Ernest van den Haag papers,
- Author:
- Van den Haag, Ernest.
- Call Number:
- MSS APAP-135 local
- Abstract:
- Ernest van den Haag's publications from 1950-2000 comprise the bulk of the collection. The publications in this collection include articles in published form, drafts, and related correspondence. Types of publications include transcripts from appearances on television shows in the 1970s and 1980s, files on the books which he authored, rough drafts for chapters, and hundreds of articles written for various journals, magazines, and newspapers from 1950-2000. The collection's publications cover a wide array of social science issues of the mid to late 20th century from an intellectual conservative's view. Topics include the death penalty, American culture, criminal justice, education, conservatism versus liberalism, and American politics. Van den Haag had a special political interest in U.S. foreign policy and commented on the Vietnam War and the Cold War. President Nixon once wrote van den Haag to thank him for his balanced views concerning U.S. soldiers and war crimes during Vietnam offered during his appearance on the Dick Cavett Show. Congressman Charles Rangel wrote to express his opposing views to van den Haag on the legalization of drugs. Also represented are pornography cases between towns and theaters both at the local and U.S. Supreme Court levels.
- Historical Note:
- Ernest van den Haag was a conservative commentator of social issues, especially crime, and one of America's foremost proponents of the death penalty. Ernest van den Haag was born in The Hague in 1914 and was raised in Italy where he began his early political life as a left-wing activist and communist. After receiving his M.A. in economics in 1942 as the U.S. entered World War II, van den Haag went to work for the Office of War Information as a propaganda analyst. That same year he met Sidney Hook, a famous social philosopher, who was a catalyst in van den Haag's thinking. He received his Ph. D. in Economics from New York University in 1952. As early as 1953, van den Haag was contributing essays to magazines arguing against communism. Van den Haag's book, Punishing Criminals: Concerning a Very Old and Painful Question (Basic Books, 1975), had a long popularity and launched his status as an expert and fearless debater in issues of criminal justice and the death penalty. In addition to his writing career, van den Haag was an expert witness for many court cases where he testified as an expert in areas including desegregation, criminal justice, and pornography. Van den Haag was especially active in debating the issue of the death penalty. He spent most of his life defending the issue based on the argument of deterrence, but later evolved the basis of his argument on the need for the death penalty as just punishment for severe criminals. Van den Haag died after a brief illness at age 88 on March 21, 2002, in Mendham, NJ.
- Physical Description:
- 11.45 cu. ft and 1 audio tape
- Access Terms:
- Access to the collection is unrestricted.
- Notes:
- Part of the Archives of Public Affairs and Policy. local
- Subjects:
- Vietnam War (1961-1975), Labor United States, Unemployment United States, Political science Philosophy, Capital punishment, Capital punishment Law and legislation United States History, School integration, Social science literature, Psychology and philosophy, Pornography Law and legislation United States Cases, Drugs Law and legislation United States Legislative history, Sex instruction, Vietnam War, 1961-1975, Capital punishment, Capital punishment Law and legislation, Economic history, Labor, Political science Philosophy, Pornography Law and legislation, Psychology and philosophy, School integration, Sex instruction, Social science literature, and Unemployment
- Genres/Forms:
- Publications. aat, periodicals. aat, legal documents. aat, correspondence. aat, lecture notes. aat, Clippings. aat, History, and Trials, litigation, etc
- Names:
- Van den Haag, Ernest and Van den Haag, Ernest
- Chronological Terms:
- 1961-1975 fast
- Geographic Terms:
- United States Economic conditions and United States
Access
Rare books do not circulate
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