in 1919 in the hope of creating a new political party for social reform to stand in opposition to the increasingly conservatism of both major U.S. political parties, t ...
and a contributor to ''
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hu ...
''.
In 1937, he headed an independent investigation of an incident in which 19 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.
Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...
, when police fired at them. His commission concluded the police had behaved as a mob and committed a massacre.
[
]
[
]
Background
Arthur Garfield Hays was born on December 12, 1881, in
Rochester, New York
Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...
. His father and mother, both of German Jewish descent, belonged to prosperous families in the clothing manufacturing industry. In 1902, he graduated from
Columbia College, where he was one of the early members of the
Pi Lambda Phi fraternity. In 1905, he received an LLB from
Columbia Law School
Columbia Law School (Columbia Law or CLS) is the law school of Columbia University, a private Ivy League university in New York City. Columbia Law is widely regarded as one of the most prestigious law schools in the world and has always ranked i ...
and was admitted to the New York bar.
Career
In 1905, Hays formed a law firm with two former classmates. He and his partners gained prominence during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
representing interests of ethnic Germans in the US who were discriminated against because Germany was an enemy of the Allies during the war. In 1914-1915, he practiced law in London.
Hays was active in
civil liberties
Civil liberties are guarantees and freedoms that governments commit not to abridge, either by constitution, legislation, or judicial interpretation, without due process. Though the scope of the term differs between countries, civil liberties ma ...
issues. In 1920 (or as early as 1912
), was hired as general counsel for the
American Civil Liberties Union
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...
.
From this point, his career had two tracks: he vigorously defended the individual liberty of victims of discriminatory laws, and he also kept private work. He became a wealthy lawyer who represented the interests of power and fame (his more prominent clients ranged from
Wall Street
Wall Street is an eight-block-long street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs between Broadway in the west to South Street and the East River in the east. The term "Wall Street" has become a metonym for ...
brokers and best-selling authors to notorious gamblers and the
Dionne quintuplets
The Dionne quintuplets (; born May 28, 1934) are the first quintuplets known to have survived their infancy. The identical girls were born just outside Callander, Ontario, near the village of Corbeil. All five survived to adulthood.
The Di ...
).
Hays took part in numerous notable cases, including the
Sweet segregation case in Detroit as well as the
Scopes trial (often called the "monkey trial") in 1925,
in which a school teacher in Tennessee was tried for teaching evolution;
[
] the ''
American Mercury
''The American Mercury'' was an American magazine published from 1924Staff (Dec. 31, 1923)"Bichloride of Mercury."''Time''. to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured wri ...
'' censorship case (1926);
the
Sacco and Vanzetti
Nicola Sacco (; April 22, 1891 – August 23, 1927) and Bartolomeo Vanzetti (; June 11, 1888 – August 23, 1927) were Italian immigrant anarchists who were controversially accused of murdering Alessandro Berardelli and Frederick Parmenter, ...
case, in which two Italian
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessar ...
s in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
were convicted and executed in 1927 for a murder they denied committing;
and the
Scottsboro case, in which eight black men from
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = " Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...
were convicted and sentenced to death in 1931 for allegedly attacking two white women. Hays attended the
Reichstag trial in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
on behalf of
Georgi Dimitrov
Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov (; bg, Гео̀рги Димитро̀в Миха̀йлов), also known as Georgiy Mihaylovich Dimitrov (russian: Гео́ргий Миха́йлович Дими́тров; 18 June 1882 – 2 July 1949), was a Bulgarian ...
, a Bulgarian Communist accused by the Nazis in 1933 of burning the Reichstag.
[
Hays also defended labor. He defended coal miners in disputes in Pennsylvania and West Virginia (1922-1935), including the ]Anthracite Coal Strike of 1922
Anthracite, also known as hard coal, and black coal, is a hard, compact variety of coal that has a submetallic luster. It has the highest carbon content, the fewest impurities, and the highest energy density of all types of coal and is the hig ...
. He defended right-to-strike cases against Jersey City
Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.[CPGB
The Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB) was the largest communist organisation in Britain and was founded in 1920 through a merger of several smaller Marxist groups. Many miners joined the CPGB in the 1926 general strike. In 1930, the CPGB ...]
member) John Strachey against deportation. He led the plaintiff in '' Emerson Jennings vs. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania'' conspiracy case. He represented the Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
. He argued for the right not to salute the American flag.
In 1937, Hays was appointed to lead an independent investigation with a group (called the "Hays Commission") to study an incident in which 18 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce (, , , ) is both a city and a municipality on the southern coast of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.
Ponce, Puerto Rico's most populated city outside the San Juan metropolitan area, was founded on 12 August 1 ...
when police opened fire on them. They had gathered for a parade for which the permits had been withdrawn at the last minute. His commission concluded the police had behaved as a mob and committed a massacre.
From 1939 to 1943, he represented sociologist Jerome Davis in a libel suit filed against Curtis Publishing
The Curtis Publishing Company, founded in 1891 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, became one of the largest and most influential publishers in the United States during the early 20th century. The company's publications included the ''Ladies' Home J ...
, publishers of the ''Saturday Evening Post
''The Saturday Evening Post'' is an American magazine, currently published six times a year. It was issued weekly under this title from 1897 until 1963, then every two weeks until 1969. From the 1920s to the 1960s, it was one of the most widely ...
'' magazine and its reporter Benjamin Stolberg
Benjamin Stolberg (1891–1951) was an American journalist and labor activist.
Career
Stolberg worked as associate editor of '' The Bookman'', as well as a columnist for leading US newspapers, such as ''The New York Times'' and the ''New York ...
.[
]
Film censorship case over ''Whirlpool of Desire''
From the IMDB
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
entry for '' Remous'' (France, 1935) directed by Edmond T. Greville:
Albany, New York - Monday, January 23, 1939: "The French film ''Remous'' was shown Friday anuary 20to five judges of the New York State Appellate Division in proceedings in the attempt by Arthur Mayer
Arthur L. Mayer (March 28, 1886, Demopolis, Alabama - April 14, 1981, New York City) was an American film producer and film distributor who worked with Joseph Burstyn in distributing films directed by Roberto Rossellini and other famous Europ ...
and Joseph Burstyn to get a license to screen it in New York State. The picture has twice been denied a license, first in August 1936, when it was rejected as being "indecent," "immoral," and tending to "corrupt morals." It was again rejected in November 1937. In March 1938, it was screened for the New York Board of Regents The Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York is responsible for the general supervision of all educational activities within New York State, presiding over University of the State of New York and the New York State Education Depar ...
, which on April 14 disapproved application for a license. Hays, counsel for Mayer and Burstyn at yesterday's proceedings, ridiculed the objections of Irwin Esmond and the Regents to certain scenes, pointing out that the film was French and would appeal only to an educated audience. Counsel for the Regents based his plea on the film's theme of sex frustration, arguing that it would be unwise public policy to show it to all classes of people.
In November 1939, Mayer and Burstyn released the film in the US as ''Whirlpool of Desire''. Film censorship in the United States
Film censorship in the United States was a frequent feature of the industry almost from the beginning of the U.S. motion picture industry until the end of strong self-regulation in 1966. Court rulings in the 1950s and 1960s severely constrained g ...
was not overturned until the U.S. Supreme Court case, the '' Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson'' (the "Miracle Decision") in 1952.
Politics
Progressive Party
In 1924, Hays served as New York State chairman of the second Progressive Party.
Anti-McCarthyism
In 1951, Hays appeared on '' Longines Chronoscope'' to provide comments on the political activities of US Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican United States Senate, U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarth ...
. Hays stated: I think he is the most dangerous man in the United States. I think he Senator McCarthy is more dangerous to freedom in the United States than all the Communists we have in this country... I think he's dangerous, because without evidence, he is smearing a lot of respected and highly decent people.[
]
His greatest criticism regarded McCarthy's methods. He defended Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore (July 29, 1900 – May 31, 1989) was an American Orientalist and writer. He was an influential scholar of China and Central Asia, especially Mongolia. Although he never earned a college degree, in the 1930s he was editor of ''Pacif ...
and Philip Jessup but conceded that there were "a few" communists in the State Department
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other na ...
and cited Alger Hiss
Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in co ...
.
Personal life and death
Hays married Blanche Marks in 1908; they divorced in 1924, after having a daughter Lora.
He married Aline Davis Fleisher in 1924, and they had a daughter Jane. Aline Fleisher Hays died in 1944. Jane married the prominent American lawyer .
Hays died of a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
on December 14, 1954 at the age of 73.
Legacy
In 1958, New York University established the Arthur Garfield Hays Civil Liberties Program at its School of Law.[
]
Princeton University houses the Arthur Garfield Hays Papers.
Hays was a partner of Hays, St John & Buckley,[
] also known as Hays, St. John, Abramson & Heilbron, of which Osmond K. Fraenkel was later a member.[
]
Works
Hays wrote numerous books and articles. As a gifted writer and eloquent debater, he added his perspective to virtually every individual rights issue of his day. He wrote several books and essays about civil liberties issues. His autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
, entitled ''City Lawyer: The Autobiography of a Law Practice'' (1942), provides a colorful account of his more noteworthy cases. His articles and book reviews demonstrate his wide-ranging knowledge of a nation and a world experiencing dramatic change in the way individual rights were perceived.
* ''Let Freedom Ring'' (1928, rev. ed. 1937)
* ''Trial by Prejudice'' (1937)
* ''Democracy Works'' (1939)
* ''City Lawyer: The Autobiography of a Law Practice'' (1942)
References
External links
Arthur Garfield Hays Papers
held b
Princeton University Library Special Collections
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hays, Arthur Garfield
1881 births
1954 deaths
American activists
American autobiographers
20th-century American lawyers
American legal writers
Columbia Law School alumni
American Civil Liberties Union people
Columbia College (New York) alumni