David Ginsburg (lawyer)
Encyclopedia
Charles David Ginsburg was an American
political advisor and lawyer who was among the founders of Americans for Democratic Action
and served as executive director of the Kerner Commission
, which warned that the U.S. was "moving toward two societies — one black, one white, separate and unequal."
Ginsburg was born in Manhattan
on April 20, 1912, and moved with his family to Huntington, West Virginia
as a child. He graduated from West Virginia University
in 1932 and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School
in 1935.
After graduating from law school, he found a position at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with the assistance of Felix Frankfurter
, interrupted by a one-year-long Supreme Court clerkship with Associate Justice
William O. Douglas
. During World War II
, Ginsburg served on the staff of the Office of Price Administration
from 1941 until his resignation in 1943, where his hires included Richard Nixon
, who had just graduated from the Duke University School of Law
. Criticized for attempting to use influence to obtain a commission as an officer, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
came to his support, writing that "when the political storms blow over..., David’s patriotic, unselfish and distinguished service to his country will be duly recognized."
Ultimately, Ginsburg enlisted as a private in the United States Army
, where he drove trucks for a supply unit. He later earned the rank of captain and served on the staff of General Lucius D. Clay
, the Military Governor of the U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany. There he provided guidance in the rebuilding and reconstruction of the German economy and attended portions of the Nuremberg Trials
and the Potsdam Conference
.
After completing his military service, Ginsburg returned to Washington, where he founded a law firm and became the founders of Americans for Democratic Action
. As counsel to the Jewish Agency and adviser to Chaim Weizmann
, he paved the way for Harry S. Truman
's recognition of the state of Israel
in 1948.
President Lyndon B. Johnson
appointed Ginsburg in 1967 to serve as executive director of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, commonly known as the Kerner Commission
after its chair, Governor
Otto Kerner, Jr.
of Illinois
. In the wake of inner city riots in the late 1960s, the commission's report became a surprise best seller, warning that the unrest by African-Americans was a result of systematic white racism in which the United States was "moving toward two societies — one black, one white, separate and unequal." Ginsburg wrote that "white society is deeply implicated in the ghetto.., White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it and white society condones it." Johnson broke his relationship with Ginsburg after the release of the report, upset that his presidential efforts to defend the civil rights of all Americans were not credited in the report. Decades later, Ginsburg remained pessimistic about the future of race relations, citing the continued lag in education, housing and employment by African-Americans.
He served as general counsel to the Democratic National Committee
during the 1968 presidential campaign
and helped craft Hubert Humphrey
's campaign platform opposing the Vietnam War
.
As attorney for Henry Kissinger
, Ginsburg successfully fought to prevent the release of transcripts of Kissinger's phone conversations with President Richard Nixon
as falling outside the purview of the Freedom of Information Act. The position was supported by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5 to 2 verdict in Kissinger v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
on the basis of the fact that the discussions were not related to the executive branch of government.
Ginsburg died at age 98 of congestive heart failure on May 23, 2010, in his home in Alexandria, Virginia
. He was survived by his third wife, Marianne Lais Ginsburg, as well as a daughter, two sons and two grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
political advisor and lawyer who was among the founders of Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action is an American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA works for social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research and supporting progressive candidates.-History:...
and served as executive director of the Kerner Commission
Kerner Commission
The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, known as the Kerner Commission after its chair, Governor Otto Kerner, Jr. of Illinois, was an 11-member commission established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the causes of the 1967 race riots in the United States and to provide...
, which warned that the U.S. was "moving toward two societies — one black, one white, separate and unequal."
Ginsburg was born in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
on April 20, 1912, and moved with his family to Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington, West Virginia
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia, along the Ohio River. Most of the city is in Cabell County, for which it is the county seat. A small portion of the city, mainly the neighborhood of Westmoreland, is in Wayne County. Its population was 49,138 at...
as a child. He graduated from West Virginia University
West Virginia University
West Virginia University is a public research university in Morgantown, West Virginia, USA. Other campuses include: West Virginia University at Parkersburg in Parkersburg; West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery; Potomac State College of West Virginia University in Keyser;...
in 1932 and earned his law degree from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
in 1935.
After graduating from law school, he found a position at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, with the assistance of Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter
Felix Frankfurter was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.-Early life:Frankfurter was born into a Jewish family on November 15, 1882, in Vienna, Austria, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe. He was the third of six children of Leopold and Emma Frankfurter...
, interrupted by a one-year-long Supreme Court clerkship with Associate Justice
Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
William O. Douglas
William O. Douglas
William Orville Douglas was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. With a term lasting 36 years and 209 days, he is the longest-serving justice in the history of the Supreme Court...
. During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Ginsburg served on the staff of the Office of Price Administration
Office of Price Administration
The Office of Price Administration was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA was originally to control money and rents after the outbreak of World War II.President Franklin D...
from 1941 until his resignation in 1943, where his hires included Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, who had just graduated from the Duke University School of Law
Duke University School of Law
The Duke University School of Law is the law school and a constituent academic unit of Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, United States. One of Duke's 10 schools and colleges, the School of Law began as the Trinity College School of Law in 1868. In 1924, following the renaming of Trinity...
. Criticized for attempting to use influence to obtain a commission as an officer, President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
came to his support, writing that "when the political storms blow over..., David’s patriotic, unselfish and distinguished service to his country will be duly recognized."
Ultimately, Ginsburg enlisted as a private in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, where he drove trucks for a supply unit. He later earned the rank of captain and served on the staff of General Lucius D. Clay
Lucius D. Clay
General Lucius Dubignon Clay was an American officer and military governor of the United States Army known for his administration of Germany immediately after World War II. Clay was deputy to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1945; deputy military governor, Germany 1946; commander in chief, U.S....
, the Military Governor of the U.S. Occupation Zone in Germany. There he provided guidance in the rebuilding and reconstruction of the German economy and attended portions of the Nuremberg Trials
Nuremberg Trials
The Nuremberg Trials were a series of military tribunals, held by the victorious Allied forces of World War II, most notable for the prosecution of prominent members of the political, military, and economic leadership of the defeated Nazi Germany....
and the Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
.
After completing his military service, Ginsburg returned to Washington, where he founded a law firm and became the founders of Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action is an American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA works for social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research and supporting progressive candidates.-History:...
. As counsel to the Jewish Agency and adviser to Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Weizmann
Chaim Azriel Weizmann, , was a Zionist leader, President of the Zionist Organization, and the first President of the State of Israel. He was elected on 1 February 1949, and served until his death in 1952....
, he paved the way for Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
's recognition of the state of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
in 1948.
President Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
appointed Ginsburg in 1967 to serve as executive director of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, commonly known as the Kerner Commission
Kerner Commission
The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, known as the Kerner Commission after its chair, Governor Otto Kerner, Jr. of Illinois, was an 11-member commission established by President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the causes of the 1967 race riots in the United States and to provide...
after its chair, Governor
Governor of Illinois
The Governor of Illinois is the chief executive of the State of Illinois and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by popular suffrage of residents of the state....
Otto Kerner, Jr.
Otto Kerner, Jr.
Otto Kerner, Jr. was the 33rd Governor of Illinois from 1961 to 1968. He is best known for chairing the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders and for accepting bribes....
of Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. In the wake of inner city riots in the late 1960s, the commission's report became a surprise best seller, warning that the unrest by African-Americans was a result of systematic white racism in which the United States was "moving toward two societies — one black, one white, separate and unequal." Ginsburg wrote that "white society is deeply implicated in the ghetto.., White institutions created it, white institutions maintain it and white society condones it." Johnson broke his relationship with Ginsburg after the release of the report, upset that his presidential efforts to defend the civil rights of all Americans were not credited in the report. Decades later, Ginsburg remained pessimistic about the future of race relations, citing the continued lag in education, housing and employment by African-Americans.
He served as general counsel to the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
during the 1968 presidential campaign
United States presidential election, 1968
The United States presidential election of 1968 was the 46th quadrennial United States presidential election. Coming four years after Democrat Lyndon B. Johnson won in a historic landslide, it saw Johnson forced out of the race and Republican Richard Nixon elected...
and helped craft Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
's campaign platform opposing the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
As attorney for Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
, Ginsburg successfully fought to prevent the release of transcripts of Kissinger's phone conversations with President Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
as falling outside the purview of the Freedom of Information Act. The position was supported by the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5 to 2 verdict in Kissinger v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Kissinger v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press
Kissinger v. Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, , is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States involving the Freedom of Information Act...
on the basis of the fact that the discussions were not related to the executive branch of government.
Ginsburg died at age 98 of congestive heart failure on May 23, 2010, in his home in Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria, Virginia
Alexandria is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of 2009, the city had a total population of 139,966. Located along the Western bank of the Potomac River, Alexandria is approximately six miles south of downtown Washington, D.C.Like the rest of northern Virginia, as well as...
. He was survived by his third wife, Marianne Lais Ginsburg, as well as a daughter, two sons and two grandchildren.