Adlai Stevenson to supporter urging presidential run

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This is a letter from Adlai Stevenson dated October 5, 1959. It thanks a supporter, the superintendent of schools in Springfield, Illinois, Stevenson's home state. The supporter had urged Stevenson to run for president one more time. As indicated below, Stevenson wasn't willing to run, but was willing to be nominated by a draft at the Democratic convention. The information below is from the sometimes accurate Wikipedia. Adlai Ewing Stevenson II ( February 5 ,1900 - July 14 , 1965 ) was an American politician , noted for his intellectual demeanor and advocacy of liberal causes in the Democratic party . He served one term as governor of Illinois and ran, unsuccessfully, for president against Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1952 and 1956 . He served as Ambassador to the United Nations from 1961 to 1965. Childhood, education, and early career Although Stevenson was born in Los Angeles , he was a member of a famous Illinois political family . His grandfather Adlai E. Stevenson I had been Vice President of the United States . His father, Lewis Green Stevenson , never held an elected office, but served as Secretary of State of Illinois and was considered a strong contender for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination in 1928. His mother was Helen Davis Stevenson.At the end December 1912 , Stevenson killed a 16 year old friend while demonstrating drill technique with a rifle, accidentally left loaded, during a party at the Stevenson home. [1] Stevenson left Bloomington after his junior year in high school and received his diploma from University High School in Normal, Illinois , Bloomington 's "twin city" just to the north. After high school, he attended preparatory school at The Choate School , w he participated in sports, acting and journalism, the last as business manager of the school paper The News , w he was elected editor-in-chief . In 1918, he enlisted into the Navy and served at the rank of Seaman Apprentice .He attended Princeton University , becoming managing editor of The Daily Princetonian and a member of the Quadrangle Club , and receiving a A.B. degree in 1922. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity t He then went to Harvard Law School under prodding from his father but he failed several classes and withdrew. He returned to Bloomington w he wrote for the family newspaper, The Daily Pantagraph , which was founded by his maternal great grandfather Jesse Fell .Stevenson became interested in law again a year or so after leaving Harvard after talking to Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. . When he returned home to Bloomington , he decided to finish his law degree at Northwestern University School of Law , attending classes during the week and returning to Bloomington on the weekends to write for the Pantagraph . Stevenson received his LL.B. law degree from Northwestern in 1926 and passed the Illinois State Bar examination that year. He obtained a position at Cutting, Moore & Sidley , an old and conservative Chicago law firm , and became a popular member of Chicago 's social scene. 1933 to 1948 In July 1933, Stevenson took a position as special attorney and assistant to Jerome Frank , the general counsel of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) a part of Roosevelt's New Deal . Following the repeal of Prohibition in 1934, Stevenson changed jobs, becoming chief attorney for the Federal Alcohol Control Administration (FACA), a subsidiary of the AAA which regulated the activities of the alcohol industry.In 1935, Stevenson returned to Chicago to practice law. He became involved in civic activities, particularly as chairman of the Chicago branch of the Committee to Defend America by Aiding the Allies (known often as the White Committee, after its founder, William Allen White ). The Stevensons purchased a seventy-acre tract of land on the Des Plaines River near Libertyville, Illinois w they built a house. Although he spent comparatively little time at Libertyville , Stevenson considered the farm home... read more

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