William A. Reuben Papers
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Abstract
William A. Reuben (1916-2004) was a graduate of Columbia University and a World War II combat veteran. After the war Reuben began his career as an investigative journalist. Reuben's first book on the Alger Hiss trials, The Honorable Mr. Nixon, was published in 1956. Shortly after this, Reuben began his reexamination of the Hiss case evidence, a task that would occupy him for the rest of his life. In 1974, as part of this work, he filed a Freedom of Information Act request for FBI documents related to the case. The release of such documents, and the information they provided, enabled Alger Hiss to prepare a lawsuit seeking to overturn his conviction based on an alleged pattern of misconduct by the Bureau and the prosecutor, Thomas F. Murphy. The collection consists of correspondence, reference materials, drafts of several unpublished book-length works by Reuben, copies of FBI and other government files, and copies of court records. Also included are one box of audiotapes and one boxes of research notes.
Historical/Biographical Note
William A. Reuben (1916-2004) was born in Cleveland, Ohio and educated at the Wharton School, the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia University (Graduate Faculty of English). Reuben served as a lieutenant with the 45th Infantry Division in World War II and received three Purple Hearts.After the war Reuben began his career as an investigative journalist and later served as national publicity director for the American Civil Liberties Union. He wrote numerous articles for Scribner's, Vogue, the National Guardian, the Nationand Rights, the journal of the National Emergency Civil Liberties Foundation and published a number of books and pamphlets, including, "To Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case" (1951); The Atom Spy Hoax(New York: Action Books, 1955); The Honorable Mr. Nixon and the Alger Hiss Case(New York: Action Books, 1956); The Mark Fein Case(New York: Dial Press, 1967); and "Footnote on an Historic Case: In Re Alger Hiss, No. 78 Civ. 3433" (New York: The Nation Institute, 1983).
As a founder and Provisional Chairman of the Committee to Secure Justice in the Rosenberg Case, Reuben was active in the endeavor to bring national attention to the cases of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg and Morton Sobell. Shortly after publication of The Honorable Mr. Nixon, Reuben began his reexamination of the Hiss case evidence, a task that would occupy him for the rest of his life. In 1974, as part of this work, he filed a Freedom of Information Act request for FBI documents related to the case. In the lawsuit growing out of this request, filed by the New York City firm of Rabinowitz, Boudin and Standard, and sponsored by the National Emergency Civil Liberties Foundation, the plaintiffs obtained more than 300,000 pages of copies of documents from the files of the FBI and other agencies. The release of these documents, and the information they provided, enabled Alger Hiss to prepare a lawsuit aimed at overturning his conviction, based on an alleged pattern of misconduct by the Bureau and the prosecutor, Thomas F. Murphy. Although Hiss's petition did not prevail, the thousands of documents released by the government offered an invaluable look at the politics and tactics of J. Edgar Hoover's FBI in the 1940s and 1950s.
William Reuben died of natural causes on Monday, May 31, 2004, in New York City, at the age of 88.
Arrangement
Folders (and cards) are arranged alphabetically by topic in Series I-IV.
Organized in six series:
Missing Title
- Series I: Alger Hiss Materials, 1948-1994.
- Series II: Subject Files, 1923-2003.
- Series III: Files Obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, 1930s-1970s.
- Series IV: Note Cards, Undated.
- Series V: Audio Cassettes, 1948-1996.
- Series VI: USA v. Alger Hiss, 1949.
Scope and Content Note
Series I: Alger Hiss Materials, 1948-1994, contains correspondence with Alger, Isabel and Tony Hiss, correspondence regarding Whittaker Chambers, and other correspondence between Reuben and scholars, journalists, research assistants and others interested in the Hiss Case. The collection also includes research materials pertaining to the Hiss Case. Note: Series I. Alger Hiss Materials, 1948-1994 was microfilmed as part of the collection, "Alger Hiss Papers at the Tamiment Library," (Thomson Gale Publishers). NOTE: Researchers should use the microfilm (R-7771E).
Series II: Subject Files, 1923-2003, consists primarily of material gathered in the course of Reuben's research on Alger Hiss and Whittaker Chambers, including Edward H. Fearon's trial evidence regarding the Hiss family's Woodstock typewriter, files on the history of espionage, legal records pertaining to Reuben's and Hiss's attempts to obtain the release of government documents, and several drafts of Reuben's unpublished manuscripts on Hiss and Chambers..
Series III: Files Obtained under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), 1930s-1970s. Most of these materials were obtained by attorney Victor Rabinowitz in response to his FOIA requests and litigation on behalf of Alger Hiss and/or William Reuben. The series also contains redacted FBI and other government files collected by William Reuben during his research for the Hiss and Chambers manuscripts.
Series IV: Note Cards, Undated. One box of handwritten and typed note cards relating to individuals and subjects of interest to Reuben for his research for the Hiss and Chambers manuscripts, as well as notes for other research projects and articles.
Series V: Audio Cassettes, 1948-1996. This series contains 46 audiotapes including 30 cassette tapes and sixteen micro-cassettes. Eighteen of the cassette tapes are identified as being interviews and radio programs collected by William Reuben, including Reuben presenting at the University of New York, Paul Berman interviewing Ronald Radosh and presentations by Sender Garlin and Michael Parenti at the University of Colorado; twelve of the cassette tapes are unlabelled. Nine micro-cassettes are labeled as containing interviews Reuben conducted with Raisha Vasilievna and Professors Dubovsky and Goldvin in Moscow, and with Grete Fuchs in Dresden; seven of the micro-cassettes are unlabeled.
Series VI: U.S.A. v. Alger Hiss, 1949. This box of court transcripts from Alger Hiss's first trial consists of copies of material also found in the John Lowenthal Papers (Tamiment #190).
Subjects
People
Donors
Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright (and related rights to publicity and privacy) to materials in this collection created by William A. Reuben was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Published citations should take the following form:
Identification of item, date; Collection name; Collection number; box number; folder number;
Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives
Elmer Holmes Bobst Library
70 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012, New York University Libraries.
Location of Materials
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by William A. Reuben and William H. Reuben in 2002; additional materials were donated by William H. Reuben in 201. The accession numbers associated with these gifts are 2002.003 and 2010.057.
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Series I, Box 1 of the collection is available on microfilm (Film R-7771E) for use in this repository only. Researchers must use microfilm for this portion of the collection.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
Other Finding Aids
The microfilmed portion of this collection (Series I, Box 1) and the microfilmed portions of several other collections related to Alger Hiss at this repository form the microfilm edition of the Papers of Alger Hiss (comprised of Film R-7771B, R-7771C, R-7771D, and R-7771E). A published guide to the Papers of Alger Hiss microfilm edition is available at this repository (call number REF E743.5.H55 P38 2006).
