Research


Scope and Content Note

The central subject and correspondence files of Herbert Lehman document the governor's effort to respond to social and economic conditions brought about or exacerbated by the Great Depression. Significant topics include establishment of unemployment insurance; state and federal social security legislation; slum clearance and the establishment of public housing to provide homes for low income families; welfare assistance to communities provided through the state's Temporary Emergency Relief Administration; mortgage industry crisis, the state's Mortgage Moratorium Act, and the operations of the Mortgage Commission of the State of New York; and income, production, and pricing issues associated with the state's milk industry. The records also document interaction and cooperation with federal agencies such as the Civilian Conservation Corps, Civil Works Administration, Federal Emergency Relief Administration, National Recovery Administration, National Youth Administration, Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Public Works Administration, and Works Progress Administration.

Topics specifically related to labor include state administration of workmen's compensation; the federal child labor amendment and state efforts to limit child labor; 1933 and 1937 state minimum wage laws; racial discrimination in state employment and employment at the 1939-1940 World's Fair; labor-management relations and collective bargaining; and specific strikes in the steel, milk, clothing manufacturing, and other industries.

The central subject and correspondence files of Herbert Lehman document a number of additional topics of social and political importance during the 1930s and early 1940s: Prohibition and the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment; "Crime, the Criminal and Society" conference (1935) and legislation aimed at crime prevention, prison reform, and improvements in various aspects of the criminal justice system; Law Revision Commission investigations and proposed statutory revisions; compliance with the federal Alien Registration Act of 1940; investigations of illegal gambling operations; special prosecutor Thomas E. Dewey's investigation of organized crime; illegal dog racing; flood control and state response to floods; 1938 Constitutional Convention and proposed amendments regarding home rule, judicial review, proportional representation, health insurance, workmen's compensation, and jury verdicts in civil cases; and the McNaboe-Devaney bill proposing disqualification of communists from public employment and from holding public office.

A significant portion of the records document the investigative powers of the governor. Multiple files document the governor's statutory authority to investigate or direct the investigation of charges against local government officials, including county district attorneys and sheriffs. Noteworthy among these records are charges of illegality and inefficiency in real estate assessment practices directed against New York City Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia. Additional records relate to examinations and investigations of the management and affairs of various state departments, offices, commissions, and institutions, ordered by Governor Lehman under provisions of the Moreland Act. Specific examples include the Moreland Act Commission on the Quasi-Judicial Action of Administrative Agencies and the Commissioner Appointed to Examine and Investigate the Management and Affairs of the Insurance Department with Reference to the Operation, Conduct and Management of Title and Mortgage Guarantee Corporations Under its Supervision. Related records document the investigation and discharge, by order of the governor, of Colonel John G. Grimley, commanding officer of the 369th Infantry, New York National Guard.

The files themselves consist predominantly of original letters and telegrams from public officials and private citizens and organizations; unsigned copies of replies or memoranda from the governor forwarding correspondence to state or local government officials for action; and copies of state and local government officials' replies to the governor and/or the original correspondents. Cross reference sheets are present throughout the files, most often indicating that correspondence was filed by subject rather than correspondent. Other types of records include governor's cabinet meeting materials; public hearing minutes; drafts of letters by state agency heads for the governor's signature; press releases; annual and special reports of state agencies; draft copies of constitutional amendments, legislation, and resolutions; budget reports and summaries; gubernatorial messages, speeches, and proclamations; newspaper clippings; publications; and background materials. Moreland Act investigation files include public and private hearing transcripts, exhibits, correspondence, press releases, and final reports. Certain files documenting investigations of charges against local government officials include copies of hearing transcripts, exhibits, legal orders, and grand jury reports.