Mathews, Robert E.

English

University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Trace

University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleTrace: Tennessee Research and CreativeExchangeC.E. Brehm, 1946-1959 Office of the President3-24-1952American Bar Association, to President Cloide E.Brehm, March 24, 1952Robert E. MathewsFollow this and additional works at: http://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_brehmThis Desegregation and Integration, 1949-1959 is brought to you for free and open access by the Office of the President at Trace: Tennessee Researchand Creative Exchange. It has been accepted for inclusion in C.E. Brehm, 1946-1959 by an authorized administrator of Trace: Tennessee Research andCreative Exchange. For more information, please contact trace@utk.edu.Recommended CitationAmerican Bar Association, to President Cloide E. Brehm, March 24, 1952, President's Papers, AR.0006. University of Tennessee,Knoxville, Special CollectionsSHELDEN D. ELLIO Pre. t Univer.ity 01 T.nne••ee !nOXTill.. Tenn••••• AsSOCIATION OF AMERICAN LAw SCHOOLS OFFICERS EXECUTIVE COMMITTEI PRESID.NT PRESIDENT RO.ERT E. MATHEWS  PRESIDENT-IlLI:CT OHIO STATI: UNIVERSITY ANDCOLUMBUS, OHIO SECRI:TARY·TREASURIlR PRESIDENT.I:LI:CT IlX O",.ICIOCHARLI:S S. NUTTING UNIVIlRSITY OF PITTSBURGH GORDON JOHNSTON PITTS.URGH. PIINNSYLVANIA UNIVIlRSITY OP' DENVER DENVER. COLORADOSI:CRI:TARY·TREASURER ROBERT A. LE"LAR UNIVERSITY OP' ARKANSAS P'AVIITTEVILLE. ARKANSAS 010ide S. Breha Dear Ilr. Pre.ident I !h. annaal •••tlng of this A••ott.tion. h.ld ill Denver la.t Deoember, adopt.d a set of r ••olution. rel.tine to each of the tol­lowlag _tter.1 10781t1 (or di.clailler) oaths; lmowlDe partiCipation of teacher. 1n con~iratorial enterpri•••; .veepine l01ilt7 inT••ti­,atlon.; prooedur. tor a fair trial. wi\h faculty participation, in ca.e. llLvolviac 1.110.•• of acad••io tree40a; ad requiremeats ot .....0. aclm1niatra'ive approval of tart'ation. to sp.aker. appearinl OD. the campus or under aiT.r.itl aulPic••• Ieoh w•• adopted withoat a di•••nttng YOte atter oon.lderation an4 pre••tatlon 1:»7 appropriate co_itt.... :lach i. a .tat.ent of princlpl. anel oOll.viotion rath.r thu a requir••ent tor _berahip ill this A.soeiation. By aa\horitl 01 thl. A.soeiation I a••enel~ 70U herewith a cOP7 of th••••everal re.olutions for your tatormation. '.rr tnal7 yours, • !) Bobert E. Mathe"l UK:cc Incl. -" THE ASSOOIATION OF AMERIOAN LAW SCHOOLS Statements!!! 12. lJOye.l,ty Oaths and R~Iate!! ~1e.tt.ers AiOpted at tts 51st Annual Meeting~ Denver, Oolora~o. December 30, 1951. A Statements adopted on Recommendation of the Execru.tive Commit.tee: I Ever since it has existed our oo~tr1 has been a symbol of liberty for tyran­nized peoples everywhere. Among the freedoms in 'Which we pI"ide ourselves is that of scholarship and scientific inquir.Ya We hold it before the world that our scholars are free j that they are permitted to find and teac;h the truth as they see it. that they have not been c1eg:a:'a~.~d. into ingeni'Ous apologists for docttines imposed from aboveo The oonditions that have justified this proud cla.im are today endangered. The threat of another war and the discovery of defections among American citizens have orea'ced an atmosphere of emergency in '~hich a resort to measures of res/1iI'aint and cOE:lI'cion becomes tempting" The encroachments on the freedom of schola~ahip that have ao fa~ been agitated or ad~ted are not great measured qua.nti~6.tively., But the reality of freedom cannot thus be gauged. The object of freedom 16 the :fullest development of man is intelleotual and moral pO"tera directed toward an undel'sta.n~}.ng of the truth. This development cannot occur i~ an atmosphere tainted by 8nspiolon and creeping intimidation. It is therefore i~ortant that the Association should at this time declare ita views concerning the issues that have been raised recently by investigations into the ~ersonal beliefs and affiliations ot university faculties and by the tmposition of lQraltytests requiring a disclaimer of present or past membership in the Communist Party or other organizations defined as subversive. The con­cluSions of the Association concern1ng these issues have purposely been stated 10 general terms. The principlee en~ciated here are direoted not merely to the present situation. but to a possibly changed future in which temptations toward treasonable acts may come ft'om other sources than they do today. II ~o say that a man if free to believe as he sees fit does not mean that his attitudes toward his chosen profession are irrelevant to his qualifications for that profession·w A bel ie! in lawful prooedures may properly be demanded of one who undertakes to be a teacher of law. Whatever ideals he may cherish, he must be willing to work for a realization of them within the framework of orderly law­ful and demooratic pl"OeeSSes, TAe teacher ot law with no real belief' in the 1'1'1noi)le of legality 1s a contradiction in term,. Statements !! to Loralty Oaths ~ Related Matters 2. It follows that a law teacher may not be a participant in oon~iratorial enterprises predioated on the aSlUmPtion that ends BOught oan only be attained through a violent overthrow of government. A law teacher who knowingly engages in aotivities of this Bort ~B unworthy of hie profession ~d oannot olaim the right to teach a subject whiob hi. OY.Q, conduct disavows. III It is consistent with these prinoiples that a law teaoher should on first a8~ing his duties be required. as he is in some universities, to pleige alle­giance to the constitutions of his nation and state. To go beyond this s~le, adequate and traditional form and to impose teste probing iJlto matters of :versonal belief, or into past or present assooiations, is obnoxious to the spirit of a nation conceived in liberty, During the fOfmatlve er~ of this country's history the evila of the "oath of abjuration" were suffioiently familiar BO that measures were taken to prevent the introduction of euch oaths among our institutions. The national constitution prescribes for the ~resident $ simple, affirmative pledge of fidelity to 9ffioe without any negative or aQjuring clauses. Similar provisions for etate officials are oontained in many state oonstitutions. whioh often make explioit what is implicit in the national con$t1tution -- that no other form of oath may be required. There are grave objections to any requirement that compels a teacher to disclaim partiaular oeliefs or associations before being permitted to take up or continue his office. It is deeply distasteful to 'he loyal citizen to be asked to clea~ himself of ~uspieion by a process of forswearing. The offensive quality of the procedure is not offset by any tangible gain, for it can hardly be supposed that a traitor would obligingly reveal himself by refusing to make the reauired disclaimers, Finally and most importantly, experience, both recent and ancient, showe tha.t teste of this sort once instituted are likely to be extended to ever-widentng areas of conduct and belief. ·There is a deep-seated conVict ion in our demoor$.oy that a man IiJhould be ~ud.ged by what he says and does and that it is imp~oper to 1nt~de against his will into hie private beliefs and the beliefs ot those with whom he assooiates. Once the inhibition imposed by that conviction has been broken down, there 1s a natural , • .aency to expand the prooess of inquisitiQn. What began as an attempt to ferret out traitors is likely to end as a device for determining wbether a man'. opinions, and the opi­nions of those with wbom he associates, oonform to some etaPdard pattern. When this occurs freed,.om of soholarship1s at an end, IV Sweeping investigations into the loyalty of university faculties, instituted ~ the belief that if the inquiry is broad enough BOce instaaoes of disloyalty m87 be uncove~ed. are to be oOn~emned both on principle and because of their demonstrate4 effects in practice. Experience shows that such investigations do great harm and almost no demonstrable good~ They ,tir up ~lmosities, give '­State~ents ~ to LOyaltl Oaths ~ Related Matters currenoy to unfounded rumors, injure the reputations of innocent persons and waste the energies of all who participate in theM in a futile atteapt to find eOl'!lething that is not there or is present only in lnfinitesinal degree, v University faculties have a vital stake not only in freedom but also in the principle of due prooess. Whene~er charges against a teacher involve issues of acadenic freedom, a fair trial of those charges requires not only an op!,>ortunity for the formal presentation of relevant fA-cts and arguments, but also that the vieWpoint ~nd needs of the university as a community of scholars be represented. This can be assured only if appropriate provision is nade for some faculty parti­cipation in the ·trial at+d decision. III * * III ~= By action of the Association the following "interpretative appendi~1I was added to the S'!iatenent: "The above resolution ooncerni~g the gen€,ral prin­ciples of academic freedom is not to be interpreted as changing the application of the policy of academio freedom affecting church-related schOOls heretofore approved by the Association of American University Professorij." The Executive Committee also calls attention to the fact that the referenoe to a pledge of allegiance to the oonstitution (in the first sentence of Article III above) assumes that the teacher is an Aiiierioan citizeno Some recent legis­lation requiring that all teachers ple4ge allegianoe to the constitution has oaused unintended difficulties in the oase of professors who have not yet obtained American citizenship or who are visiting from abroad. It! ... It! III B Statement Adopted on Recommendation of the Oommittee on Academic Freedom and Tenure: In recent months there has appeared a new and dangt;)rouB threat to n.aademlc freedom: a trustee-imposed requirement of advance approval of outside speakers by a univereity official, before they may deliver talks on the campus, or under University auspices, Such a requirement. by stifling free~om to listen, restriots the sources of information and ideas and is inconsistent with the functions of higher eduoation. The strength of the educational process Rnd of research de­pends upon preservation of free inquiry and of the moral and. intellectual incle­pendence of the individual teacher and the individual student. The 4ssociation of Amerioan Law SChools oalls upon university authorities to prese~e unimpared this essential aspect of their operation as institutions of lea~nlng, -" 

American Bar Association, to President Cloide E. Brehm, March 24, 1952

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American Bar Association, to President Cloide E. Brehm, March 24, 1952

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University of Tennessee, Knoxville: Trace