Difference between revisions of "Adolf A. Berle"
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'''Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr''' (1895-1971) was a US lawyer, academic and government official.<ref name="Bookragsbio">[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/adolf-augustus-berle-jr/ Encyclopedia of World Biography on Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr.], bookrags.com, accessed 4 April 2012.</ref> | '''Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr''' (1895-1971) was a US lawyer, academic and government official.<ref name="Bookragsbio">[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/adolf-augustus-berle-jr/ Encyclopedia of World Biography on Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr.], bookrags.com, accessed 4 April 2012.</ref> | ||
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| + | ==Education== | ||
| + | Berle earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard College before graduating from Harvard Law School in 1916.<ref name="Bookragsbio">[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/adolf-augustus-berle-jr/ Encyclopedia of World Biography on Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr.], bookrags.com, accessed 4 April 2012.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Career== | ||
| + | Berle practiced law in Boston for a year before joining the US Commission negotiating a peace with Germany. In 1919, he moved to New York to join the law firm [[Berle, Berle and Brunner]] of which he remained a member during his subsequent career. He was a professor of Corporate Law at Columbia Law School from 1927 to 1964.<ref name="Bookragsbio">[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/adolf-augustus-berle-jr/ Encyclopedia of World Biography on Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr.], bookrags.com, accessed 4 April 2012.</ref> | ||
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| + | ===The Modern Corporation and Private Property=== | ||
| + | In 1932, Berle and [[Gardner Means]] co-authored ''The Modern Corporation and Private Property'', which argued that the concentration of ownership within the largest corporations was creating a divorce between ownership and control in the US economy. <ref name="Bookragsbio">[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/adolf-augustus-berle-jr/ Encyclopedia of World Biography on Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr.], bookrags.com, accessed 4 April 2012.</ref> | ||
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| + | ===Government Service=== | ||
| + | From 1933 onwards, Berle spent much of his career in public service: | ||
| + | ::He was a member of the original "brain trust" in the early years of President [[Franklin Roosevelt]]'s first administration. He served as special counsel to the [[Reconstruction Finance Corporation]] (1933-1938), assistant secretary of state (1938-1944), United States ambassador to Brazil (1945-1946), chairman of the [[Task Force on Latin America]] (1961), and consultant to the secretary of state (1961-1962). At intervals throughout this period he also served as United States delegate to the Inter-American Conference for Maintenance of Peace (Buenos Aires, 1936-1937); and two Pan American conferences (Lima, Peru, 1938; Havana, Cuba, 1940). He was president of the [[International Conference on Civil Aviation]] and chairman of the American delegation (Chicago, 1944).<ref name="Bookragsbio">[http://www.bookrags.com/biography/adolf-augustus-berle-jr/ Encyclopedia of World Biography on Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr.], bookrags.com, accessed 4 April 2012.</ref> | ||
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| + | ===Assistant Secretary of State=== | ||
| + | Berle was a key intelligence and security confidant of [[President Roosevelt]].<ref name="Chester106">Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network: Progressives, the International Rescue Committee and the CIA, M.E. Sharpe, 1995, p.106.</ref> | ||
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| + | In the wake of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the anti-communist journalist [[Isaac Don Levine]] arranged a meeting between Berle and [[Whittaker Chambers]]. Chambers told Berle there was a network of communist informers in Washington, naming individuals including [[Alger Hiss]], [[Charles Kramer]] and [[Marion Bachrach]].<ref>Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov, The Secret World of American Communism, Yale University Press, 1996, p.318.</ref> | ||
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| + | Following its formation in 1940, the [[Emergency Rescue Committee]]'s president [[Frank Kingdon]] kept in close touch with Berle. He urged the committee to withdraw [[Varian Fry]] from France and replace him, after Fry came under suspicion from the Vichy authorities. After Fry's expulsion in July 1942, he advised the ERC not to send another representative and to allow its role to be taken over by the US Consulate in Marseilles.<ref>Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network: Progressives, the International Rescue Committee and the CIA, M.E. Sharpe, 1995, pp.15-16.</ref> | ||
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| + | During his tenure as Assistant Secretary of State, Berle sought a tougher policy towards the Soviet Union. He was forced out of his post in a dispute with other major players in the State Department.<ref name="Chester106">Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network: Progressives, the International Rescue Committee and the CIA, M.E. Sharpe, 1995, p.106.</ref> | ||
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| + | ==International Rescue Committee== | ||
| + | When [[David Martin]] suggested in 1951 that the [[International Rescue Committee]] set up "frontier stations" to aid refugees from communism, Berle sounded out the State Department, the Army and the [[CIA]]'s [[Allen Dulles]], who responded favourably to the idea.<ref>Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network: Progressives, the International Rescue Committee and the CIA, M.E. Sharpe, 1995, p.69.</ref> | ||
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| + | In the winter of 1951, Martin turned to Berle to deal with the crisis caused by [[Vadim Makaroff]]'s denunciation of the IRC. Martin regarded Berle's support as essential because of his credentials as a liberal anticommunist.<ref name="Chester106">Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network: Progressives, the International Rescue Committee and the CIA, M.E. Sharpe, 1995, p.106.</ref> Berle was however unsuccessful in persuading [[Vincent Astor]] to endorse the IRC.<ref>Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network: Progressives, the International Rescue Committee and the CIA, M.E. Sharpe, 1995, p.107.</ref> | ||
| + | |||
| + | ==Affiliations== | ||
| + | *[[National Committee for a Free Europe]] - board member. | ||
| + | *[[International Rescue Committee]] - board member. | ||
==Notes== | ==Notes== | ||
<references/> | <references/> | ||
| − | [[Category:United States|Berle, Adolf A.]] | + | [[Category:United States|Berle, Adolf A.]][[Category:Harvard University alumni|Berle, Adolf A.]][[Category:Academics|Berle, Adolf A.]][[Category:Lawyers|Berle, Adolf A.]] |
Revision as of 23:16, 4 April 2012
Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr (1895-1971) was a US lawyer, academic and government official.[1]
Contents
Education
Berle earned bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard College before graduating from Harvard Law School in 1916.[1]
Career
Berle practiced law in Boston for a year before joining the US Commission negotiating a peace with Germany. In 1919, he moved to New York to join the law firm Berle, Berle and Brunner of which he remained a member during his subsequent career. He was a professor of Corporate Law at Columbia Law School from 1927 to 1964.[1]
The Modern Corporation and Private Property
In 1932, Berle and Gardner Means co-authored The Modern Corporation and Private Property, which argued that the concentration of ownership within the largest corporations was creating a divorce between ownership and control in the US economy. [1]
Government Service
From 1933 onwards, Berle spent much of his career in public service:
- He was a member of the original "brain trust" in the early years of President Franklin Roosevelt's first administration. He served as special counsel to the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (1933-1938), assistant secretary of state (1938-1944), United States ambassador to Brazil (1945-1946), chairman of the Task Force on Latin America (1961), and consultant to the secretary of state (1961-1962). At intervals throughout this period he also served as United States delegate to the Inter-American Conference for Maintenance of Peace (Buenos Aires, 1936-1937); and two Pan American conferences (Lima, Peru, 1938; Havana, Cuba, 1940). He was president of the International Conference on Civil Aviation and chairman of the American delegation (Chicago, 1944).[1]
Assistant Secretary of State
Berle was a key intelligence and security confidant of President Roosevelt.[2]
In the wake of the Nazi-Soviet Pact, the anti-communist journalist Isaac Don Levine arranged a meeting between Berle and Whittaker Chambers. Chambers told Berle there was a network of communist informers in Washington, naming individuals including Alger Hiss, Charles Kramer and Marion Bachrach.[3]
Following its formation in 1940, the Emergency Rescue Committee's president Frank Kingdon kept in close touch with Berle. He urged the committee to withdraw Varian Fry from France and replace him, after Fry came under suspicion from the Vichy authorities. After Fry's expulsion in July 1942, he advised the ERC not to send another representative and to allow its role to be taken over by the US Consulate in Marseilles.[4]
During his tenure as Assistant Secretary of State, Berle sought a tougher policy towards the Soviet Union. He was forced out of his post in a dispute with other major players in the State Department.[2]
International Rescue Committee
When David Martin suggested in 1951 that the International Rescue Committee set up "frontier stations" to aid refugees from communism, Berle sounded out the State Department, the Army and the CIA's Allen Dulles, who responded favourably to the idea.[5]
In the winter of 1951, Martin turned to Berle to deal with the crisis caused by Vadim Makaroff's denunciation of the IRC. Martin regarded Berle's support as essential because of his credentials as a liberal anticommunist.[2] Berle was however unsuccessful in persuading Vincent Astor to endorse the IRC.[6]
Affiliations
- National Committee for a Free Europe - board member.
- International Rescue Committee - board member.
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Encyclopedia of World Biography on Adolf Augustus Berle, Jr., bookrags.com, accessed 4 April 2012.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network: Progressives, the International Rescue Committee and the CIA, M.E. Sharpe, 1995, p.106.
- ↑ Harvey Klehr, John Earl Haynes, Fridrikh Igorevich Firsov, The Secret World of American Communism, Yale University Press, 1996, p.318.
- ↑ Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network: Progressives, the International Rescue Committee and the CIA, M.E. Sharpe, 1995, pp.15-16.
- ↑ Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network: Progressives, the International Rescue Committee and the CIA, M.E. Sharpe, 1995, p.69.
- ↑ Eric Thomas Chester, Covert Network: Progressives, the International Rescue Committee and the CIA, M.E. Sharpe, 1995, p.107.
