Donald Richberg
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Donald Randall Richberg (July 10, 1881 - November 27, 1960)Ingham, John N. ''Biographical Dictionary of American Business Leaders.'' Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group, 1983. Purvis, Thomas L., ed. ''A Dictionary of American History.'' Indianapolis, Ind.: Wiley-Blackwell, 1997. was an
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, civil servant, and
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who was one of
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Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's key aides and who played a critical role in the
New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
. He co-wrote the
National Industrial Recovery Act The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also e ...
, was general counsel and executive director of the
National Recovery Administration The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was a prime agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in 1933. The goal of the administration was to eliminate "cut throat competition" by bringing industry, labor, and governmen ...
.Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M. ''The Age of Roosevelt, Vol. 2: The Coming of the New Deal.'' Paperback ed. New York: Mariner Books, 2003. (Originally published 1958.) McKenna, Marian Cecilia. ''Franklin Roosevelt and the Great Constitutional War: The Court-Packing Crisis of 1937.'' New York: Fordham University Press, 2002. He also co-authored the
Railway Labor Act The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law on US labor law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, enacted in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration, and media ...
, the Norris-LaGuardia Act, and the Taft-Hartley Act.Nelson, Daniel. "The AFL and the Challenge of Company Unionism, 1915-1937." In ''Nonunion Employee Representation: History, Contemporary Practice, and Policy.'' Bruce E. Kaufman and Daphne Gottlieb Taras, eds. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 2000. Cushman, Barry. ''Rethinking the New Deal Court: The Structure of a Constitutional Revolution.'' New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.


Early life and career

Donald Richberg was born in July 1881 in
Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in and the county seat of Knox County, Tennessee, Knox County in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 United States census, Knoxville's population was 190,740, making it the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Di ...
, to John Carl and Eloise Olivia (née Randall) Richberg. His grandfather, Louis Richberg, and his father had migrated from
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to the U.S. in 1851. His grandfather set up shop as a merchant in New York City before moving to
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
,
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
, in 1854 and starting a meatpacking business. Richberg's father became a corporate attorney and later represented the City of Chicago. His grandmother, Mirenda Briggs Randall, and his mother were both physicians. His sister was the aviator
Leda Richberg-Hornsby Leda Richberg-Hornsby (November 1886 – August 25, 1939)
''New York Times''. Aug 26, 1939.
was an A ...
. Donald Richberg graduated from a Chicago public high school, received a
bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
from the
University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in 1901, and a J.D. from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1904. He met Elizabeth Harriet Herrick while at Harvard, and they married in 1906; they separated in 1915, and divorced in 1917 after she left him. He soon married Lynette Mulvey, but they divorced in 1924. The same year, he married Florence Weed (she survived him). They had one daughter."Donald Richberg of N.R.A. Is Dead." ''Associated Press.'' November 28, 1960. Richberg and his father established a
law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to r ...
, Richberg & Richberg, in Chicago. In 1913,
Harold L. Ickes Harold LeClair Ickes ( ; March 15, 1874 – February 3, 1952) was an American administrator, politician and lawyer. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for nearly 13 years from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold th ...
joined the firm. His increasingly ill father gave up the practice of law in 1915, and Morgan Davies and John S. Lord joined the firm (now called Richberg, Ickes, Davies & Lord). He was named a special state's attorney from 1913 to 1915 and assisted the City of Chicago with its extensive litigation against the People's Gas Company, and from 1916 to 1919 was a
special master In the law of the United States, a special master is generally a subordinate official appointed by a judge to ensure judicial orders are followed, or in the alternative, to hear evidence on behalf of the judge and make recommendations to the jud ...
for a Chicago city
court of chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the Common law#History, common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over ...
. Richberg's first foray into politics was in 1905. Becoming involved in
progressive politics Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techn ...
, he became a close associate of
Jane Addams Laura Jane Addams (September 6, 1860 May 21, 1935) was an American settlement activist, reformer, social worker, sociologist, public administrator, and author. She was an important leader in the history of social work and women's suffrage ...
and
Charles Edward Merriam Charles Edward Merriam Jr. (1874–1953) was an American professor of political science at the University of Chicago, founder of the behavioralism, behavioral approach to political science, a trainer of many graduate students, a prominent intellec ...
, and campaigned heavily for
Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne (October 12, 1853 – May 24, 1937) was an American politician who was the 24th Governor of Illinois from 1913 to 1917 and previously served as the 38th mayor of Chicago from April 5, 1905 to 1907. Dunne is the onl ...
in the mayoral race that fall.Davis, Allen F. ''The Social Workers and the Progressive Party, 1912-1916.'' ''American Historical Review.'' 69:3 (April 1964); O'Neill, William L. ''Feminism in America: A History.'' 2d ed. Piscataway, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1989. ; McGerr, Michael E. ''A Fierce Discontent: The Rise and Fall of the Progressive Movement in America, 1870-1920.'' New York: Simon and Schuster, 2003. ; Davis, Allen F. ''Spearheads for Reform: The Social Settlements and the Progressive Movement, 1890-1914.'' 3d ed. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1984. ; McCarthy, Michael P. "Prelude to Armageddon: Charles E. Merriam and the Chicago Mayoral Election of 1911." ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society.'' November 1974. Along with Ickes, he helped form the Progressive-Republican League of Illinois, and became an active member of the
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Italy ...
nationally.Rollins, Albert Brooks. ''Roosevelt and Howe.'' Reprint ed. Piscataway, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 2001.


Great Railroad Strike of 1922

In 1922, Richberg became nationally famous for his involvement in the
Great Railroad Strike The Great Railroad Strike of 1877, sometimes referred to as the Great Upheaval, began on July 14 in Martinsburg, West Virginia, after the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad (B&O) cut wages for the third time in a year. This strike finally ended 52 day ...
. In 1920, Richberg became general counsel for the Railway Employees' Department. In this capacity, he served as the primary attorney for the striking railway unions, and led the opposition to the "Daughtery injunction." Deeply angered by what he perceived to be the injunction's unconstitutional infringement on worker rights, Richberg co-authored legislation which in 1926 was enacted as the
Railway Labor Act The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law on US labor law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, enacted in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration, and media ...
. In 1926, Richberg became counsel for the
Railway Labor Executives' Association Railway Labor Executives' Association (RLEA) was a federation of rail transport labor unions in the United States and Canada. It was founded in 1926 with the purpose of acting as a legislative lobbying and policy advisory body.Galenson, 1960, p. 5 ...
, a lobbying group of railway unions. In this capacity, he helped draft the Norris-La Guardia Act, federal legislation which was enacted by Congress in 1932 and which banned labor injunctions. Morris, Charles. '' The Blue Eagle At Work: Reclaiming Democratic Rights in the American Workplace.'' Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press, 2005. Schlesinger, Jr., Arthur M. ''The Age of Roosevelt: The Crisis of the Old Order, 1919-1933.'' New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003. (Originally published in 1957.) In an attempt to injure the bill's chances for passage,
Secretary of Labor The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all ot ...
William N. Doak William Nuckles Doak (December 12, 1882October 23, 1933) was an American labor leader. He was the Vice-President of the Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen and served as Secretary of Labor. He died of cardiovascular disease in McLean, Virginia si ...
(in a meeting which included representatives of the
National Association of Manufacturers The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is an advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C., with additional offices across the United States. It is the nation's largest manufacturing industrial trade association, representing 14,000 s ...
) offered Richberg a federal judgeship if he would end his support for the bill. Richberg refused. His experiences drafting these successful federal laws led many to consider Richberg to be the foremost expert on labor law by 1932.


Federal service

In September 1932, Richberg, Ickes, Fred C. Howe,
Felix Frankfurter Felix Frankfurter (November 15, 1882 – February 22, 1965) was an Austrian-American jurist who served as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1939 until 1962, during which period he was a noted advocate of judicia ...
, and
Henry A. Wallace Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, farmer, and businessman who served as the 33rd vice president of the United States, the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, and the 10th U.S. S ...
organized the National Progressive League to support
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Franklin D. Roosevelt for President of the United States. After Roosevelt's election in November 1932, Richberg worked on the
presidential transition team In the United States, a presidential transition is the process during which the president-elect of the United States prepares to take over the administration of the federal government of the United States from the incumbent President of the Un ...
and for the new administration during
the Hundred Days The Hundred Days (french: les Cent-Jours ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition, marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration ...
, drafting legislation. In this capacity Richberg was called upon to help draft the
National Industrial Recovery Act The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 (NIRA) was a US labor law and consumer law passed by the 73rd US Congress to authorize the president to regulate industry for fair wages and prices that would stimulate economic recovery. It also e ...
(NIRA) along with
Hugh S. Johnson Hugh Samuel Johnson (August 5, 1882 – April 15, 1942) was a United States Army officer, businessman, speech writer, government official and newspaper columnist. He was a member of the Brain Trust of Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1932 to 1934. H ...
,
Raymond Moley Raymond Charles Moley (September 27, 1886 – February 18, 1975) was an American political economist. Initially a leading supporter of the New Deal, he went on to become its bitter opponent before the end of the Great Depression. Early life and c ...
,
Rexford Tugwell Rexford Guy Tugwell (July 10, 1891 – July 21, 1979) was an American economist who became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust", a group of Columbia University academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to R ...
,
Jerome Frank Jerome New Frank (September 10, 1889 – January 13, 1957) was an American legal philosopher and author who played a leading role in the legal realism movement. He was Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and a United States circu ...
,
Charles Wyzanski Charles Edward Wyzanski Jr. (May 27, 1906 – September 3, 1986) was a United States federal judge, United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. Education and career Born in Boston, Massachu ...
and
Bernard Baruch Bernard Mannes Baruch (August 19, 1870 – June 20, 1965) was an American financier and statesman. After amassing a fortune on the New York Stock Exchange, he impressed President Woodrow Wilson by managing the nation's economic mobilization in ...
.Watkins, T.H. ''The Hungry Years: A Narrative History of the Great Depression in America.'' New York: Macmillan, 2000. .Hawley, Ellis Wayne. ''The New Deal and the Problem of Monopoly: A Study in Economic Ambivalence.'' Reprinted 2d ed. New York: Fordham University Press, 1995. Moley asked Richberg to assist him in putting final touches on the bill after various competing drafts had been reconciled, and Richberg was largely responsible for drafting Title I, Section 7(a)—which guaranteed collective bargaining rights for workers and unions.Kennedy, David M. ''Freedom from Fear: The American People in Depression and War, 1929-1945.'' Paperback ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 2001.


National Recovery Administration and Presidential councils

On June 20, 1933, at the request of Hugh S. Johnson, President Roosevelt appointed Richberg general counsel of the
National Recovery Administration The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was a prime agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR) in 1933. The goal of the administration was to eliminate "cut throat competition" by bringing industry, labor, and governmen ...
(NRA), the agency established to implement NIRA. Richberg greatly feared that the Act he had helped author was unconstitutional, and spent much of his time in office trying to avoid bringing cases to trial or allowing them to advance through the appellate courtsVadney, Thomas E. ''The Wayward Liberal: A Political Biography of Donald Richberg.'' Lexington, Ky.: The University Press of Kentucky, 1970. As general counsel, Richberg also was tasked with implementing and defending Section 7(a). Richberg, like NRA Administrator Hugh Johnson, believed Section 7(a) would be self-implementing. But both men were proven wrong: A massive wave of union organizing occurred, and employer resistance to Section 7(a) rights led to employer and union violence, strikes, and
general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...
s that threatened to disrupt economic recovery. On August 5, 1933, just 46 days after the passage of the NIRA, President Roosevelt established the
National Labor Board The National Labor Board (NLB) was an independent agency of the United States Government established on August 5, 1933, to handle labor dispute A labor dispute is a disagreement between an employer and employees regarding the terms of employme ...
(NLB) to take over the implementation of Section 7(a). Richberg openly opposed the National Labor Board and its successor agency (the "first"
National Labor Relations Board The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States with responsibilities for enforcing U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the Natio ...
, established on June 29, 1934).Vittoz, Stanley. ''New Deal Labor Policy and the American Industrial Economy''. Chapel Hill, N.C.: University of North Carolina Press, 1987. In direct contradiction of NLB policy and rulings, he publicly declared that Section 7(a) did not prohibit
company union A company or "yellow" union is a worker organization which is dominated or unduly influenced by an employer, and is therefore not an independent trade union. Company unions are contrary to international labour law (see ILO Convention 98, Article ...
s or the
closed shop A pre-entry closed shop (or simply closed shop) is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times to remain employed. This is different fro ...
, opposed the NLB's concept of representational exclusivity, opposed any attempt to impose a requirement of
good faith In human interactions, good faith ( la, bona fides) is a sincere intention to be fair, open, and honest, regardless of the outcome of the interaction. Some Latin phrases have lost their literal meaning over centuries, but that is not the case ...
bargaining on employers. Even as a national strike of 200,000 auto workers seemed imminent in February 1934,Phelan, Craig. ''William Green: Biography of a Labor Leader.'' Albany, N.Y.: State University of New York Press, 1989. ; Fine, Sidney. ''Automobile Under the Blue Eagle: Labor, Management, and the Automobile Manufacturing Code.'' Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, 1963. Richberg joined with Johnson to issue a "clarification" of Section 7(a) in which they declared that company unions were acceptable under federal labor policy. On June 30, 1934, President Roosevelt announced that Richberg was taking a leave of absence from the NRA to become director of the newly created Industrial Emergency Committee. Roosevelt was experimenting with a number of coordinating bodies to assist in coordinating economic recovery efforts. He created an Executive Council on July 11, 1933, composed of most Cabinet heads and the leaders of most newly created economic recovery agencies "to provide for the orderly presentation of business and to coordinate inter-agency problems of organization and work of the new governmental agencies". On November 17, 1933, he created a similar coordinating body called the National Emergency Council, composed of four key Cabinet secretaries and the heads of six economic recovery agencies, to coordinate and make "more efficient and productive the work of the numerous field agencies of the Government established under, and for the purpose of carrying into effect" the provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the
Agricultural Adjustment Act The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant on part ...
, and the
Federal Emergency Relief Act The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Admi ...
. Now, through an
Executive Order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
, Roosevelt made Richberg director of the Industrial Emergency Committee, composed of the secretaries of the Interior and Labor and the heads of the NRA and
Federal Emergency Relief Administration The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progress Adm ...
, to "make recommendations to the President ... with respect to problems of relief, public works, labor disputes and industrial recovery and to study and coordinate the handling of joint problems affecting these activities." At the same time, Roosevelt put Richberg in charge of the Executive Council and the National Emergency Council, placed him over the
Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...
. His extensive power earned Richberg the sobriquet of "assistant president." But Richberg's role didn't last. The Executive Council was merged with the National Emergency Council and the Industrial Emergency Committee was made a subcommittee of the new body in October 1934. By the end of December 1934, Richberg had resigned from his role as "assistant president" after political attacks from others in the administration.


Return to NRA

Richberg also returned to the NRA. NRA Administrator Hugh Johnson was showing signs of mental breakdown due to the extreme pressure and workload of running the National Recovery Administration. Johnson's increasingly erratic behavior, frequent policy about-faces, and abusive behavior toward subordinates aliented Richberg, who began asking President Roosevelt to fire or replace the Administrator. After two meetings with Roosevelt and an abortive resignation attempt, Johnson resigned on September 24, 1934. Three days later, Roosevelt replaced the position of Administrator with a new National Industrial Recovery Board,"9.2.1 Records of the National Industrial Recovery Board." ''Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives of the United States.'' 3 vols. Compiled by Robert B. Matchette, et al. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1995.
/ref> of which Richberg was named Executive Director. As head of the Board, however, Richberg engaged in double-dealing, lying to the President about the views of his subordinates and agreeing to his staff's requests that he raise issues with the President and later refusing to do so. He also took increasingly pro-business policy stands. For example, although a majority of the National Industrial Recovery Board had agreed to let the automobile industry code lapse (so that a new code might be negotiated) and to abolish the Automobile Labor Board, Richberg overruled the majority and persuaded Roosevelt to continue the status quo. Labor unions and the NRA staff were outraged. Nonetheless, when the chairmanship of the National Industrial Recovery Board came open in the spring of 1935, labor and most Roosevelt advisors grudgingly agreed to ask Roosevelt to name Richberg the new chairman. With the NIRA due to
sunset Sunset, also known as sundown, is the daily disappearance of the Sun below the horizon due to Earth's rotation. As viewed from everywhere on Earth (except the North and South poles), the equinox Sun sets due west at the moment of both the spring ...
on June 15, 1935, Richberg went ahead with plans to reorganize NRA in order to improve the law's chances of reauthorization. But on May 27, 1935, the
U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
held Title I of the Act unconstitutional in ''
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States ''A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States'', 295 U.S. 495 (1935), was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that invalidated regulations of the poultry industry according to the nondelegation doctrine and as an invalid use ...
,'' 295 U.S. 495 (1935), making the issue moot. A
severability In law, severability (sometimes known as salvatorius, from Latin) refers to a provision in a contract or piece of legislation which states that if some of the terms are held to be illegal or otherwise unenforceable, the remainder should still apply ...
clause enabled NRA to continue functioning to some degree, but the vast majority of its regulatory work was now no longer possible. President Roosevelt terminated the Board on June 15, 1935, and replaced it with an Administrator again. Richberg resigned the next day.


Later life

Richberg's later life was marked by increasing conservatism and anti-labor attitudes, the practice of law, and writing. He attempted in 1936 to establish his own law firm in Washington, D.C., but this failed. He joined an existing firm, which took the name Davies, Richberg, Beebe, Busick & Richardson."Visitor to Mexico." ''Time.'' March 20, 1939.
The firm was later known as Davies, Richberg, Tydings, Landa & Duff. See: "Donald Richberg of N.R.A. Is Dead." ''Associated Press.'' November 28, 1960.
He was frequently consulted by members of Congress for his expertise in drafting legislation, and played a major role in authoring the Taft-Hartley Act. In 1956, he helped author a bill introduced into the
Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 161 ...
which would have stopped
school desegregation School integration in the United States is the process (also known as desegregation) of ending race-based segregation within American public and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and rema ...
. From 1949 to 1952 he was a lecturer at the
University of Virginia School of Law The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law or UVA Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as part of his "academical v ...
. Donald Richberg died at his home in
Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...
, on November 27, 1960.


Writings

Richberg was a widely published essayist, novelist, poet, and non-fiction author. His more well-known books include:
*''Compulsory Unionism: The New Slavery.'' Published posthumously, 1972. *''Donald R. Richberg's story: The Mexican Oil Seizure.'' Arrow Press, 1939. *''G. Hovah Explains.'' National Home Library Foundation, 1940. *''Government and Business Tomorrow.'' Harper & Brothers, 1943. *''Guilty!: The Confession of Franklin D. Roosevelt.'' Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1936. *''In the Dark.'' Forbes & company, 1912. *''Labor Union Monopoly: A Clear and Present Danger.'' H. Regnery Co., 1957. *''A Man Of Purpose.'' Kessinger Publishing, 1922. *''The Murder of a Candidate.'' National Small Business Men's Association, 1952. *''My Hero: The Autobiography of Donald Richberg.'' G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1954. *''Old Faith and Fancies New.'' Jarman Press, 1949. *''Poems of Donald R. Richberg.'' American Natural Gas Company, 1959. *''The Rainbow.'' Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., 1936. *''The Shadow Men.'' Forbes & Company, 1911. *''Tents of the Mighty.'' Willett, Clark & Colby, 1930. *''Who Wins In November.'' 1916.
He also wrote the popular song ''Smoke Dreams.''


Notes


Further reading

* Annunziata, Frank. "Donald R. Richberg and American Liberalism: An Illinois Progressive's Critique of the New Deal and Welfare State." ''Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society'' 67.5 (1974): 530-547
online
* Gerber, Larry G. ''The Limits of Liberalism: Josephus Daniels, Henry Stimson, Bernard Baruch, Donald Richberg, Felix Frankfurter and the Development of the Modern American Political Economy'' (1983)
online
* Vadney, Thomas E. ''The Wayward Liberal: A Political Biography of Donald Richberg'' (University Press of Kentucky, 2014).


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richberg, Donald R. 1881 births 1960 deaths Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel American Lutherans American people of German descent People from Knoxville, Tennessee Lawyers from Chicago Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., government officials University of Chicago alumni Harvard Law School alumni Illinois Republicans American trade union leaders National Recovery Administration Illinois Progressives (1912) Writers from Chicago American male writers