Title: Robert Lasch Papers
Inclusive Dates: 1940-1991

Creator:

• Lasch, Robert, 1907-1998

Call Number: U.S. Mss 81AF; PH U.S. Mss 81AF; M91-091

Quantity: 5.6 cubic feet (13 archives boxes and 1 flat box) and 9 photographs (1 folder and 1 oversize folder); plus additions of 0.2 cubic feet (1 archives box)

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Papers of Robert Lasch, a journalist who was editorial writer for the Chicago Sun-Times (1942-1950) and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1950-1957) and editor of the editorial page of the latter paper (1957-1971). Well known for his columns on civil liberties and McCarthyism, Lasch also wrote in opposition to the Vietnam War and in 1966 was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his editorials on that subject. Correspondence, 1942-1971, is both general and from readers. Among the prominent letter writers are Herbert L. Block, Marquis W. Childs, Henry Steele Commager, J. William Fulbright, Hubert H. Humphrey, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Adlai E. Stevenson, and W. Stuart Symington. Office memoranda include exchanges with Joseph Pulitzer Sr., Marshall Field III, and members of their respective staffs. Documenting his writings are editorial reprints; free-lance articles, particularly for The Progressive,The Reporter, and The Nation; and several unpublished manuscripts. Indicative of his research methodology are subject files and notes on civil rights, national defense, McCarthyism, pacifism during the Vietnam War, federal aid to education, the presidential campaigns of 1952 and 1956, the National Conference of Editorial Writers, and his Pulitzer Prize award.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-us0081af

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Virtually all of Robert Lasch's life, until retirement in 1971, has been spent as a journalist. Born in 1907 in Lincoln, Nebraska, the son of Theodore Walter and Myrtle Nelson Lasch, Lasch attended the University of Nebraska (A.B., 1928) and later studied at Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, 1928-1931. While a student at the University of Nebraska, Lasch covered the police news for the Lincoln Daily Star. On returning from England he joined the staff of the Omaha World-Herald, serving (1931-1941) as a reporter, state editor, and editorial writer. Following a Nieman Fellowship at Harvard (1941-1942), Lasch moved to the Chicago Sun and Sun Times as an editorial writer, remaining there until 1950.

In 1950 Lasch joined the staff of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as an editorial writer and in 1957 became editor of the editorial page. His tenure there coincided with the Korean War, McCarthyism, the civil rights movement, and the Vietnam War. Lasch's editorials were noted for their strong defense of civil liberties, their opposition to Senator Joseph McCarthy, and their criticism of the Vietnam War. He was a friend and vigorous supporter of Adlai Stevenson. In a 1967 letter, Lasch claimed that the editorials in which he took the greatest pride were those dealing with Vietnam and his 1964 editorial campaign seeking to reverse the decision to deny a medical license to Dr. Harold Lischner because of his conscientious objector status. In 1966 Lasch was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his editorials opposing the Vietnam War and the St. Louis (Missouri) Civil Liberties Award.

In addition to his editorial career, Lasch contributed to a number of periodicals, among them The Progressive, The Reporter, and the International Press Institute Report, and won the Atlantic Monthly Prize (1944) for his essay “For a Free Press.” He also contributed to Newsman's Holiday (Cambridge: Oxford University, 1942) and published a book on homebuilding, Breaking the Building Blockade (Chicago: University of Chicago, 1946).

Robert Lasch died April 6, 1998 in Green Valley, Arizona.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Robert Lasch, St. Louis, Missouri, 1967-1972.

Processing Information

Processed by RS, October 10, 1967; by Eleanor Niermann, August 7, 1969; and by Roy Tryon, September 22, 1976.

U.S. Mss 81AF	Part 1 (U.S. Mss 81AF): Original 1967 Accession, 1942-1966 Physical Description: 1.2 cubic feet (2 archives boxes and 1 flat box)  Scope and Content Note The materials received in 1967 (Box 1-2, 14) consist of correspondence, writings by Lasch, and office memoranda and date 1942-1966. Although there is correspondence from 1942 to 1962 in the original 1967 accession, most letters are concerned with the period when he was on the staff of the Chicago Sun, 1942-1950. There is also office memoranda, drafts of articles, newspaper clippings, photographs, and miscellaneous. The office memoranda are especially revealing as to how suggestions are made and carried out in editorial writing. Also included are two scrapbooks containing Mr. Lasch's editorials from June 18, 1947 to April 2, 1949.
Box   1	Correspondence, 1942-1962
Box   1	Articles about Lasch or his work
Box   1	Magazine articles written by Lasch, 1942-1950
Box   2	Office memoranda, circa 1942-1949
Box   2	Pulitzer prize winning editorial
Box   2	Editorials and clippings, 1942-1949, undated
	Scrapbooks of editorials
Box   14	1947 June 1-September 28
Box   14	1949 August 3-1950 April 2
U.S. Mss 81AF	Part 2 (U.S. Mss 81AF): 1969 Additions, 1941-1969 Physical Description: 2.4 cubic feet (6 archives boxes)  Scope and Content Note The materials received in 1969 (Box 3-8), include additional correspondence and writings and a subject file, and date 1941-1969. The 1969 Additions, 1962-1969, consist of correspondence and clippings, copies of St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorials, and a subject file. The general correspondence chiefly concerns Post-Dispatch business. The correspondence concerning editorials comes mainly from the reading public. The subject file includes relevant correspondence, clippings, and resource materials. Titles are primarily those of organizations to which Lasch belonged or of topics on which he wrote editorials. Materials concerning the Pulitzer Prize that Lasch won in 1966 are filed in this section.	⇧
	Subseries: Correspondence and Clippings
Box   3 Folder   1	1956-1961
Box   3 Folder   2	1962-1964
Box   3 Folder   3	1965-1967
Box   3 Folder   4	Miscellaneous personal, 1957-1969
Box   3 Folder   5	Regarding editorials, 1957-1964
Box   4 Folder   1	“To Stem the Erosion of Liberty,” 1961
Box   4 Folder   2	On the War in Viet Nam, 1965
Box   4 Folder   3	Washington Bureau, 1959-1965
	Subseries: Editorial Reprints	⇧
Box   4 Folder   4	1964
Box   4 Folder   5	1965
Box   4 Folder   6	1966
Box   5 Folder   1	1967
Box   5 Folder   2	1968
	Subseries: Subject File	⇧
Box   5 Folder   3	American Society of Newspaper Editors, 1958-1965
Box   5 Folder   4	Anastaplo case and Admission to the Bar, 1959-1962
	Federal aid to private schools
	Correspondence
Box   6 Folder   1	1958-1960
Box   6 Folder   2	1961-1962
Box   6 Folder   3	Clippings, memoranda, and pamphlets, 1941-1963
Box   6 Folder   4	Federal Mutual Savings Bank Act, 1957-1960
Box   6 Folder   5	International Press Institute, 1958-1965
Box   6 Folder   6	Miscellaneous, 1950-1961
	Missouri Representatives
	Thomas B. Curtis
Box   7 Folder   1	1958-1961
Box   7 Folder   2	1962-1964
Box   7 Folder   3	Frank M. Karsten, 1958-1964
Box   7 Folder   4	Leonor K. Sullivan
	National Conference of Editorial Writers, 1961
Box   7 Folder   5	Arrangements, bills, and thank you's, 1958-1962
Box   7 Folder   6	Speakers, 1961
Box   7 Folder   7	Articles written after the Conference, 1961
Box   8 Folder   1	Overseas Weekly, 1962
	Pulitzer Prize
Box   8 Folder   2	Announcement and winning Editorial, 1966
Box   8 Folder   3	Clippings, 1966
Box   8 Folder   4-5	Correspondence, 1966
Box   8 Folder   6	Romney, George, 1962-1967
Box   8 Folder   7	Russell, Bertrand, 1963-1966
Box   8 Folder   8	Sobell and Scales case, 1955-1962
Box   8 Folder   9	Stevenson, Adlai E., 1960
Box   8 Folder   10	Wire tapping, 1959
Box   8 Folder   11	World Press Institute Forum, 1966
U.S. Mss 81AF	Part 3 (U.S. Mss 81AF): 1971-1972 Additions, circa 1940-1971 Physical Description: 2.0 cubic feet (5 archives boxes)  Scope and Content Note The 1971-1972 Additions (Box 9-13), contain correspondence, office memos, subject files, editorial reprints, writings, notes and newsclippings, and memorabilia, and date circa 1940-1971. The documentation, however, is not extensive, and coverage is good only for Lasch's years at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. The correspondence is predominantly incoming and arranged chronologically. Significant correspondents include Herb Block, Marquis Childs, Henry Steele Commager, Frederick Deming, J.W. Fulbright, Hubert Humphrey, Edward V. Long, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr., Adlai Stevenson and Stuart Symington. There are also separate folders of reader protest of St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorials concerning the Vietnam War and the Nixon-Agnew administration. The office memos, both general and between Lasch and Joseph Pulitzer Sr., are arranged chronologically. They provide some insight into the editorial decisions made by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch during Lasch's tenure. The subject files are arranged alphabetically and treat a number of topics, including cigarette advertising, McCarthyism, civil rights, pacifist rights during the Vietnam War, the Nieman Foundation, national defense, and Lasch's relationship with Stuart Symington and Adlai Stevenson. The Editorial reprints from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch are fairly complete for the years 1960 to 1963 and 1968 to 1971. The writings consist of published articles, the most nearly complete file of which is that for The Progressive (1953-1957), and an unpublished book (1946-1947) as well as unpublished and undated short stories. The notes, drafts and newsclippings deal with the presidential campaigns of 1952 and 1956, Vietnam (1967-1968), and the career of Robert Lasch. Memorabilia include material related to the 1966 Pulitzer Prize ceremony and other materials concerning his activities.	⇧
	Subseries: Correspondence
Box   9 Folder   1-12	General, 1950 December-January 1971
Box   10 Folder   1	Congratulations, 1950, 1957
Box   10 Folder   2-3	Reader protests against editorial positions of St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1969 November-1970 December
Box   10 Folder   4-5	Letters from an eccentric reader, 1958-1964
	Subseries: Office Memos	⇧
Box   10 Folder   6-9	General, 1950-1957
Box   10 Folder   10	Memos between Robert Lasch and Joseph Pulitzer, 1951-1955
Box   10 Folder   11	Memo concerning St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial affairs, 1948-1957
	Subseries: Subject Files	⇧
Box   11 Folder   1	American Society for Newspaper Editors, 1958-1971
Box   11 Folder   2	Bicentennial Section for St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1964-1965
Box   11 Folder   3	Cigarette advertising, 1969-1970
Box   11 Folder   4	Hubert Humphrey, Meet the Press, 1966
Box   11 Folder   5	Jefferson Bank (St. Louis, Missouri) demonstrations (concerning employment of blacks), 1963
Box   11 Folder   6-7	Harold Lischner (denied Missouri medical license because of pacifist views), 1964
Box   11 Folder   8	Speech on McCarthyism at the University of Nebraska (text not included), 1953
Box   11 Folder   9	Military information forwarded by Senator Stuart Symington, 1970
Box   11 Folder   10	Nieman Foundation Fellowship selection, 1966-1970
Box   11 Folder   11	Nieman Foundation Fund, 1961-1967
Box   11 Folder   12	Senate vote against funding for studies of surrender by the United States, 1958
Box   11 Folder   13	Removal of security clearance of Robert Oppenheimer, 1954
Box   11 Folder   14	Pacem in Terris II Convention, Geneva, Switzerland, sponsored by the Center for the Study of Democratic Institutions, 1967
Box   11 Folder   15	Adlai Stevenson, 1952-1960
Box   11 Folder   16	Stuart Symington, 1958-1963
	Subseries: Editorial Reprints	⇧
Box   11 Folder   17-18	1960 December-1961 December
Box   12 Folder   1-4	1962 January-1963 December
Box   12 Folder   5-6	1968 December-1970 January
Box   13 Folder   1-2	1970 January-1971 January
	Subseries: Writings	⇧
Box   13 Folder   3	Book manuscript, unpublished, “Building with Herman,” 1946-1947 Note: Concerns Lasch's experience in having a house built.
	Short stories, unpublished, undated
Box   13 Folder   4	“A Business Proposition”
Box   13 Folder   5	“The Old Lady”
Box   13 Folder   6	“Popcorn”
Box   13 Folder   7	“Relief”
Box   13 Folder   8	“A Student of Language”
Box   13 Folder   9	“$200 a Month”
Box   13 Folder   10	Published articles (including The Progressive ), 1943-1957, 1968
	Subseries: Notes, Drafts and Clippings	⇧
Box   13 Folder   11	Presidential campaigns of 1952 and 1956
Box   13 Folder   12	Vietnam, 1967-1968 Note: Clippings from editorial page of St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Box   13 Folder   13	Robert Lasch Note: Clippings about Lasch's activities.
	Subseries: Memorabilia	⇧
Box   13 Folder   14	Pulitzer Prize ceremony and other memorabilia, 1966
PH U.S. Mss 81AF	Part 4 (PH U.S. Mss 81AF): Photographs, circa 1957-circa 1966 Physical Description: 9 photographs	⇧
Folder   1	St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 1957 October 25
Oversize Folder   1	Meet the Press with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, 1966 March 13
Folder   1	Meet the Press with Vice President Hubert Humphrey, 1966 March 13
Folder   1	Pulitzer Prize dinner, 1966 May 10
Oversize Folder   1	President Lyndon B. Johnson meeting in oval office, undated
M91-091	Part 5 (M91-091): Additions, 1965-1991 Physical Description: 0.2 cubic feet (1 archives box)  Scope and Content Note: Additions, 1965-1991, including a typed draft of Lasch's unpublished memoir (1982-1987); editorials and articles from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (1965-1971, 1979); and a speech to the Ethical Society of St. Louis (1991). The speech gives an overview of the development of, what Lasch describes as, American imperialism, American involvement in military conflicts since World War II, and his opinion about the 1990-1991 war in the Persian Gulf.	⇧
Box   1	Unpublished memoir: typed draft, 1982-1987
Box   1	St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorials and articles, 1965-1971, 1979
Box   1	Ethical Society of St. Louis speech, 1991