Donald Richberg
Encyclopedia
Donald Randall Richberg (July 10, 1881 - November 27, 1960) was an American
attorney
, civil servant, and author
who was one of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
's key aides and who played a critical role in the New Deal
. He co-wrote the National Industrial Recovery Act
, was general counsel and executive director of the National Recovery Administration
. He also co-authored the Railway Labor Act
, the Norris-LaGuardia Act
, and the Taft-Hartley Act
.
, to John Carl and Eloise Olivia (née Randall) Richberg. His grandfather, Louis Richberg, and his father had migrated from Germany
to the U.S. in 1851. His grandfather set up shop as a merchant in New York City before moving to Chicago
, Illinois
, in 1854 and starting a meatpacking business. Richberg's father became a corporate attorney and later represented the City of Chicago.
Donald Richberg graduated from a Chicago public high school, received a bachelor's degree
from the University of Chicago
in 1901, and a J.D.
from Harvard University
in 1904. He met Elizabeth Harriet Herrick while at Harvard, and they married in 1906; they separated in 1915, and divorced in 1917 after she left him. He soon married Lynette Mulvey, but they divorced in 1924. The same year, he married Florence Weed (she survived him). They had one daughter.
Richberg and his father established a law firm
, Richberg & Richberg, in Chicago. In 1913, Harold L. Ickes
joined the firm. His increasingly ill father gave up the practice of law in 1915, and Morgan Davies and John S. Lord joined the firm (now called Richberg, Ickes, Davies & Lord). He was named a special state's attorney from 1913 to 1915 and assisted the City of Chicago with its extensive litigation against the People's Gas Company
, and from 1916 to 1919 was a special master
for a Chicago city court of chancery
.
Richberg's first foray into politics was in 1905. Becoming involved in progressive politics
, he became a close associate of Jane Addams
and Charles Edward Merriam
, and campaigned heavily for Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne
in the mayoral race
that fall. Along with Ickes, he helped form the Progressive-Republican League of Illinois, and became an active member of the Progressive Party
nationally.
. In 1920, Richberg became general counsel for the Railway Employees' Department. In this capacity, he served as the primary attorney for the striking railway unions, and led the opposition to the "Daughtery injunction." Deeply angered by what he perceived to be the injunction's unconstitutional infringement on worker rights, Richberg co-authored legislation which in 1926 was enacted as the Railway Labor Act
. In 1926, Richberg became counsel for the Railway Labor Executives Association, a lobbying group of railway unions. In this capacity, he helped draft the Norris-La Guardia Act, federal legislation which was enacted by Congress in 1932 and which banned labor injunctions. In an attempt to injure the bill's chances for passage, Secretary of Labor
William N. Doak
(in a meeting which included representatives of the National Association of Manufacturers
) offered Richberg a federal judgeship if he would end his support for the bill. Richberg refused. His experiences drafting these successful federal laws led many to consider Richberg to be the foremost expert on labor law by 1932.
In September 1932, Richberg, Ickes, Fred C. Howe, Felix Frankfurter
, and Henry A. Wallace
organized the National Progressive League to support New York
Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt for President of the United States. After Roosevelt's election in November 1932, Richberg worked on the presidential transition team
and for the new administration during the Hundred Days, drafting legislation. In this capacity Richberg was called upon to help draft the National Industrial Recovery Act
(NIRA) along with Hugh S. Johnson
, Raymond Moley
, Rexford Tugwell
, Jerome Frank
, Charles Wyzanski
and Bernard Baruch
. Moley asked Richberg to assist him in putting final touches on the bill after various competing drafts had been reconciled, and Richberg was largely responsible for drafting Title I, Section 7(a)—which guaranteed collective bargaining rights for workers and unions.
(NRA), the agency established to implement NIRA. Richberg greatly feared that the Act he had helped author was unconstitutional, and spent much of his time in office trying to avoid bringing cases to trial or allowing them to advance through the appellate courts As general counsel, Richberg also was tasked with implementing and defending Section 7(a). Richberg, like NRA Administrator Hugh Johnson, believed Section 7(a) would be self-implementing. But both men were proven wrong: A massive wave of union organizing occurred, and employer resistance to Section 7(a) rights led to employer and union violence, strikes
, and general strike
s that threatened to disrupt economic recovery. On August 5, 1933, just 46 days after the passage of the NIRA, President Roosevelt established the National Labor Board
(NLB) to take over the implementation of Section 7(a). Richberg openly opposed the National Labor Board and its successor agency (the "first" National Labor Relations Board
, established on June 29, 1934). In direct contradiction of NLB policy and rulings, he publicly declared that Section 7(a) did not prohibit company union
s or the closed shop
, opposed the NLB's concept of representational exclusivity, opposed any attempt to impose a requirement of good faith
bargaining on employers. Even as a national strike of 200,000 auto workers seemed imminent in February 1934, Richberg joined with Johnson to issue a "clarification" of Section 7(a) in which they declared that company unions were acceptable under federal labor policy.
On June 30, 1934, President Roosevelt announced that Richberg was taking a leave of absence from the NRA to become director of the newly created Industrial Emergency Committee. Roosevelt was experimenting with a number of coordinating bodies to assist in coordinating economic recovery efforts. He created an Executive Council on July 11, 1933, composed of most Cabinet heads and the leaders of most newly created economic recovery agencies "to provide for the orderly presentation of business and to coordinate inter-agency problems of organization and work of the new governmental agencies". On November 17, 1933, he created a similar coordinating body called the National Emergency Council, composed of four key Cabinet secretaries and the heads of six economic recovery agencies, to coordinate and make "more efficient and productive the work of the numerous field agencies of the Government established under, and for the purpose of carrying into effect" the provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the Agricultural Adjustment Act
, and the Federal Emergency Relief Act. Now, through an Executive Order, Roosevelt made Richberg director of the Industrial Emergency Committee, composed of the secretaries of the Interior and Labor and the heads of the NRA and Federal Emergency Relief Administration
, to "make recommendations to the President ... with respect to problems of relief, public works, labor disputes and industrial recovery and to study and coordinate the handling of joint problems affecting these activities." At the same time, Roosevelt put Richberg in charge of the Executive Council and the National Emergency Council, placed him over the Cabinet
. His extensive power earned Richberg the sobriquet of "assistant president." But Richberg's role didn't last. The Executive Council was merged with the National Emergency Council and the Industrial Emergency Committee was made a subcommittee of the new body in October 1934. By the end of December 1934, Richberg had resigned from his role as "assistant president" after political attacks from others in the administration.
on June 15, 1935, Richberg went ahead with plans to reorganize NRA in order to improve the law's chances of reauthorization. But on May 27, 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court
held Title I of the Act unconstitutional in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States
, 295 U.S. 495 (1935), making the issue moot. A severability
clause enabled NRA to continue functioning to some degree, but the vast majority of its regulatory work was now no longer possible. President Roosevelt terminated the Board on June 15, 1935, and replaced it with an Administrator again. Richberg resigned the next day.
. In 1956, he helped author a bill introduced into the Virginia General Assembly
which would have stopped school desegregation
. From 1949 to 1952 he was a lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law
.
Donald Richberg died at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia
, on November 27, 1960.
He also wrote the popular song, Smoke Dreams.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, civil servant, and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who was one of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
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...
's key aides and who played a critical role in the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
. He co-wrote the National Industrial Recovery Act
National Industrial Recovery Act
The National Industrial Recovery Act , officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 (Ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195, formerly...
, was general counsel and executive director of the National Recovery Administration
National Recovery Administration
The National Recovery Administration was the primary New Deal agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. The goal was to eliminate "cut-throat competition" by bringing industry, labor and government together to create codes of "fair practices" and set prices...
. He also co-authored the Railway Labor Act
Railway Labor Act
The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, passed in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration and mediation for strikes as a means of resolving labor disputes...
, the Norris-LaGuardia Act
Norris-LaGuardia Act
The Norris–La Guardia Act was a 1932 United States federal law that banned yellow-dog contracts, barred federal courts from issuing injunctions against nonviolent labor disputes, and created a positive right of noninterference by employers against workers joining trade unions...
, and the Taft-Hartley Act
Taft-Hartley Act
The Labor–Management Relations Act is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law by overriding U.S. President Harry S...
.
Early life and career
Donald Richberg was born in July 1881 in Knoxville, TennesseeKnoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, to John Carl and Eloise Olivia (née Randall) Richberg. His grandfather, Louis Richberg, and his father had migrated from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
to the U.S. in 1851. His grandfather set up shop as a merchant in New York City before moving to Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, 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 1854 and starting a meatpacking business. Richberg's father became a corporate attorney and later represented the City of Chicago.
Donald Richberg graduated from a Chicago public high school, received a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
from the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
in 1901, and a J.D.
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 1904. He met Elizabeth Harriet Herrick while at Harvard, and they married in 1906; they separated in 1915, and divorced in 1917 after she left him. He soon married Lynette Mulvey, but they divorced in 1924. The same year, he married Florence Weed (she survived him). They had one daughter.
Richberg and his father established a law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
, Richberg & Richberg, in Chicago. In 1913, Harold L. Ickes
Harold L. Ickes
Harold LeClair Ickes was a United States administrator and politician. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for 13 years, from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold the office, and the second longest serving Cabinet member in U.S. history next to James Wilson. Ickes...
joined the firm. His increasingly ill father gave up the practice of law in 1915, and Morgan Davies and John S. Lord joined the firm (now called Richberg, Ickes, Davies & Lord). He was named a special state's attorney from 1913 to 1915 and assisted the City of Chicago with its extensive litigation against the People's Gas Company
Peoples Energy
Peoples Energy was the former name of a holding company whose main revenues came from its regulated gas utility subsidiaries Peoples Gas and the North Shore Gas Company...
, and from 1916 to 1919 was a special master
Special master
In law, a special master is an authority appointed by a judge to make sure that judicial orders are actually followed.In England, at common law, there were "Masters in Chancery," who acted in aid of the Equity Courts. There were also "Masters in Lunacy," who conducted inquiries of the same nature...
for a Chicago city court of chancery
Court of equity
A chancery court, equity court or court of equity is a court that is authorized to apply principles of equity, as opposed to law, to cases brought before it.These courts began with petitions to the Lord Chancellor of England...
.
Richberg's first foray into politics was in 1905. Becoming involved in progressive politics
Progressivism in the United States
Progressivism in the United States is a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th century and is generally considered to be middle class and reformist in nature. It arose as a response to the vast changes brought by modernization, such as the growth of large...
, he became a close associate of Jane Addams
Jane Addams
Jane Addams was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace...
and Charles Edward Merriam
Charles Edward Merriam
Charles Edward Merriam, Jr. was a professor of political science at the University of Chicago, founder of the behavioralistic approach to political science, and an advisor to several U.S. Presidents...
, and campaigned heavily for Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne
Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne
Edward Fitzsimmons Dunne was an American politician who was the 24th Governor of Illinois from 1913 to 1917 and previously served as the 38th mayor of Chicago from April 5, 1905 to 1907.-Early years:...
in the mayoral race
Mayor of Chicago
The Mayor of Chicago is the chief executive of Chicago, Illinois, the third largest city in the United States. He or she is charged with directing city departments and agencies, and with the advice and consent of the Chicago City Council, appoints department and agency leaders.-Appointment...
that fall. Along with Ickes, he helped form the Progressive-Republican League of Illinois, and became an active member of the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American political party. It was formed after a split in the Republican Party between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt....
nationally.
Great Railroad Strike of 1922
In 1922, Richberg became nationally famous for his involvement in the Great Railroad StrikeGreat Railroad Strike of 1922
The Great Railroad Strike of 1922 was a nationwide railroad shop workers strike in the United States. The action began on July 1 and was the largest railroad work stoppage since 1894.-History:...
. In 1920, Richberg became general counsel for the Railway Employees' Department. In this capacity, he served as the primary attorney for the striking railway unions, and led the opposition to the "Daughtery injunction." Deeply angered by what he perceived to be the injunction's unconstitutional infringement on worker rights, Richberg co-authored legislation which in 1926 was enacted as the Railway Labor Act
Railway Labor Act
The Railway Labor Act is a United States federal law that governs labor relations in the railroad and airline industries. The Act, passed in 1926 and amended in 1934 and 1936, seeks to substitute bargaining, arbitration and mediation for strikes as a means of resolving labor disputes...
. In 1926, Richberg became counsel for the Railway Labor Executives Association, a lobbying group of railway unions. In this capacity, he helped draft the Norris-La Guardia Act, federal legislation which was enacted by Congress in 1932 and which banned labor injunctions. In an attempt to injure the bill's chances for passage, Secretary of Labor
United States Secretary of Labor
The United States Secretary of Labor is the head of the Department of Labor who exercises control over the department and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all other issues involving any form of business-person controversies....
William N. Doak
William N. Doak
William Nuckles Doak was an American labor leader who served as United States Secretary of Labor from December 9, 1930, to March 4, 1933, under Herbert Hoover....
(in a meeting which included representatives of the National Association of Manufacturers
National Association of Manufacturers
The National Association of Manufacturers is an advocacy group headquartered in Washington, D.C. with 10 additional offices across the country...
) offered Richberg a federal judgeship if he would end his support for the bill. Richberg refused. His experiences drafting these successful federal laws led many to consider Richberg to be the foremost expert on labor law by 1932.
Federal service
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...
, and Henry A. Wallace
Henry A. Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace was the 33rd Vice President of the United States , the Secretary of Agriculture , and the Secretary of Commerce . In the 1948 presidential election, Wallace was the nominee of the Progressive Party.-Early life:Henry A...
organized the National Progressive League to support New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt for President of the United States. After Roosevelt's election in November 1932, Richberg worked on the presidential transition team
United States presidential transition
A presidential transition or presidential interregnum refers to the period of time between the end of a presidential election and the inauguration of a new President of a country...
and for the new administration during the Hundred Days, drafting legislation. In this capacity Richberg was called upon to help draft the National Industrial Recovery Act
National Industrial Recovery Act
The National Industrial Recovery Act , officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 The National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA), officially known as the Act of June 16, 1933 (Ch. 90, 48 Stat. 195, formerly...
(NIRA) along with Hugh S. Johnson
Hugh Samuel Johnson
Hugh Samuel "Iron Pants" Johnson American Army officer, businessman, speech writer, government official and newspaper columnist. He is best known as a member of the Brain Trust of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932-34. He wrote numerous speeches for FDR and helped plan the New Deal...
, Raymond Moley
Raymond Moley
Raymond Charles Moley was a leading New Dealer who became its bitter opponent before the end of the Great Depression....
, Rexford Tugwell
Rexford Tugwell
Rexford Guy Tugwell was an agricultural economist who became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust," a group of Columbia academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to Roosevelt's 1932 election as President...
, Jerome Frank
Jerome Frank
Jerome New Frank was a legal philosopher who played a leading role in the legal realism movement and a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.-Biography:...
, Charles Wyzanski
Charles Edward Wyzanski, Jr.
Charles Edward Wyzanski, Jr. was a United States federal judge.Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Wyzanski received an A.B. from Harvard College in 1927 and an LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1930...
and Bernard Baruch
Bernard Baruch
Bernard Mannes Baruch was an American financier, stock-market speculator, statesman, and political consultant. After his success in business, he devoted his time toward advising U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt on economic matters and became a philanthropist.-Early life...
. Moley asked Richberg to assist him in putting final touches on the bill after various competing drafts had been reconciled, and Richberg was largely responsible for drafting Title I, Section 7(a)—which guaranteed collective bargaining rights for workers and unions.
National Recovery Administration and Presidential councils
On June 20, 1933, at the request of Hugh S. Johnson, President Roosevelt appointed Richberg general counsel of the National Recovery AdministrationNational Recovery Administration
The National Recovery Administration was the primary New Deal agency established by U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933. The goal was to eliminate "cut-throat competition" by bringing industry, labor and government together to create codes of "fair practices" and set prices...
(NRA), the agency established to implement NIRA. Richberg greatly feared that the Act he had helped author was unconstitutional, and spent much of his time in office trying to avoid bringing cases to trial or allowing them to advance through the appellate courts As general counsel, Richberg also was tasked with implementing and defending Section 7(a). Richberg, like NRA Administrator Hugh Johnson, believed Section 7(a) would be self-implementing. But both men were proven wrong: A massive wave of union organizing occurred, and employer resistance to Section 7(a) rights led to employer and union violence, strikes
Strike action
Strike action, also called labour strike, on strike, greve , or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became important during the industrial revolution, when mass labour became...
, and general strike
General strike
A general strike is a strike action by a critical mass of the labour force in a city, region, or country. While a general strike can be for political goals, economic goals, or both, it tends to gain its momentum from the ideological or class sympathies of the participants...
s that threatened to disrupt economic recovery. On August 5, 1933, just 46 days after the passage of the NIRA, President Roosevelt established the National Labor Board
National Labor Board
The National Labor Board was an independent agency of the United States Government established on August 5, 1933 to handle labor disputes arising under the National Industrial Recovery Act .-Establishment, structure and procedures:...
(NLB) to take over the implementation of Section 7(a). Richberg openly opposed the National Labor Board and its successor agency (the "first" National Labor Relations Board
National Labor Relations Board
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent agency of the United States government charged with conducting elections for labor union representation and with investigating and remedying unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of...
, established on June 29, 1934). In direct contradiction of NLB policy and rulings, he publicly declared that Section 7(a) did not prohibit company union
Company union
A company union is a trade union which is located within and run by a company or by the national government, and is not affiliated with an independent trade union. Company unions were outlawed in the United States by the 1935 National Labor Relations Act, due to their use as agents for interference...
s or the closed shop
Closed shop
A closed shop is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times in order to remain employed....
, opposed the NLB's concept of representational exclusivity, opposed any attempt to impose a requirement of good faith
Good faith
In philosophy, the concept of Good faith—Latin bona fides “good faith”, bona fide “in good faith”—denotes sincere, honest intention or belief, regardless of the outcome of an action; the opposed concepts are bad faith, mala fides and perfidy...
bargaining on employers. Even as a national strike of 200,000 auto workers seemed imminent in February 1934, Richberg joined with Johnson to issue a "clarification" of Section 7(a) in which they declared that company unions were acceptable under federal labor policy.
On June 30, 1934, President Roosevelt announced that Richberg was taking a leave of absence from the NRA to become director of the newly created Industrial Emergency Committee. Roosevelt was experimenting with a number of coordinating bodies to assist in coordinating economic recovery efforts. He created an Executive Council on July 11, 1933, composed of most Cabinet heads and the leaders of most newly created economic recovery agencies "to provide for the orderly presentation of business and to coordinate inter-agency problems of organization and work of the new governmental agencies". On November 17, 1933, he created a similar coordinating body called the National Emergency Council, composed of four key Cabinet secretaries and the heads of six economic recovery agencies, to coordinate and make "more efficient and productive the work of the numerous field agencies of the Government established under, and for the purpose of carrying into effect" the provisions of the National Industrial Recovery Act, the Agricultural Adjustment Act
Agricultural Adjustment Act
The Agricultural Adjustment Act was a United States federal law of the New Deal era which restricted agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies not to plant part of their land and to kill off excess livestock...
, and the Federal Emergency Relief Act. Now, through an Executive Order, Roosevelt made Richberg director of the Industrial Emergency Committee, composed of the secretaries of the Interior and Labor and the heads of the NRA and Federal Emergency Relief Administration
Federal Emergency Relief Administration
Federal Emergency Relief Administration was the new name given by the Roosevelt Administration to the Emergency Relief Administration which President Herbert Hoover had created in 1932...
, to "make recommendations to the President ... with respect to problems of relief, public works, labor disputes and industrial recovery and to study and coordinate the handling of joint problems affecting these activities." At the same time, Roosevelt put Richberg in charge of the Executive Council and the National Emergency Council, placed him over the Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
. His extensive power earned Richberg the sobriquet of "assistant president." But Richberg's role didn't last. The Executive Council was merged with the National Emergency Council and the Industrial Emergency Committee was made a subcommittee of the new body in October 1934. By the end of December 1934, Richberg had resigned from his role as "assistant president" after political attacks from others in the administration.
Return to NRA
Richberg also returned to the NRA. NRA Administrator Hugh Johnson was showing signs of mental breakdown due to the extreme pressure and workload of running the National Recovery Administration. Johnson's increasingly erratic behavior, frequent policy about-faces, and abusive behavior toward subordinates aliented Richberg, who began asking President Roosevelt to fire or replace the Administrator. After two meetings with Roosevelt and an abortive resignation attempt, Johnson resigned on September 24, 1934. Three days later, Roosevelt replaced the position of Administrator with a new National Industrial Recovery Board, of which Richberg was named Executive Director. As head of the Board, however, Richberg engaged in double-dealing, lying to the President about the views of his subordinates and agreeing to his staff's requests that he raise issues with the President and later refusing to do so. He also took increasingly pro-business policy stands. For example, although a majority of the National Industrial Recovery Board had agreed to let the automobile industry code lapse (so that a new code might be negotiated) and to abolish the Automobile Labor Board, Richberg overruled the majority and persuaded Roosevelt to continue the status quo. Labor unions and the NRA staff were outraged. Nonetheless, when the chairmanship of the National Industrial Recovery Board came open in the spring of 1935, labor and most Roosevelt advisors grudgingly agreed to ask Roosevelt to name Richberg the new chairman. With the NIRA due to sunsetSunset provision
In public policy, a sunset provision or clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law...
on June 15, 1935, Richberg went ahead with plans to reorganize NRA in order to improve the law's chances of reauthorization. But on May 27, 1935, the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
held Title I of the Act unconstitutional in Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States
Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States
A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States, 295 U.S. 495 , was a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States that invalidated regulations of the poultry industry according to the nondelegation doctrine and as an invalid use of Congress's power under the commerce clause...
, 295 U.S. 495 (1935), making the issue moot. A severability
Severability
In law, severability refers to a provision in a contract which states that if parts of the contract are held to be illegal or otherwise unenforceable, the remainder of the contract should still apply...
clause enabled NRA to continue functioning to some degree, but the vast majority of its regulatory work was now no longer possible. President Roosevelt terminated the Board on June 15, 1935, and replaced it with an Administrator again. Richberg resigned the next day.
Later life
Richberg's later life was marked by increasing conservatism and anti-labor attitudes, the practice of law, and writing. He attempted in 1936 to establish his own law firm in Washington, D.C., but this failed. He joined an existing firm, which took the name Davies, Richberg, Beebe, Busick & Richardson. He was frequently consulted by members of Congress for his expertise in drafting legislation, and played a major role in authoring the Taft-Hartley ActTaft-Hartley Act
The Labor–Management Relations Act is a United States federal law that monitors the activities and power of labor unions. The act, still effective, was sponsored by Senator Robert Taft and Representative Fred A. Hartley, Jr. and became law by overriding U.S. President Harry S...
. In 1956, he helped author a bill introduced into the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
which would have stopped school desegregation
Racial segregation in the United States
Racial segregation in the United States, as a general term, included the racial segregation or hypersegregation of facilities, services, and opportunities such as housing, medical care, education, employment, and transportation along racial lines...
. From 1949 to 1952 he was a lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Law
University of Virginia School of Law
The University of Virginia School of Law was founded in Charlottesville in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson as one of the original subjects taught at his "academical village," the University of Virginia. The law school maintains an enrollment of approximately 1,100 students in its initial degree program...
.
Donald Richberg died at his home in Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...
, on November 27, 1960.
Writings
Richberg was a widely published essayist, novelist, poet, and non-fiction author. His more well-known books include:
- Compulsory Unionism: The New Slavery. Published posthumously, 1972.
- Donald R. Richberg's story: The Mexican Oil Seizure. Arrow Press, 1939.
- G. Hovah Explains. National Home Library Foundation, 1940.
- Government and Business Tomorrow. Harper & Brothers, 1943.
- Guilty!: The Confession of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1936.
- In the Dark. Forbes & company, 1912.
- Labor Union Monopoly: A Clear and Present Danger. H. Regnery Co., 1965.
- A Man Of Purpose. Kessinger Publishing, 1922.
- The Murder of a Candidate. National Small Business Men's Association, 1952.
- My Hero: The Autobiography of Donald Richberg. G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1954.
- Old Faith and Fancies New. Jarman Press, 1949.
- Poems of Donald R. Richberg. American Natural Gas Company, 1959.
- The Rainbow. Doubleday, Doran and Company, Inc., 1936.
- The Shadow Men. Forbes & Company, 1911.
- Tents of the Mighty. Willett, Clark & Colby, 1930.
- Who Wins In November. 1916.
He also wrote the popular song, Smoke Dreams.