Donald Richberg
This article cites its page references.(August 2022) ) |
Donald Richberg | |
---|---|
Born | Donald Randall Richberg July 10, 1881 |
Died | November 27, 1960 Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S. | (aged 79)
Occupation(s) | Author; Attorney; Federal civil servant |
Spouses | Elizabeth Harriet Herrick
(div. 1917)Lynette Mulvey (div. 1924)
|
Children | Eloise Richberg Campbell (by Florence Weed) |
Parent(s) | John Carl and Eloise Olivia (née Randall) Richberg |
Relatives | Leda Richberg-Hornsby (sister) |
Donald Randall Richberg (July 10, 1881 - November 27, 1960)
Early life and career
Donald Richberg was born in July 1881 in Knoxville, Tennessee, to John Carl and Eloise Olivia (née Randall) Richberg.[1] His grandfather, Louis Richberg, and his father had migrated from Germany to the U.S. in 1851.[1] His grandfather set up shop as a merchant in New York City before moving to Chicago, Illinois, in 1854 and starting a meatpacking business.[1] Richberg's father became a corporate attorney and later represented the City of Chicago.[1] His grandmother, Mirenda Briggs Randall, and his mother were both physicians.[7] His sister was the aviator Leda Richberg-Hornsby.[8]
Donald Richberg graduated from a Chicago public high school, received a
Richberg and his father established a law firm, Richberg & Richberg, in Chicago.[1][2] In 1913, Harold L. Ickes joined the firm.[1][2] 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).[1][11] 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 for a Chicago city court of chancery.[1]
Richberg's first foray into politics was in 1905. Becoming involved in
Great Railroad Strike of 1922
In 1922, Richberg became nationally famous for his involvement in the
Federal service
In September 1932, Richberg, Ickes, Fred C. Howe,
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 (NRA), the agency established to implement NIRA.[3] 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 courts[25][26] 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.[20] 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 strikes that threatened to disrupt economic recovery.[27] On August 5, 1933, just 46 days after the passage of the NIRA, President Roosevelt established the National Labor Board (NLB) to take over the implementation of Section 7(a).[20] Richberg openly opposed the National Labor Board and its successor agency (the "first" National Labor Relations Board, established on June 29, 1934).[28] In direct contradiction of NLB policy and rulings, he publicly declared that Section 7(a) did not prohibit company unions or the closed shop, opposed the NLB's concept of representational exclusivity, opposed any attempt to impose a requirement of good faith bargaining on employers.[29] Even as a national strike of 200,000 auto workers seemed imminent in February 1934,[30] 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.[22][28]
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".
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.
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.
Donald Richberg died at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia, on November 27, 1960.[10]
Writings
Richberg was a widely published essayist, novelist, poet, and non-fiction author.[3] His more well-known books include:[10]
- 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.[10]
Notes
- ^ ISBN 0-313-21362-3
- ^ ISBN 1-57718-099-2
- ^ ISBN 0-618-34086-6
- ^ ISBN 0-8232-2154-7
- ^ ISBN 0-7656-0495-7
- ^ ISBN 0-19-511532-5
- ^ Smith, George W. History of Illinois and Her People, Vol. 5. Chicago: American Historical Society, 1927.
- ^ "At 23 Woman Who Eloped Joins Navigators of the Air." New York Sun. March 30, 1914.
- ^ "Donald Richberg Seeks Divorce." Chicago Daily Tribune. May 16, 1917.
- ^ a b c d e f "Donald Richberg of N.R.A. Is Dead." Associated Press. November 28, 1960.
- Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell. See: "Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell Timeline." Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell. No date. Archived July 21, 2011, at the Wayback MachineAccessed 2009-04-14.
- ^ ISBN 0-8135-1073-2; 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.
- ISBN 0-521-66277-X
- ^ ISBN 0-7658-0856-0
- ^ "Injunction Upheld Against Rail Men." New York Times. September 24, 1922.
- .
- .
- ISBN 0-8142-1036-8
- ISBN 0-415-96826-7; Reynolds, Morgan O. "An Economic Analysis of the Norris-LaGuardia Act, the Wagner Act, and the Labor Representation Industry." Journal of Libertarian Studies. 6:3-4 (Summer/Fall 1982).
- ^ ISBN 0-8014-4317-2
- ^ ISBN 0-618-34085-8
- ^ ISBN 0-8050-6506-7.
- ^ ISBN 0-8232-1609-8
- ^ ISBN 0-19-514403-1
- ^ a b Vadney, Thomas E. The Wayward Liberal: A Political Biography of Donald Richberg. Lexington, Ky.: The University Press of Kentucky, 1970.
- ISBN 0-8223-1662-5
- ISBN 1-299-50529-5
- ^ ISBN 0-8078-1729-5
- ISBN 0-87395-271-5; Dickman, Howard. "Exclusive Representation and American Industrial Democracy: A Historical Reappraisal." Journal of Labor Research. 5:4 (December 1984); Hogler, Raymond. "Exclusive Representation and the Wagner Act: The Structure of Federal Collective Bargaining Law." Labor Law Journal. 58:3 (Fall 2007).
- ^ ISBN 0-88706-870-7; Fine, Sidney. Automobile Under the Blue Eagle: Labor, Management, and the Automobile Manufacturing Code. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, 1963.
- ^ "Executive Order 6202A - Appointing the Executive Council." July 11, 1933. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. The American Presidency Project. (Online.) Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database).
- ^ "Executive Order 6433-A - Creation of the National Emergency Council." November 17, 1933. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. The American Presidency Project. (Online.) Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database).
- ^ "Executive Order 6770 - Creating the Industrial Emergency Committee." June 30, 1934. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. The American Presidency Project. (Online.) Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database).
- ^ "Assistant President?" Time. November 12, 1934.
- ^ "Second Thought." Time. January 21, 1935.
- ^ "Executive Order 6889-A - Consolidating the National Emergency Council, the Executive Council and the Industrial Emergency Committee." October 31, 1934. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. The American Presidency Project. (Online.) Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database).
- ISBN 0-275-95873-6
- ISBN 1-58648-184-3
- ^ "Executive Order 6859 - Reorganizing the N.R.A. and Establishing the National Industrial Recovery Board." September 27, 1934. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. The American Presidency Project. (Online.) Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database).
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "Executive Order 7075 - Reorganizing the N.R.A." June 15, 1935. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. The American Presidency Project. (Online.) Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database); "Executive Order 7076 - Extending the Activities of the N.R.A." June 15, 1935. John T. Woolley and Gerhard Peters. The American Presidency Project. (Online.) Santa Barbara, Calif.: University of California (hosted), Gerhard Peters (database).
- ^ "J.L. O'Neill Slated to Head New NRA." New York Times. June 16, 1935.
- ^ "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.
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).