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Louis D. Brandeis
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Louis Dembitz Brandeis, 1856-1941. Associate Justice, United States Supreme Court, 1916-1939. Beautiful bold Autograph Letter Signed, Louis D. Brandeis, 5” x 8”, with integral leaf attached, on engraved stationery of the Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D.C., October 25, 1928.
Brandeis, an ardent Zionist, writes in obvious response to a letter and memorandum relating to Zionist affairs. He says: “I hasten to acknowledge receipt of your letter of October 13th and the memo just received. / Copies of both are being sent this day to Mr. Robert Szold and to Mr. Julius Simon. I am also calling them to the attention of Judge Mack with the request that he bring them for consideration before Mr. Marshal, Mr. B. Flexner and Mr. de Haas and others. / You will doubtless hear from several of these gentlemen soon - and I may also have occasion . . . .”
Brandeis had a major impact on the American branch of the Zionist movement. He became active in Zionist affairs during World War I, chairing the Provisional Executive Committee for General Zionist Affairs. Eventually he led one faction, while Louis Lipsky led the other.
In this letter, Brandeis mentions several of the men who were prominent in the Zionist movement at the time. Robert Szold (1880-1977), an admirer of Brandeis, was a brilliant New York lawyer who served as Assistant Solicitor General of the United States 1915-1918. He became the president of the Zionist Organization of America in 1930, and his wife, Zip, was President of of the Zionist women’s organization Hadassah. Julius Simon, a prominent New York businessman, was a member of the Board of Directors of the Palestine Cooperative Company, Inc., the predecessor of the Palestine Economic Corporation. Julian W. Mack (1866-1943), an Illinois judge and who later became a federal judge, was a member of the Zionist Organization of America. Bernard Flexner (1865-1945), a Chicago lawyer and philanthropist, founded the Palestine Economic Corporation for the economic development of the Jewish homeland and served as Zionist counsel to the Paris Peace Conference 1918-1919. Louis Marshall (1859-1929) was a member of the American Jewish Committee, the American Jewish Relief Committee, the Jewish Welfare Board, and the Palestine Economics Corporation. English-born Jacob de Haas (1872-1937), a Manhattan writer and lecturer, was a member of the Zionist Organization of America and served as Executive Secretary of the National Zionist Convention.
In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson made Brandeis his second Supreme Court appointment. Despite Brandeis’s considerable abilities, the appointment was very controversial. A five-man subcommittee of the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony concerning his “fitness” to serve. Former President William Howard Taft and six former presidents of the American Bar Association signed a letter urging rejection of the nomination on ground that Brandeis was unfit. The president of Harvard and other Boston Brahmins also wrote to urge rejection of the nomination. The subcommittee split 3-2, along party lines, to approve the nomination. Ultimately, after substantial politicking by the Wilson Administration, the Judiciary Committee sent the to the full Senate by another party-line vote, 10-8. The Senate confirmed Brandeis 47-22.
Brandeis has boldly penned this letter in black fountain pen. The letter is slightly soiled and has a 3/4” edge split at the fold, affecting one word. It also has file holes at the left that affect four words. The corresponding file holes in the integral leaf have been repaired with archival tape. Overall, the piece is in fine condition.
Unframed.
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