I recently read about what happened to the Scottsboro Boys and became interested in writing about it for my 20th Century American History class. Does the Federal Government have any records regarding the Scottsboro Boys?
I recently read about what happened to the Scottsboro Boys and became interested in writing about it for my 20th Century American History class. Does the Federal Government have any records regarding the Scottsboro Boys?
Dear Seeker,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
The tragedy of the events surrounding the Scottsboro Boys incident is found in multiple places in records of the Federal Government.
While the criminal trials took place in the courts of the State of Alabama, the appeals worked their way through the Federal courts. Record Group 276: Records of the U.S. Courts of Appeals are located at the National Archives at Kansas City. For more information on appellate records related to the Scottsboro Boys, you can contact them at kansascity.archives@nara.gov.
The Scottsboro Boys case resulted in three important Supreme Court cases, Powell v. Alabama, Norris v. Alabama, and Patterson v. Alabama. All Supreme Court records are at the National Archives at Washington, DC. They can be contacted at archives1reference@nara.gov.
Most of the events of the case took place during the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the main files of the President, Official File 93 lists numerous examples of records regarding the Scottsboro Boys. Another file, OF 532: Scottsboro Case 1933-1940, particularly deals with the Boys.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s Personal Letters Files, 1934–1945 contains references to the case. In the Diaries of Henry Morgenthau, Jr. there is the record Volume 329 - Part 1: FBI Reports, November 1 – November 15, 1940 which provides background material on the case on page 25. Lastly, Roosevelt’s Subject Files, 1933–1945 contains the file “Graves, Bibb (Scottsboro Case)” which deals with the Alabama Governor and the case.
For more information on records at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, you can contact them at roosevelt.library@nara.gov.
The Department of State provides an important series of documents related to the Scottsboro Boys, as the case became an international cause célèbre. With the Soviet Union leading international pressure on the case, people from all over the world protested against the injustice. So much worldwide correspondence caused the State Department to create a decimal classification filing number just for this matter, “811.4016 Scottsboro Boys.”
You can find records on the matter in Purport Lists and Cards, 1910–1959, and the Central Decimal Files, 1910-1963. Records under the filing number 811.4016 Scottsboro Boys in the Purport Lists and Cards are digitized and found here.
The largest amount of records within the Federal Government regarding the Scottsboro Boys are found in the records of the Department of Justice, in particular in the series Straight Numerical Files, 1904-1974.
Like the State Department records, the volume of correspondence caused the Justice Department to assign the Scottsboro Boys case their own file numbering, 158260-46. Other records within the 158260 file numbering can also contain references to the case.
158260-46 also has a collection of enclosure records, containing hundreds of pages of petitions demanding the release of the Boys.
Both records for the Department of Justice and the Department of State are located at the National Archives at College Park, MD. They can be contacted at archives2reference@nara.gov.
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum could contain records concerning the Scottsboro Boys as the first two years of the events of the incident happened under his administration. You can contact the Hoover Library at hoover.library@nara.gov for further information.
Records concerning the Alabama state courts and the Alabama Governor are in the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Some records, including the state prison records of the Scottsboro Boys, have been digitized on their website.
Additional records are found at other institutions, including the New York Public Library, Emory University, University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Cornell University, amongst others.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
Dear Seeker,
Thank you for posting your request on History Hub!
The tragedy of the events surrounding the Scottsboro Boys incident is found in multiple places in records of the Federal Government.
While the criminal trials took place in the courts of the State of Alabama, the appeals worked their way through the Federal courts. Record Group 276: Records of the U.S. Courts of Appeals are located at the National Archives at Kansas City. For more information on appellate records related to the Scottsboro Boys, you can contact them at kansascity.archives@nara.gov.
The Scottsboro Boys case resulted in three important Supreme Court cases, Powell v. Alabama, Norris v. Alabama, and Patterson v. Alabama. All Supreme Court records are at the National Archives at Washington, DC. They can be contacted at archives1reference@nara.gov.
Most of the events of the case took place during the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the main files of the President, Official File 93 lists numerous examples of records regarding the Scottsboro Boys. Another file, OF 532: Scottsboro Case 1933-1940, particularly deals with the Boys.
Eleanor Roosevelt’s Personal Letters Files, 1934–1945 contains references to the case. In the Diaries of Henry Morgenthau, Jr. there is the record Volume 329 - Part 1: FBI Reports, November 1 – November 15, 1940 which provides background material on the case on page 25. Lastly, Roosevelt’s Subject Files, 1933–1945 contains the file “Graves, Bibb (Scottsboro Case)” which deals with the Alabama Governor and the case.
For more information on records at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum, you can contact them at roosevelt.library@nara.gov.
The Department of State provides an important series of documents related to the Scottsboro Boys, as the case became an international cause célèbre. With the Soviet Union leading international pressure on the case, people from all over the world protested against the injustice. So much worldwide correspondence caused the State Department to create a decimal classification filing number just for this matter, “811.4016 Scottsboro Boys.”
You can find records on the matter in Purport Lists and Cards, 1910–1959, and the Central Decimal Files, 1910-1963. Records under the filing number 811.4016 Scottsboro Boys in the Purport Lists and Cards are digitized and found here.
The largest amount of records within the Federal Government regarding the Scottsboro Boys are found in the records of the Department of Justice, in particular in the series Straight Numerical Files, 1904-1974.
Like the State Department records, the volume of correspondence caused the Justice Department to assign the Scottsboro Boys case their own file numbering, 158260-46. Other records within the 158260 file numbering can also contain references to the case.
158260-46 also has a collection of enclosure records, containing hundreds of pages of petitions demanding the release of the Boys.
Both records for the Department of Justice and the Department of State are located at the National Archives at College Park, MD. They can be contacted at archives2reference@nara.gov.
The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum could contain records concerning the Scottsboro Boys as the first two years of the events of the incident happened under his administration. You can contact the Hoover Library at hoover.library@nara.gov for further information.
Records concerning the Alabama state courts and the Alabama Governor are in the Alabama Department of Archives and History. Some records, including the state prison records of the Scottsboro Boys, have been digitized on their website.
Additional records are found at other institutions, including the New York Public Library, Emory University, University of Alabama in Huntsville, and Cornell University, amongst others.
We hope this is helpful. Best of luck with your research!
