Description
EARL WARREN TYPED LETTER SIGNED, "Earl Warren", 8 x 10.5, on "State of California Governor's Office" personal letterhead, with embossed state shield, July 1, 1946, by the Governor of California and future Chief Justice of the U. S. Supreme Court. The letter is to Paul C. Smith the Editor and General Manager of The San Francisco Chronicle. In part: "...I don't believe I have ever congratulated you on receiving the Silver Star, awarded for gallantry on Guam...A mutual friend has told me that you also held two Bronze Stars. This is an enviable record...." At the time of this letter Warren was actively participating in the 1946 California gubernatorial election which would be held on November 5, 1946. It is notable in that the incumbent, Governor Earl Warren, was nominated by both the Republican and Democratic parties, as well as the Progressive party. Warren subsequently was reelected in the general election to a second term with more than 90% of the vote. In fine condition, with minimal age toning and staple upper left.
Earl Warren (1891-1974) was an American politician and jurist who served as the Governor of California from 1943 to 1953 and Chief Justice of the United States from 1953 to 1969. The "Warren Court" presided over a major shift in American constitutional jurisprudence, which has been recognized by many as a "Constitutional Revolution" of the liberal, with Warren writing the majority opinions in landmark cases such as Brown v. Board of Education, the decision which ended school segregation. Warren also led the Warren Commission, a presidential commission that investigated the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy. He is, as of 2019, the last Chief Justice to have served in an elected office before entering the Supreme Court, and is generally considered to be one of the most influential Supreme Court justices and political leaders in the history of United States.
Paul C. Smith (1908-76) had a distinguished career as a marine during World War II. He had become editor of the San Francisco Chronicle in 1935. When the United States entered World War II, Smith received a commission as a Navy lieutenant commander and the top brass shipped him off to Washington. He endured for a few months then resigned the commission and enlisted in the Marine Corps as a private. He was later recommissioned as a U.S. Marine second lieutenant, saw combat in the Pacific, and was awarded the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and the Legion of Merit for his WWII service. When he returned to the Chronicle at war’s end, he loaded the paper’s editorial staff with former marines.
$295 #11454
