Fyke Farmer
A Register of His Papers in the Library of Congress
Prepared by Connie L. Cartledge
Manuscript Division,
Library of Congress
Washington, D.C.
2006
Contact information:
http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html
Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division,
2007
Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms007002
Title: Papers of Fyke Farmer
Span Dates: 1875-1997
Bulk Dates: (bulk 1945-1953)
ID No.: MSS85312
Creator:
Farmer, Fyke,
1901-1997
Extent: 2,100
items;
7 containers;
2.8 linear feet
Language: Collection material in
English
Repository:
Manuscript Division, Library of
Congress,
Washington, D.C.
Abstract: Lawyer and activist.
Correspondence, court documents and legal papers, speech material, writings,
notes, press clippings, journal articles, and other material concerning mainly
Farmer's legal work and interest in the espionage case of Julius and Ethel
Rosenberg.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person
or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed
alphabetically therein.
Names:
Farmer, Fyke,
1901-1997
Appel,
Ethel Rosenberg--Correspondence
Bloch,
Emanuel H.--Correspondence
Edelman,
Irwin--Correspondence
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969--Correspondence
Greenglass, David, 1922- --Trials, litigation, etc.
Kaufman,
Irving R. (Irving Robert), 1910-1992--Trials, litigation, etc.
Perlin,
Marshall, 1920-1998--Correspondence
Plotkin,
Norman A.--Correspondence
Rosenberg, Ethel, 1915-1953--Trials, litigation, etc.
Rosenberg, Julius, 1918-1953--Trials, litigation, etc.
Sobell,
Morton--Trials, litigation, etc.
Subjects:
Income tax--United
States
International
organization
Nuclear
energy--International cooperation
Trials (Espionage)--New
York (State)--New York
Trials (Conspiracy)--New
York (State)--New York
Occupations:
Lawyers
Provenance: The papers of Fyke Farmer, lawyer and activist, were given to the
Library of Congress by the International Spy Museum in 2006.
Copyright Status:The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Fyke Farmer is
governed by the Copyright Law of the United Statews (Title 17, U.S.C.).
Preferred Citation:Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the
following information: Container number, Fyke Famer Papers, Manuscript
Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
| Date |
Event |
| 1901, Nov. 25 |
Born, Cedar Hill, Tenn. |
| 1923 |
B.A., Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. |
| 1925 |
Law degree, Yale University, New Haven, Conn. |
| ca. 1925 |
Lawyer with the firm of Bass, Berry, and Sims, Nashville,
Tenn.
|
| 1928 |
Married Fanny Leake |
| 1936 |
Began law firm of Farmer, Denney, and Leftwich, Nashville, Tenn. |
| 1950 |
Delegate, World Constituent Assembly, Geneva,
Switzerland
|
| 1953 |
Worked to overturn the espionage conviction of Julius and
Ethel Rosenberg
|
| 1997, May 23 |
Died, Nashville, Tennessee |
The papers of Fyke Farmer (1901-1997), span the years 1875-1997, with
the bulk dating from 1945 to 1953, and consist of correspondence, court
documents and legal papers, speech material, writings, notes, press clippings,
journal articles, and other printed matter. Farmer was a lawyer and activist
who became interested in the Julius and Ethel Rosenberg espionage case.
Convinced of the Rosenbergs' innocence, Farmer argued that the couple was tried
under the wrong law, claiming that the Atomic Energy Act, which did not carry a
death penalty, should have been applied rather than the Espionage Act of 1917.
On the basis of Farmer's arguments, a temporary stay was granted to the
Rosenbergs by Justice William O. Douglas on 17 June 1953. The Supreme Court
vacated Douglas's stay by a 6-3 vote, and the Rosenbergs were executed on 19
June 1953.
The majority of the collection focuses on the Rosenberg case and
includes correspondence with the lawyers who represented the couple and other
supporters, court documents, partial trial transcripts, drafts and filings of
complaints, briefs and petitions, and other legal filings by Farmer. Also in
the Rosenberg legal papers are files relating to Farmer's law suit (United
States ex rel. Farmer v. Kaufman) in 1990 against Irving R. Kaufman, the judge
who presided over the Rosenbergs' trial. There are also extensive press
clippings about the Rosenberg case and documents released by the Federal Bureau
of Investigation under the Freedom of Information Act relating to other accused
spies David Greenglass and Morton Sobell. Correspondents in the Rosenberg files
include Ethel Rosenberg Appel, Emanuel H. Bloch, Irwin Edelman, Dwight D.
Eisenhower, Marshall Perlin, and Norman A. Plotkin.
The collection reflects Farmer's endeavors to create a “one world
government” and his advocacy for international control of atomic energy. In the
writings file is an untitled book by Farmer advocating those philosophies. Also
in the papers is material relating to Farmer's unsuccessful law suit against
the Internal Revenue Service defending his refusal to pay federal income tax
based on the argument that the Korean War was illegal.
This collection is arranged alphabetically by topic and type of
material.
| Container |
Contents |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Atomic bomb and atomic technology,
1944-1950, 1965, 1972-1974, 1981-1991,
n.d.
|
|
(5
folders)
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Biographical information,
1981, 1997, n.d.
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Correspondence,
1953-1963, 1981-1997, n.d.
|
|
(9
folders)
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Miscellany,
1945-1948, 1954, 1975-1977, 1983-1993,
n.d.
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Rosenberg, Julius and Ethel,
espionage case
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Background material and notes,
1875, 1881, 1917, 1935, 1945-1953, 1959-1961, 1972-1977,
1991, n.d.
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
| BOX 1
|
Brothman, Abraham, and Miriam
Moskowitz,
1950-1953
|
|
| BOX 2
|
Correspondence,
1952-1953, 1960, 1973-1997, n.d.
|
|
(13
folders)
|
|
| BOX 2
|
Court documents and legal
papers
|
|
| BOX 2
|
General |
|
| BOX 2
|
1951-1952
|
|
| BOX 2
|
1953
|
|
(3
folders)
|
| BOX 3
|
(4
folders)
|
|
| BOX 3
|
Undated
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
| BOX 3
|
United States
ex rel. Farmer v. Kaufman
|
|
| BOX 3
|
Correspondence,
1989-1990, n.d.
|
|
(4
folders)
|
|
| BOX 3
|
Miscellany,
1989, n.d.
|
|
| BOX 3
|
Pleadings
1990
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
| BOX 4
|
Edelman, Irwin,
1952-1959, n.d.
|
|
(11
folders)
|
|
| BOX 4
|
Eisenhower, Dwight D.,
1953
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
| BOX 4
|
Federal Bureau of Investigation,
1973-1975, 1992, n.d.
|
|
| BOX 4
|
Gold, Harry,
1950, 1957, 1974, 1987, n.d.
|
|
| BOX 5
|
Greenglass, David and Ruth,
1950-1958, 1987-1988, n.d.
|
|
(6
folders)
|
|
| BOX 5
|
Miscellany,
1952-1954, 1989-1990, n.d.
|
|
| BOX 5
|
National Committee to Secure
Justice in the Rosenberg Case,
1952-1954, n.d.
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
| BOX 5
|
Notebook,
1919, 1938, 1948-1953, 1961-1966,
1983
|
|
| BOX 5
|
Press clippings and journal
articles,
1950-1957, 1969-1997, n.d.
|
|
(8
folders)
|
|
| BOX 5
|
Printed matter,
1953-1954, 1983-1989
|
|
| BOX 6
|
Sobell, Morton,
1953-1958
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
| BOX 6
|
Speech and television
appearances,
1975, 1989
|
|
| BOX 6
|
Writings |
|
| BOX 6
|
By Farmer,
n.d.
|
|
(2
folders)
|
|
| BOX 6
|
By others |
|
| BOX 6
|
Miscellaneous,
1977, n.d.
|
|
|
|
| BOX 6
|
Sharlitt, Joseph H.,
Fatal Error, draft,
1988
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
| BOX 6
|
Tax lawsuit,
1952-1959, n.d.
|
|
| BOX 6
|
Truman, Harry S.,
1945-1948, 1955, 1991, n.d.
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
| BOX 7
|
World federalism and world
government,
1946-1951, 1963, 1987-1990, n.d.
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
| BOX 7
|
Writings by Farmer |
|
| BOX 7
|
Book, untitled,
n.d.
|
|
(3
folders)
|
|
| BOX 7
|
Letter to the editor,
1956
|
|
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