The researcher using the Raushenbush Papers may be aided by understanding some of the history of the collection. The papers were donated to the Historical Society by the Raushenbush family in many accessions over a course of several years. During his retirement Paul had attempted to organize the material, which consisted of his personal files as well as some records of the Unemployment Compensation Division, but at the time of their receipt at the Society the arrangement was inconsistent and the original order indiscernible. In the meantime Elizabeth Raushenbush had donated a small collection of her papers to the Schlesinger Library.
In 1985 SHSW catalogued all of Paul Raushenbush's papers as State Archives Series 2145 and removed Elizabeth Raushenbush's papers which were regarded as a manuscript collection. In 1991 Mrs. Raushenbush's papers were reviewed and, based on the close professional involvement of the couple, the couple's papers were redefined based on their original legal status as archival material: records relating to the administration of the Unemployment Compensation Division during Paul Raushenbush's tenure as director, 1934-1967, remained part of Series 2145, while all E.B.'s papers, Paul's papers outside the chronological scope of Series 2145, and his personal correspondence and writings were catalogued as this manuscript collection.
The manuscript collection is divided into two series: one series comprised of her papers and a second series of his papers, but given the interrelatedness of their careers and interests that distinction is not precise. Documentation on the 1930s is very rich, covering well the important position of the Raushenbushes in the social insurance legislation of that decade, both nationally and in Wisconsin. In general, personal and family correspondence addressed to both of them and their joint autobiographical writings may be found in the PAUL A. RAUSHENBUSH section of the collection. The small quantity of photographs received with the papers are also listed under his section.
The ELIZABETH BRANDEIS RAUSHENBUSH papers, which form the larger section of the manuscript collection, are organized into six categories: University of Wisconsin career, speeches and writings, League of Women Voters, governmental committees memberships, correspondence and notes, and miscellany.
E.B. began teaching as a graduate student and progressed through the instructor and professorial ranks in the Economics Department, ending as a full professor. Her teaching was entirely part-time, generally alternating between American Economic History and Labor Legislation, although she also taught in some interdisciplinary courses. In addition, she served on various faculty committees and was an active member of AFT Local 223, serving as president in 1945. All of these endeavors are represented in this section, but especially notable are notes on course development; lecture notes for her courses; and correspondence, memoranda, and statistical information gathered as part of her union activities. Correspondence with former students and others relating to her teaching is interfiled with the CORRESPONDENCE AND NOTES. Researchers on this area of E.B.'s career may also wish to consult a 1974 oral history interview held by the University of Wisconsin Archives.
Her speeches and writings are extensively documented. During her career E.B. spoke both live and over the radio on topics ranging from her support of Progressive political candidates to her interest in labor. Many of these speeches and notes contain interesting reminiscences of people she knew such as her father, John R. Commons, Clara Beyer, Selig Perlman, Pauline Goldmark, and Harold Groves. The speeches are largely arranged by date, although some material is arranged, as she did herself, by subject. In some cases both notes and final copy are included. Several additional speeches presented to League of Women Voters audiences may be found filed in that section of the collection.
The writings are arranged chronologically by date. Several files include drafts and related correspondence. Of special note is the manuscript (filed as circa 1953) on Florence Kelley begun by Josephine Goldmark which E.B. completed after her aunt's death. League of Women Voters material primarily relates to E.B.'s work with the Wisconsin League, although there is some documentation on both the national and Madison groups. Her collection augments the LWV records held by the Historical Society primarily in its documentation of the League's interest during the 1950s in the important taxation issue. Her League subject files also have parallel files in the State League records, with E.B.'s files containing useful supplementary material and notes. Some of the documentation on the Equal Rights Amendment, of which E.B. was an opponent, is from the National Committee to Defeat the Unequal Equal Rights Amendment.
Small files document Mrs. Raushenbush's membership on various government committees and commissions, especially various industry committees of the U.S. Department of Labor during the later 1930s and 1940s.
Her correspondence and notes are divided into two categories: a general chronological file covering the period 1935 to 1953 and an alphabetical subject file. However, because of the breath and complexity of her interests, the two files are not mutually exclusive. The correspondence, which includes both incoming and carbons of her outgoing letters, is largely concerned with professional interests, teaching, and publications, although because she knew so well such individuals as Felix Frankfurter, Clara Mortenson Beyer, and Mary Switzer, the distinction between personal and professional correspondence is not precise. In addition to letters, this section contains handwritten notes, writings by E.B. and others, and legislative drafts.
The general section of E.B.'s correspondence contains scattered letters from Arthur Altmeyer, Grace Abbott, John B. Andrews, Andrew Biemiller, John R. Commons, Morris Ernst, Lincoln Filene, Harold Groves, David Lilienthal, William Gorham Rice, Harold W. Story, Mary E. Switzer, and Edwin E. Witte, as well as documentation of her relationship with many governmental agencies and organizations such as the National Consumers League, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Social Security Board, and the National Child Labor Committee. There is also some correspondence here concerning Carl Raushenbush and the Raushenbush family and their respective interests in social issues during the 1930s. Correspondence with the Brandeis family includes letters to and from Josephine Goldmark and numerous items concerning management of property in Massachusetts of the Raushenbush and Brandeis families.
The subject portion of her correspondence contains files documenting topics in which she was interested, primarily minimum wage legislation, unemployment compensation, and protective labor laws for women and children. Also represented is additional correspondence with John B. Andrews, Clara Mortenson Beyer, and Josephine Goldmark. The folder containing correspondence with Louis Brandeis consists of Xeroxed copies of letters from the chief justice primarily on unemployment matters, as well as a few copies of letters from E.B. to her father. Unfortunately the Xeroxed copies are difficult to read and the location of the originals is unknown. The miscellaneous material consists primarily of informational material and writings by others unaccompanied by correspondence.
The PAUL A. RAUSHENBUSH papers consist of biographical information, correspondence, speeches and writings, and unemployment compensation files.
His correspondence consists of a chronologically-arranged general section and two alphabetical subject files. The general category begins with a 1917 form letter from Robert M. La Follette, Sr. and material pertaining to Raushenbush's overseas travel after World War I. More significant correspondence from the 1930s contains numerous exchanges with Harold Groves and E. E. Witte, as well as less frequent letters from Louis B. Brandeis, Abraham Epstein of the American Association for Old Age Security, and Aubrey Williams of the Wisconsin Conference of Social Work. Coverage of the late 1930s and 1940s is fragmentary and incomplete, while later years are more extensively covered. The majority of these later items consist of personal correspondence, especially incoming and outgoing letters from Carl Raushenbush and Winifred Raushenbush Rorty. Special files within the correspondence document Raushenbush's long professional relationship with Father Joseph Becker and his teaching experience at the University of Wisconsin Experimental College.
Speeches and writings include chapter drafts and notes for his uncompleted dissertation on labor relations in the Philadelphia transit industry and an edited version of the couple's Columbia University oral history interview which was eventually published as Our U.C. Story. Also present are drafts and final copies of speeches and writings and a recording of remarks concerning the role of Jacob F. Friedrick in the unemployment compensation effort in Wisconsin.
The unemployment compensation files in this collection cover only the period 1932-1934 when Raushenbush was working as a consultant to the Wisconsin Unemployment Compensation Advisory Committee. Included is correspondence with Arthur Altmeyer, B. J. Gehrmann, Roger Sherman Hoar, H. W. Story, and others concerning the preparation of the Wisconsin standard voluntary plan. Also related to the early days of unemployment compensation in Wisconsin is background information on the J.I. Case unemployment benefit plan, a draft U.C. handbook, and form letters to employers. Raushenbush's work as a consultant to Massachusetts is also represented here, and the correspondence with Felix Frankfurter is especially rich in that regard. Several folders relate to consultations with Tom Corcoran, Thomas H. Eliot, and other federal officials over the drafting of the Wagner-Lewis bill. Records from 1934-1967 when Raushenbush headed the Wisconsin Unemployment Division are catalogued as Public Records Series 2145.
