Benjamin Fletcher Wright Papers, 1949-1959
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Smith College Archives Northampton, MA
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Benjamin Fletcher Wright Papers
Creation of Benjamin Fletcher Wright Papers
Time of Creation of Benjamin Fletcher Wright Papers
Wright, Benjamin Fletcher, 1900-
Biographical History for: Benjamin Fletcher Wright Papers
Biographical Note Benjamin Fletcher Wright, president of Smith College 1949-1959, was born February 8, 1900, in Austin, Texas. He was the son of Benjamin F. and Mary (Blanford) Wright. His lifelong interest in political science, especially government, became evident early in life with his fascination for Thomas Jefferson in grammar school. He followed that passion through the University of Texas, where he earned his BA and MA degrees in 1921 and to Harvard, where, in 1925, he earned his Ph.D. He was a member of the University of Texas faculty from 1922 to 1926. In 1926, he married Alexa Rhea, and they had two children: David and Janet (Mrs. Paul E. Jones Jr.). Wright taught at Harvard from 1926 until coming to Smith in 1949. While at Harvard, he served as chairman of the Government department and served on the special Harvard Committee on General Education. He was one of the authors of the renowned report published by the Committee titled, "General Education in a Free Society" (1945). During his decade as the fifth president of Smith College, Wright made notable contributions to the honors program and the interdepartmental majors program. He consistently fought for the value of intellectual and educational freedom in the face of McCarthyism and widespread anti-Communist propaganda. Under his administration, the college's endowment was substantially increased, faculty salaries raised and college plant and facilities enlarged. In 1961, Wright Hall was dedicated in his honor. After leaving Smith, Wright spent a year as a fellow at the center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Science, at Stanford University in California. The following year he returned to the University of Texas as a professor of government where he taught until the year before his death on November 28, 1976. Wright held honorary degrees from Amherst College, Mount Holyoke College, American International College and Pittsburgh University. The following are a selection of his published titles: The Merit System in the American States (1923), Source Book of the American Political Theory (1928), American Interpretations of Natural Law (1942), General Education in a Free Society (with others 1945), Consensus and Continuity 1777-1787 (1958), editor: The Federalist (1961).
Scope and Contents of the Collection The Office of the President: Benjamin Wright Papers consist of 4.65 linear feet and are primarily related to his official duty as President of Smith College from 1949-1959. Types of material include correspondence, speeches, legal documents, press releases, minutes, memoranda, reports, and newspaper articles. The papers are arranged in alphabetical order by subject. Major subjects found in these papers include issues of Communism and Intellectual Freedom (Committee for Discrimination in Giving, Massachusetts Commission on Communism and U.S. House of Representatives, Un-American Activities Committee); The Four College Cooperation; The Seven College Conferences and Junior Year Abroad.
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Smith College--Presidents.
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Smith College. Office of President.
Academic Departments, General 1949-59
Academic Departments: Art 1950-59
Academic Departments: History n.d.
Academic Departments: Music: General 1949-55
Academic Depts: Music: Chamber Singers 1951-58
Academic Departments: Music: Glee Club (see also Alumnae Clubs) 1949-58
Academic Depts: Physical Education c. 1947-52
Academic Departments: Physics (solar energy)1949
Academic Depts: Sciences (visiting ad hoc committee on sciences) 1958-59, n.d.
Academic Departments: Theater 1950-54
Academic Departments: Zoology 1950-59
Alumnae Association 1949-59
Alumnae Clubs 1954-59, n.d.
Alumnae Association: Cleveland SC Clubs Lecture Series 1949-58
Alumnae Council 1950-58
Alumnae Fund 1949-59
Alumnae Biographical File (proposed) 1954-56
American Asso. of University Professors 1950-56, n.d.
American Asso. of University Women 1951-59
Ames, Blanche Ames 1956-57
Amherst College 1950-59
Anniversary 1950 (75th) and Inauguration:Congratulatory Messages 1950
Anniversary (75th) and Inauguration: Fund 1949-57, n.d.
Anniversary (75th) and Inauguration: Observance Committee 1948-50
Archives and Sophia Smith Collection 1949-54, n.d.
Assemblies 1949-59, n.d.
Beard, Mary Ritter 1950-54
Bennington College 1950
Blakeslee, Albert F. 1950-54
Buildings and Grounds: General 1947-57
Buildings and Grounds: Carlile Carillon 1949-54
Buildings and Grounds: Cutter and Ziskind, General 1955
Buildings and Grounds: Cutter and Ziskind, General 1956-59, n.d.
Buildings and Grounds: Cutter and Ziskind: Ziskind Charitable Trust 1954-57
Buildings and Grounds: Cutter and Ziskind: Correspondence Pro-Style 1955-56
Buildings and Grounds: Cutter and Ziskind: Correspondence Anti-Style 1955-56
Buildings and Grounds: Dormitories (proposed) 1949-54
Buildings and Grounds: Helen Hills Hills Chapel 1951-59, n.d.
Buildings and Grounds: Lamont House 1952-53
Buildings and Grounds: Lamont House 1954-55
Buildings and Grounds: Little Chapel Dismantling 1955-1956
Buildings and Grounds: Riding Ring 1953-56
Buildings and Grounds: Wright Hall 1957-1959
Calendar 1953-54
Carnegie Corporation of New York 1950-59
Carnegie Endowment for Int'l Peace 1950-52
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching 1952-59
Chaplain, Office of 1949-58
Charter, Amendment to 1958
Civil Liberties Union of MA 1950-53, 1959
Class of 1949-59 1949-59
Coeducation 1952
C.E.E.B. Social Studies 1952-55
Commencements 1950
Commencements 1951
Commencements 1952
Commencements 1953
Commencements 1954
Commencements 1955
Commencements 1956
Commencements 1957
Commencements 1958
Commencements 1959
Committees, College: Board of Admission 1949-58
Committee on Classroom Equipment 1955-57
Committee on Committees 1950-1958
Committee, Conference 1952-57, n.d.
Committee (Faculty-Trustee), Conference 1950-57
Committee on College Education ofFaculty Children 1947-58, n.d.
Committee on Educational Policy 1954-56
Committee on Faculty Offices 1952-59
Committee on Foreign Students 1950-57, n.d.
Committee on Graduate Study 1950-59, n.d.
Committee on Lectures 1949-50
Committee (Central) Planning 1951-57
Committee (Central) Planning 1958-59, n.d.
Committee (Faculty) Planning 1956-57
Committee (Faculty) Planning 1958-59, n.d.
Committee on Special Assistance in Written English 1949-54, n.d.
Committee on Teacher Training (ad hoc) 1956
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Chronology and Literature 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Writings by Aloise Buckley Heath 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Clippings 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Corr. With Aloise Buckley Heath 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Correspondence re. Committee Feb 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Correspondence re. Committee 1-9 Mar 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Correspondence re. Committee 10-31 Mar 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Correspondence re. Committee Apr 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Correspondence re. Committee May 1-June 17 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Correspondence re. Committee 18-30 Jun 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Correspondence re. Committee Jul 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Correspondence re. Committee Aug-Dec 1954, n.d.
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Investigation into charges, Correspondence and background on named faculty 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Investigation into Charges, Corr.with Attorney General, Govt.Documents 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Investigation into charges, Corr.with College Attorney, John H. Finn 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Investigation into charges, Trustee-Faculty Committee 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Official response, Alumnae Asso. Jun-Dec 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Official response, Chapel Speech By B.F. Wright 4 Mar 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Official response, Quarterly article Spring 1954
Committee for Discrimination in Giving:Official response, press releases and form letters 1954
Communism in Colleges 1953-54
Conference (proposed) on Redefinition of Values 1951-52
Counselors, Board of
Day School/Nursery School: General 1950-59
Day School/Nursery School: Visiting Committee 1953-55
Dean, class 1954-56
Development: General 1949-57
Development: General 1958-59
Development: Kersting, Brown & Co. Report 1958
Development: Kersting, Brown & Co. Report 1958-59
Eastman, Eva Hills 1950-57, n.d.
Employment Office 1950-58
Faculty, General 1950-57
Faculty Club 1952-57
Faculty, Emeriti 1953-57
Faculty Housing 1953-59, n.d.
Faculty Salaries: Correspondence 1955-58
Faculty Salaries: Scales 1946-59
Faculty, Secretary of 1953
Form Letters to Alumnae, Parents, etc. 1950-52
Four College Cooperation: General 1949-59
Four College Cooperation: Astronomy Department 1953-59, n.d.
Four College Cooperation: Committee for New College (Hampshire) 1958-59
Four College Cooperation: Committee on 1955-57, n.d.
Four College Cooperation: Cresap- McCormick & Paget Exploratory Survey 1954
Four College Cooperation: Non-Western Studies Committee 1957-59
Four College Cooperation: Radio 1950-59
Genetics Experiment Station 1949-55, n.d.
Ginling College 1947-55
Harvard University 1950-59
Honorary Degrees 1950-54
Honorary Degrees 1955-56
Honorary Degrees 1957-59, n.d.
Honors Program 1950-59
Houses 1953-56, n.d.
Infirmary 1950-1959
Institute of International Education 1949-59
Junior Year Abroad: General 1950-56
Junior Year Abroad: England 1952-54
Junior Year Abroad: France 1949-58, N.D
Junior Year Abroad: Geneva 1949-50
Junior Year Abroad: Geneva 1951-59
Junior Year Abroad: Germany 1950-55
Junior Year Abroad: Italy 1949-59
Junior Year Abroad: Mexico 1951-53
Junior Year Abroad: Spain 1950-57
Junior Year Abroad: Toronto 1952-55
Juniper Lodge 1951-59, n.d.
Laundry 1955
Library 1950-59
Library, Friends of the 1950-52
Massachusetts Commission on Communism 1954-56, n.d.
Massachusetts House of Representatives 1950-52
Massachusetts Institute of Technology 1951
Massachusetts, University of 1955-58
McCarthy, Sen. Joseph: Visit to Smith 1952
Mount Holyoke College 1950-58
Mountain Day 1955, n.d.
Museum of Art: General 1949-53
Museum of Art 1954-59
Museum of Art: Poussin "Venus and Adonis," authenticity 1954-57
Neilson of Smith (Margaret Farrand Thorp) 1951-56
New England Association of Colleges And Secondary Schools 1949-57
New England Colleges Fund 1955-57
News Office 1951-58
Northampton: General 1949-59
Northampton: Academy of Music 1949-58
Northampton: Arcadia 1949, n.d
Northampton: Civil Defense Organization 1950-58
Northampton: Clarke School for the Deaf 1947-57
Northampton: Fire Truck 1951-58
Northampton: Industrial Realty Development Corporation 1950
Northampton: St. John's Church 1935-55
Northampton: Tercentenary 1950-54
Public Relations 1947-57
Purchasing Office 1951-56
Radcliffe College 1950-59
Rally Day 1949-54
Rally Day 1955-59
Reader's Digest 1953-54
Registrar 1950-55
Scholarships and Student Aid: General 1950-55
Scholarships and Student Aid: Chester Bowles Asian Scholarship 1956-58
Scholarships and Student Aid: General Motors Scholarship Plan 1955
Scholarships and Student Aid: Northampton-Hatfield Scholarships 1951-58
Scholarships and Student Aid: Proctor and Gamble Scholarship 1955-57
Scholarships and Student Aid: Scott Paper Co. Foundation Award 1955-56
School for Social Work 1949-59
Seven College Conference 1949-50
Seven College Conference 1951-54
Seven College Conference 1954-56
Seven College Conference 1957-59
Shaffer, Mary Mills 1952-53
Sophia Smith Collection 1952-53
Student Counselor 1956-59
Students 1953-59
Student Government Association: General 1950-59, n.d.
Student Government Association: Curriculum Committee 1950-57
Students, Male 1952-59
Student Organizations 1949-56, n.d.
Student Publications 1952-59
Students, Dean of 1954-58
Studies 1949-59, n.d.
Symposium: The American Novel at Mid-Century 1955
Symposium: Art and Morals 1952-60
Tuition increases 1946-58
U.S.: General 1957-58, n.d.
U.S. House of Representatives Un-American Activities Committee, Correspondence With 1949
U.S. House of Representatives UAC,Background Materials 1952-3
U.S. House of Representatives UAC,Trustee-Faculty Committee 1953
U.S. House of Representatives UAC,Corresp. Re. Investigation And Testimony 1952-Apr 53
U.S. House of Representatives UAC, Corresp. Re. Investigation And Testimony May-Dec 53
U.S. House of Representatives UAC, Press Releases and Clippings 1953
U.S. House of Representatives UAC, Publications re. Education 1953
U.S. Navy 1951
U.S. Office of Education: Federal Security Agency Questionnaires 1951-52
Vassar College 1950-58
Vocational Office 1949-58
Wellesley College 1949-59
Women's College Board 1951-59
Women's Placement Bureau, Inc. 1949-51
Woodrow Wilson Foundation 1952-59
World University Service 1949-59
Yale University 1950-54
RESTRICTED MATERIAL
Counselors, Board of: General 1949-51
Counselors, Board of: General 1955-56
Counselors, Board of: General 1957
Counselors, Board of: General 1958-59, n.d.
Counselors, Board of: Chapel Committee 1958
Counselors, Board of: Davis Ctr. Cttee 1957-58
Counselors, Board of: Health and Infirmary Committee 1953-58
Counselors, Board of: Music Committee 1951-58
Counselors, Board of: Museum Comm. 1955-59
Counselors, Board of: Public Relations C. 1958-59
Counselors, Board of: Theater Committee 1957-59
Counselors, Board of: Vocational Cttee. 1957-58