Clarence Darrow
Clarence Seward Darrow (/dro/; April 18, 1857
March 13, 1938) was a U.S. lawyer, leading member of
the American Civil Liberties Union, and prominent advo-
cate for Georgist economic reform. He defended teenage
thrill killers Leopold and Loeb in their trial for murdering
14-year-old Robert Bobby Franks (1924). Some of his
other cases included defending Ossian Sweet, and John
T. Scopes in the Scopes Monkey Trial (1925), in which
he opposed William Jennings Bryan (statesman, orator,
and three-time presidential candidate). Called a sophis-
ticated country lawyer,[2] his wit made him one of the
most famous U.S. lawyers and civil libertarians.[3]
1 Biography
1.1 Upbringing
Clarence Darrow was born in Kinsman, Ohio, on April
18, 1857.[4] He was the fth son of Amirus and Emily
(Eddy) Darrow. Both the Darrow and the Eddy fami-
lies had deep roots in colonial New England, and several
of Darrows ancestors served in the American Revolu-
tion. Darrows father was an ardent abolitionist and a
proud iconoclast and religious freethinker. He was known
throughout the town as the village indel.[5] Emily Dar-
row was an early supporter of female surage and a
womens rights advocate. Darrow attended Allegheny
College for only one year. Over the summer the Panic
of 1873 struck, and Darrow was determined to not be a
nancial burden to his father any longer. Over the next
three years he taught in the winter at the district school in
a country community. Clarence attended Allegheny Col-
lege and the University of Michigan Law School, but did
not graduate from either institution. While teaching, Dar-
row started to study the law on his own, and by the end of
his third year of teaching, his family urged him to enter
the law department at Ann Arbor. Darrow only studied
there a year when he decided that it would be much more
cost eective to work and study in an actual law oce.
When he felt that he was ready, he took the Ohio Bar
exam and passed.[6] He was admitted to the Ohio bar in
1878. The Clarence Darrow Octagon House, which was
his childhood home in the small town of Kinsman, Ohio,
contains a memorial to him.
1.2 Marriages and Child
Darrow married Jessie Ohl in April 1880. They had one
child, Paul Edward Darrow, in 1883. They were divorced
in 1897. Darrow married Ruby Hammerstrom, a jour-
nalist 16 years younger than he, in 1903. They had no
children.[7]
1.3 From corporate lawyer to labor lawyer
Darrow opened his rst little oce in Andover, Ohio, a
small farming town just ten miles from Kinsman. Having
little to no experience, he started o slowly and gradu-
ally built up his career by dealing with the everyday com-
plaints and problems of a farming community. After two
years Darrow felt he was ready to take on new and dier-
ent cases and moved his practice to Ashtabula, Ohio, with
a population of 5,000 people and the largest city in the
county,[6] where he became involved in Democratic Party
politics and served as the town counsel. In 1880, he mar-
ried Jessie Ohl, and eight years later he moved to Chicago
with his wife and young son, Paul. He did not have much
business when he rst moved to Chicago, and spent as
little as possible. He joined the Henry George Club and
made some friends and connections in the city. Being part
of the club also gave him an opportunity to speak for the
Democratic party on the upcoming election. He slowly
made a name for himself through these speeches, even-
tually earning the standing to speak in whatever hall he
liked. He was oered work as an attorney for the city of
Chicago. He worked in the city law department for two
years when he resigned and took a position as a lawyer
at the Chicago and North-Western Railway Company.[6]
In 1894, Darrow represented Eugene V. Debs, the leader
of the American Railway Union, who was prosecuted by
the federal government for leading the Pullman Strike of
1894. Darrow severed his ties with the railroad to repre-
sent Debs, making a nancial sacrice. He saved Debs in
one trial but could not keep the union leader from being
jailed in another.
Also in 1894, Darrow took on the rst murder case of
his career, defending Patrick Eugene Prendergast, the
mentally deranged drifter who had confessed to mur-
dering Chicago mayor Carter H. Harrison, Sr.[8] Darrows
insanity defense failed and Prendergast was executed
that same year. Among fty defenses in murder cases
throughout the whole of Darrows career, the Prendergast
case would prove to be the only one resulting in an execu-
tion, though Darrow did not join the defense team until
1
2 1 BIOGRAPHY

after Prendergasts conviction and sentence, in an eort In the weeks before the jury was seated, Darrow became
to spare him the noose.[8] increasingly concerned about the outcome of the trial and
Darrow became one of Americas leading labor attorneys. began negotiations for a plea bargain to spare the defen-
He helped organize the Populist Party in Illinois and then dants lives. During the weekend of November 1920,
ran for Congress as a Democrat in 1896 but lost to Hugh 1911, he discussed with pro-labor journalist Lincoln Stef-
R. Belknap. In 1897, his marriage ended in divorce. He fens and newspaper publisher E. W. Scripps the possi-
joined the Anti-Imperialist League in 1898, in opposi- bility of reaching out to the Times about the terms of a
tion to the U.S. annexation of the Philippines. He repre- plea agreement. The prosecution had demands of its own,
however, including an admission of guilt in open court
sented the woodworkers of Wisconsin in a notable case in [11][12]
Oshkosh in 1898 and the United Mine Workers in Penn- and longer sentences than the defense proposed.
sylvania in the great anthracite coal strike of 1902. He The defenses position weakened when, on November 28,
irted with the idea of running for mayor of Chicago in Darrow was accused of orchestrating to bribe a prospec-
1903 but ultimately decided against it. The following tive juror. The juror reported the oer to police, who set
year, in July, he married Ruby Hammerstrom, a young up a sting and observed the defense teams chief investi-
Chicago journalist.[9] His former mentor, Governor John gator, Bert Franklin, delivering $4,000 to the juror two
Peter Altgeld joined Darrows rm following his Chicago blocks away from Darrows oce. After making pay-
mayoral electoral defeat in 1899 and worked with Darrow ment, Franklin walked one block in the direction of Dar-
until his death in 1902. rows oce before being arrested right in front of Darrow
himself, who had just walked to that very intersection af-
ter receiving a phone call in his oce. With Darrow him-
self on the verge of being discredited, the defenses hope
for a simple plea agreement ended.[13][14] On December
1, 1911, the McNamara brothers changed their pleas to
guilty, in open court. The plea bargain Darrow helped ar-
range got John fteen years and James life imprisonment.
Despite sparing the brothers the death penalty, Darrow
was accused by many in organized labor of selling the
movement out.
Two months later, Darrow was charged with two counts
of attempting to bribe jurors in both cases. He faced two
lengthy trials. In the rst, defended by Earl Rogers, he
was acquitted. Rogers became ill during the second trial
Clarence Darrow in 1902[10] and rarely came to court.[15] Darrow served as his own at-
torney for the remainder of the trial, which ended with a
From 1906 to 1908, Darrow represented the Western hung jury. A deal was struck in which the district attorney
Federation of Miners leaders William Big Bill Hay- agreed not to retry Darrow if he promised not to practice
wood, Charles Moyer, and George Pettibone when they law again in California.[16] Darrows early biographers
were arrested and charged with the murder of former Irving Stone and Arthur and Lila Weinbergasserted
Idaho Gov. Frank Steunenberg in 1905. After a series that he was not involved in the bribery conspiracy; but
of trials, Haywood and Pettibone were found not guilty more recently Georey Cowan and John A. Farrell, with
and the charges were dropped against Moyer. the help of new evidence, concluded that he almost cer-
tainly was.[13] In the biography of Earl Rogers by his
In 1911, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) called daughter Adela, she wrote: I never had any doubts, even
on Darrow to defend the McNamara brothers, John and before one of my fathers private conversations with Dar-
James, who were charged with dynamiting the Los Ange- row included an admission of guilt to his lawyer.[17]
les Times building on October 1, 1910, during the bitter
struggle over the open shop in Southern California. Ow-
ing to a faulty timer, the bomb detonated prematurely,
when the Times building was still occupied by employ-
1.4 From labor lawyer to criminal lawyer
ees. The bomb had been placed in an alley behind the
building, and although the explosion itself did not bring As a consequence of the bribery charges, most labor
the building down, it ignited nearby ink barrels and nat- unions dropped Darrow from their list of preferred at-
ural gas main lines. In the ensuing re, 20 people were torneys. This eectively put Darrow out of business as a
killed. The bombing is referred to as the Los Angeles labor lawyer, and he switched to civil and criminal cases.
Times bombing. The AFL appealed to local, state, re- He took the latter because he had become convinced that
gional and national unions to donate 25 cents per capita the criminal justice system could ruin peoples lives if
to the defense fund, and set up defense committees in they were not adequately represented.[18]
larger cities throughout the nation to take donations. Throughout his career, Darrow devoted himself to op-
1.5 Leopold and Loeb
Darrow in 1913
posing the death penalty, which he felt to be in conict
with humanitarian progress. In more than 100 cases, Dar-
row only lost one murder case in Chicago. He became
renowned for moving juries and even judges to tears with
his eloquence. Darrow had a keen intellect often hidden
by his rumpled, unassuming appearance.
A July 23, 1915, article in the Chicago Tribune describes
Darrows eort on behalf of J.H. Fox, an Evanston, Illi-
nois, landlord, to have Mary S. Brazelton committed to an
insane asylum against the wishes of her family. Fox al-
leged that Brazelton owed him rent money, although other
residents of Foxs boarding house testied to her sanity.
1.5 Leopold and Loeb
In the summer of 1924, Darrow took on the case of should feel a sense of revulsion. As neither Leopold nor
Leopold and Loeb, the teenage sons of two wealthy Loeb had a working emotional system, they did not feel
Chicago families who were accused of kidnapping and revolted.[6]
killing Bobby Franks, a 14-year-old boy from their stylish
southside Kenwood neighborhood. Nathan Leopold was
[6] that Darrow was presenting a million dollar defense for
18 and Richard Loeb was 17 when they were arrested.
Leopold was a law student at the University of Chicago
about to transfer to Harvard Law School. Loeb was the
youngest graduate ever from the University of Michigan.
When asked why they committed the crime, Leopold told
his captors: The thing that prompted Dick to want to do
this thing and prompted me to want to do this thing was
a sort of pure love of excitement... the imaginary love of
thrills, doing something dierent... the satisfaction and
the ego of putting something over.
3
The Chicago newspapers labeled the case the "Trial of
the Century"[19] and Americans around the country won-
dered what could drive the two young men, blessed with
everything their society could oer, to commit such a de-
praved act.
The killers were arrested after a passing workman spot-
ted the victims body in an isolated nature preserve near
the Indiana border just half a day after it was hidden,
before they could collect a $10,000 ransom. Nearby
were Leopolds eyeglasses with their distinctive, traceable
frames, which he had dropped at the scene.
Leopold and Loeb made full confessions and took police
on a hunt around Chicago to collect the evidence that
would be used against them. The states attorney told
the press that he had a hanging case for sure. Dar-
row stunned the prosecution when he had the killers plead
guilty in order to avoid a vengeance-minded jury and
place the case before a judge. The trial, then, was ac-
tually a long sentencing hearing in which Darrow con-
tended, with the help of expert testimony, that Leopold
and Loeb were mentally diseased.
Darrows closing argument lasted 12 hours. He repeat-
edly stressed the ages of the boys (before the Vietnam
War, the age of majority was 21) and noted that never
had there been a case in Chicago where on a plea of guilty
a boy under 21 had been sentenced to death. His plea
was designed to soften the heart of Judge John Caverly,
but also to mold public opinion, so that Caverly could fol-
low precedent without too huge an uproar. Darrow suc-
ceeded. Caverly sentenced the killers to life plus 99 years.
Darrows closing argument was published in several edi-
tions in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and was reissued
at the time of his death.[18]
The Leopold and Loeb case raised, in a well-publicized
trial, Darrows lifelong contention that psychological,
physical, and environmental inuencesnot a conscious
choice between right and wrongcontrol human behav-
ior. Darrows psychiatric expert witnesses testied that
both boys were decidedly decient in emotion. Dar-
row later argued that emotion is necessary for the deci-
sions that people make. When someone tries to go against
a certain law or custom that is forbidden, he wrote, he
During the Leopold-Loeb trial, the newspapers claimed
the two wealthy families. Many ordinary Americans were
angered at his apparent greed. He had the families issue
a statement insisting that there would be no large legal
fees and that his fees would be determined by a com-
mittee composed of ocers from the Chicago Bar As-
sociation. After trial, Darrow suggested $200,000 would
be reasonable. After lengthy negotiations with the de-
fendants families, he ended up getting some $70,000 in
gross fees, which, after expenses and taxes, netted Dar-
4 1 BIOGRAPHY
row $30,000, worth over $375,000 in 2016.[20]
1.6 The Scopes Trial
In 1925, Darrow defended John T. Scopes in the State of
Tennessee v. Scopes trial. It has often been called the
Scopes Monkey Trial, a title popularized by author and
journalist H.L. Mencken. The trial pitted Darrow against
William Jennings Bryan in an American court case that
tested the Butler Act, which had been passed on March
21, 1925. The act forbade the teaching of the Evolution
Theory in any state-funded educational establishment in
Tennessee. More broadly, the Butler Act outlawed in
state-funded schools (including universities) the teaching
of any theory that denies the story of the Divine Cre-
ation of man as taught in the Bible, and to teach instead
that man has descended from a lower order of animals.
During the trial, Darrow requested that Bryan be called to
the stand as an expert witness on the Bible. Over the other
prosecutors objection, Bryan agreed. Popular media at
the time portrayed the following exchange as the deciding
factor that turned public opinion against Bryan in the trial:
Darrow: You have given con-
siderable study to the Bible, haven't
you, Mr. Bryan?"
Bryan: Yes, sir; I have tried to....
But, of course, I have studied it
more as I have become older than
when I was a boy.
Darrow: Do you claim then that
everything in the Bible should be
literally interpreted?"
Bryan: I believe that everything in
the Bible should be accepted as it
is given there; some of the Bible
is given illustratively. For instance:
'Ye are the salt of the earth.' I would
not insist that man was actually salt,
or that he had esh of salt, but it is
used in the sense of salt as saving
Gods people.
After about two hours, Judge John T. Raulston cut the
questioning short and on the following morning ordered
that the whole session (which in any case the jury had not
witnessed) be expunged from the record, ruling that the
testimony had no bearing on whether Scopes was guilty of
teaching evolution. Scopes was found guilty and ordered
to pay the minimum ne of $100.
A year later, the Tennessee Supreme Court reversed
the decision of the Dayton court on a procedural
technicalitynot on constitutional grounds, as Darrow
had hoped. According to the court, the ne should have
been set by the jury, not Raulston. Rather than send
the case back for further action, however, the Tennessee
Supreme Court dismissed the case. The court com-
mented, Nothing is to be gained by prolonging the life
of this bizarre case.
This event led to a change in public sentiment, and
an increased discourse on the creation claims of reli-
gious teachers versus those of secular scientists i.e.,
creationism compared to evolutionism that still exist.
It also became popularized in a play based loosely on the
trial, Inherit the Wind, which has been adapted several
times on lm and television.
1.7 Ossian Sweet
On September 9, 1925, a white mob in Detroit attempted
to drive a black family out of the home they had pur-
chased in a white neighborhood. In the struggle, a white
man was killed and the eleven blacks in the house were
arrested and charged with murder. Dr. Ossian Sweet and
three members of his family were brought to trial, and
after an initial deadlock, Darrow argued to the all-white
jury: I insist that there is nothing but prejudice in this
case; that if it was reversed and eleven white men had
shot and killed a black while protecting their home and
their lives against a mob of blacks, nobody would have
dreamed of having them indicted. They would have been
given medals instead.... [21] Following the mistrial of the
11, it was agreed that each of them would be tried in-
dividually. Darrow, alongside Thomas Chawke, would
rst defend Ossians brother Henry, who had confessed
to ring the shot on Garland Street. Henry was found
not guilty on grounds of self defense, and the prosecu-
tion determined to drop the charges on the remaining 10.
1.10 Mecca Temple Debate 5

The trials were presided over by the Honorable Frank I Am An Agnostic, on agnosticism, skepticism, belief,
Murphy, who went on to become Governor of Michi- and religion.[27] In the speech, Darrow thoroughly dis-
gan and an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of cussed the meaning of being an agnostic and questioned
the United States.[22] Darrows closing statement, which the doctrines of Christianity and the Bible. He concluded
lasted over seven hours, is seen as a landmark in the Civil that the fear of God is not the beginning of wisdom. The
Rights movement and was included in the book Speeches fear of God is the death of wisdom. Skepticism and doubt
that Changed the World (given the name I Believe in the lead to study and investigation, and investigation is the
Law of Love). Uniquely, the two closing arguments of beginning of wisdom. [28]
Clarence Darrow, from the rst and second trials, are
available and these show how he learned from the rst
trial and reshaped his remarks.[23] 1.10 Mecca Temple Debate
In January 1931 Darrow had a debate with English writer
1.8 Massie Trial G. K. Chesterton during the latters second trip to Amer-
ica. This was held at New York Citys Mecca Temple.
The Scopes Trial and the Sweet trial were the last big The topic was Will the World Return to Religion?". At
cases that Darrow took on before he retired from full- the end of the debate those in the hall were asked to vote
time practice at the age of 68. He still took on a few for the man they thought had won the debate. Darrow re-
cases such as the 1932 Massie Trial in Hawaii. ceived 1,022 votes while Chesterton received 2,359 votes.
There is no known transcript of what was said except for
In his last headline-making case, the Massie Trial,
third party accounts published later on. The earliest of
Darrowdevastated by the Great Depressionwas hired
these was that of February 4, 1931, issue of The Nation
by Eva Stotesbury, the wife of Darrows old family friend
with an article written by Henry Hazlitt.[29][30]
Edward T. Stotesbury, to come to the defense of Grace
Fortescue, Edward J. Lord, Deacon Jones, and Thomas
Massie, Fortescues son-in-law, who were accused of 1.11 Position on eugenics
murdering Joseph Kahahawai. Kahahawai had been ac-
cused, along with four other men, of raping and beat- In the November 18, 1915 edition of the Washington Post,
ing Thalia Massie, Thomass wife and Fortescues daugh- Darrow stated: Chloroform unt children. Show them
ter; the resulting 1931 case ended in a hung jury (though the same mercy that is shown beasts that are no longer
the charges were later dropped and repeated investiga- t to live. However, Darrow was also critical of some
tion has shown them to be innocent). Enraged, Fortescue eugenics advocates.[31][32]
and Massie then orchestrated the murder of Kahahawai
in order to extract a confession and were caught by police
ocers while transporting his dead body.
2 Legacy
Darrow entered the racially charged atmosphere as the
lawyer for the defendants. Darrow reconstructed the case
Today, Clarence Darrow is remembered for his reputa-
as a justied honor killing by Thomas Massie. Consid-
tion as a erce litigator who, in many cases, championed
ered by the New York Times to be one of Darrows three
the cause of the underdog; because of this, he is generally
most compelling trials (along with the Scopes Trial and
regarded as one of the greatest criminal defense lawyers
the Leopold and Loeb case), the case captivated the na-
in American history.
tion and most of white America strongly supported the
honor killing defense. In fact, the nal defense argu-
ments were transmitted to the mainland through a spe-
cial radio hookup. In the end, the jury came back with
a unanimous verdict of guilty, but on the lesser crime
of manslaughter.[24] As to Darrows closing, one juror
commented, "[h]e talked to us like a bunch of farmers.
That stu may go over big in the Middle West, but not
here.[25] Governor Lawrence Judd later commuted the
sentences to one hour in his oce.[26] Years later Deacon
admitted to shooting Kahahawai; Massie was found not
Guilty in a posthumous trial.
Henry Drummond (left), a ctionalized version of Clarence Dar-
row, as portrayed by Spencer Tracy in Inherit the Wind.
1.9 Why I Am An Agnostic
According to legend, before he died, Darrow declared
As part of a public symposium on belief held in Colum- that if there was an afterlife, he would return on the small
bus, Ohio, Darrow delivered a speech, later titled Why bridge (now known as the Clarence Darrow Memorial
6 2
Bridge) located just south of the Museum of Science and 2.2 Onscreen
Industry in Hyde Park, Chicago on the date of his death.
Darrow was skeptical of a belief in life after death (he is
reported to have said: Every man knows when his life
began... If I did not exist in the past, why should I, or
could I, exist in the future?") but he made this promise to
dissuade mediums from charging people money to talk
to his spirit. People still gather on the bridge in the hopes
[33]
of seeing his ghost.
2.1 Onstage
Darrow, a full-length one-man play created after his
death, featuring Darrows reminiscences about his
career. Originated by Henry Fonda, many actors
(including Leslie Nielsen and David Canary) have 2.3 In publications
since taken on the role of Darrow in this play, which
was adapted Darrow, a lm starring Kevin Spacey
and released by American Playhouse in 1991.
Inherit the Wind, a play (later adapted to the screen)
which is a broadly ctionalized account of the
Scopes Trial. Though the authors note that the 1925
trial was clearly the genesis of their play, they in-
sist that the characters had life and language of their
own. They also mention that the issues raised in the
play have acquired new dimension and meaning, a
possible reference to the political controversies of
the 1950s. Still, they nish their foreword by invit-
ing a more universal reading of the play: It might
have been yesterday. It could be tomorrow.[34]
Spencer Tracy played the Darrow character (Henry
Drummond) in the lm.
Malice Aforethought: The Sweet Trials is a play writ-
ten by Arthur Beer, based on the trials of Ossian and
Henry Sweet, and derived from Kevin Boyle's Arc of
Justice.[35]
My Name is Ossian Sweet, a docudrama written by
Gordon C. Bennett, based on the Sweet trials in
which the black family was defended by Darrow
against a charge of murder in Detroit 1925. Pub-
lished (2011) at HeartlandPlays.com.
Clarence Darrow, where Kevin Spacey again por-
trayed Darrow in this one-man performance in
2014[36] and 2015.[37]
Clarence Darrow Tonight! written and performed by
Laurence Luckinbill, debuted at The Ensemble The-
ater in NYC and performed throughout the country, 2.4 Other
including at President Bill Clinton's second inaugu-
ral in 1996. Winner of the 1996 Silver Gavel Award
for Theater, given by the American Bar Association.
LEGACY
Compulsion, 1959 lm. Fictionalized account of the
Leopold and Loeb trial. Orson Welles played the
role of the defense attorney, based on Darrow.
Alleged, starring Brian Dennehy and Fred Thomp-
son
The episode, Defendant: Clarence Darrow (Jan-
uary 13, 1963), with Tol Avery playing Darrow, in
the CBS anthology series, GE True, hosted by Jack
Webb. In the storyline, Darrow is charged in 1912
with attempted bribery of a juror. He is defended by
Earl Rogers, played by Robert Vaughn. Darrow and
Rogers argue passionately over legal procedures.[38]
Clarence Darrow: Attorney for the Damned by John
A. Farrell, published by Doubleday in June 2011;
includes new material opened to the public in June
2010 by the University of Minnesota Law Library
through the Clarence Darrow Digital Collection
The Angel of Darkness, with Darrow as a main char-
acter in the ctional Caleb Carr novel
Arc of Justice (Owl Books, 2004) by Kevin Boyle;
in-depth look at the Ossian Sweet trial
Clarence Darrow for the Defense, a biography by
historical novelist Irving Stone
Compulsion (1956), Darrow was the inspiration for
the character of Jonathan Wilk in the novel, a thinly
ctionalized account of the Leopold and Loeb case.
In 1959, the novel was adapted into a lm of the
same name, starring Orson Welles as Wilk. Welles,
whose closing monologue was the longest ever com-
mitted to lm at that time, shared the Best Ac-
tor award with co-stars Bradford Dillman and Dean
Stockwell at that years Cannes Film Festival.
The People v. Clarence Darrow (ISBN 978-0-8129-
2179-3) by Georey Cowan; the history of the Cal-
ifornia criminal case against Darrow for attempt-
ing to bribe a juror while defending the McNamara
brothers, two labor organizers accused of planting a
bomb which destroyed the printing plant of the Los
Angeles Times and killed 21 workers.
"Is Religion Necessary" (Haldeman-Julius Publica-
tions); a transcript of the debate between Clarence
Darrow and Rev. Robert MacGovern, 1931.
The Clarence Darrow Memorial Bridge is located
in Chicago, just south of the Museum of Science

& Industry. The Clarence Darrow Commemorative
Committee holds an annual event to honor Darrows
life and work.
The complete collection of Clarence Darrows per-
sonal papers is housed at the University of Min-
nesota Libraries.
Darrow is mentioned in "The Gift", a 1967 song by
Lou Reed as performed by The Velvet Underground
on their 1968 album White Light/White Heat.
The chapter of Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity, In-
ternational located at the University of Maryland
Carey School of Law is named the Clarence Darrow
Chapter.
3 Books by Darrow
A volume of Darrows boyhood reminiscences, entitled
Farmington, was published in Chicago in 1903 by Mc-
Clurg and Company.
Darrow shared oces with Edgar Lee Masters, who
achieved more fame for his poetry, in particular the Spoon
River Anthology, than for his advocacy.
The papers of Clarence Darrow are located at the Li-
brary of Congress and the University of Minnesota Li-
braries. The Riesenfeld Rare Books Research Center of
the University of Minnesota Law School has the largest
collection of Clarence Darrow material including per-
sonal letters to and from Darrow. Many of these letters
and other material are available on the U of Ms Clarence
Darrow Digital Collection website.
3.1 List of books
An Eye for an Eye
Crime: Its Cause and Treatment
Persian Pearl
The Story of My Life
Farmington
Resist Not Evil
Marx vs Tolstoy
Closing Arguments on Religion, Law and Society
The Myth of the Soul
7
4 References and further reading
Baatz, Simon. For the Thrill of It: Leopold, Loeb
and the Murder that Shocked Chicago (New York:
HarperCollins, 2008)
Blum, Howard. American Lightning: Terror, Mys-
tery, the Birth of Hollywood, and the Crime of the
Century, 2008, Crown.[39]
Boyle, Kevin. Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race,
Civil Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age (New York:
Henry Holt & Co., 2004). (National Book Award
Winner) ISBN 978-0-8050-7933-3.
Farrell, John Aloysius. Clarence Darrow: Attor-
ney for the Damned. Doubleday, New York: 2011.
ISBN 0-385-52258-4.
Hakim, Joy (1995). War, Peace, and All That Jazz.
New York, New York: Oxford University Press. pp.
4445. ISBN 0-19-509514-6.
Haldeman-Julius, Marcet. Clarence Darrows Two
Great Trials: Reports of the Scopes Anti-Evolution
Case and the Dr. Sweet Negro Trial. Girard:
Haldeman-Julius Co., 1927.[40]
Mackey, Judge Alfred W. Clarence Darrow biogra-
phy
Morton, Richard Allen. A Victorian Tragedy: The
Strange Deaths of Mayor Carter H. Harrison and
Patrick Eugene Pendergast, Journal of the Illinois
State Historical Society, Spring 2003 (here).
Ossian Sweet Murder Trial Scrapbook, 1925.
Scrapbook and photocopy of the Nov. 1925 mur-
der trial of Ossian Sweet. Clarke Historical Library,
Central Michigan University.[41]
Weinberg, Arthur (ed.). Attorney for the Damned:
Clarence Darrow in the Courtroom. (University of
Chicago Press, 1989) ISBN 978-0-226-13649-3.
Weinberg, Arthur & Lila. Clarence Darrow: A
Sentimental Rebel Atheneum; 1st Atheneum pbk.
ed edition (March 1987)
St. Johns, Adela Rogers: Final Verdict (Doubleday,
1962; biography of Earl Rogers, relating the events
of Darrows trials for jury bribery)
Stone, Irving. Clarence Darrow For The Defense
(Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Co., 1941).
Toms, Robert. Speech on the Sweet murder tri-
als upon retirement of the prosecuting attorney in
1960. Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan
University.[41]
Vine, Phyllis. One Mans Castle: Clarence Darrow in
Defense of the American Dream. (New York: Amis-
tad, 2005). ISBN 978-0-06-621415-3.
8 5
4.1 Primary sources
Chicago History Museum: Darrow bibliography
(online here). [16] see in Clarence Darrow: A Sentimental Rebel by Arthur
Darrow, Clarence. The Story of My Life. New York:
Scribner, 1932.[11]
Darrow, Clarence. In the Clutches of the Law:
Clarence Darrows Letters (ed. Randall Tietjen).
Berkeley: UCP, 2013.
Monteore, Simon (introd.). Speeches That
Changed the World (rev. ed.). London: Quercus,
2014.
University of Minnesota Law School, The Clarence
Darrow Digital Collection. (2016)
5 References
[1] James Edward Sayer, Clarence Darrow: Public Advo-
cate, Wright State Univ. (1978), p 2.
[2] Linder, Douglas O. (1997). Who Is Clarence Darrow?",
The Clarence Darrow Home Page
[3] Hakim, Joy (1995). War, Peace, and All That Jazz. New
York, New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 4445.
ISBN 0-19-509514-6.
[4] Darrow, Clarence (1932). The Story of My Life. New
York: Grosset and Dunlap. p. 12.
[5] Darrow, Clarence (1932). The Story of My Life. New
York: Grosset and Dunlap. p. 13.
[6] Darrow, Clarence (1932). The Story of My Life. New
York: Grosset and Dunlap.
[7] Clarence Darrow- Early Life and Law Career. jrank.
Retrieved 14 April 2017.
[8] Clarence Darrow: Biography and Much More from An-
swers.com at www.answers.com
[9] Passport application, accessed through familysearch.org
[10] Donovan, Henry. Chicago Eagle. Illinois Digital News-
paper Collections. Retrieved 2 July 2015.
[11] Darrow, Clarence. The Story of My Life, 1932. Project
Guttenberg.
[12] Foner, Phillip S. History of the Labor Movement in the
United States: The AFL in the Progressive Era, 19101915,
1980.
[13] Farrell, John A. "Darrow in the Dock". Smithsonian Mag-
azine, December 2011, Volume 42, Number 8, pp. 98
111.
[14] Cowan, The People v. Clarence Darrow: The Bribery Trial
of Americas Greatest Lawyer, 1994
REFERENCES
[15] Cowan, Georey (1993). The People V. Clarence Dar-
row: The Bribery Trial of Americas Greatest Lawyer.
New York: Random House.
and Lila Weinberg.
[17] Adela Rogers St. Johns: Final Verdict, (Doubleday, 1962)
457.
[18] Riggenbach, Je (March 25, 2011). Clarence Darrow
on Freedom, Justice, and War. Mises Daily. Ludwig von
Mises Institute.
[19] JURIST The Trial of Leopold and Loeb Archived 2010-
11-03 at the Wayback Machine., Prof. Douglas Linder.
Retrieved November 2, 2010.
[20] See, A. Weinberg, ed., Attorney for the Damned, pp. 17
18, n. 1 (Simon & Schuster, 1957)); Hulbert papers,
Northwestern University.
[21] B. J., Widick (May 1, 1989). Detroit: City of Race and
Class Violence (Revised ed.). Detroit, MI: Wayne State
University Press. p. 8.
[22] Boyle, Kevin, Arc of Justice: A Saga of Race, Civil
Rights and Murder in the Jazz Age (Henry Holt
& Company, New York: 2004) (National Book
Award Winner) ISBN 978-0-8050-7933-3.
[23] Darrows Summations in the Sweet Trials (1925
&1926)". Law.umkc.edu. 1926-05-11. Retrieved 2013-
10-20.
[24] David Stannard.The Massie case: Injustice and courage.
The Honolulu Advertiser, October 14, 2001.
[25] Stannard, David E. (2006) [First published 2005]. Honor
Killing: Race, Rape, and Clarence Darrows Spectacular
Last Case. Penguin Group. p. 382. ISBN 978-0-14-
303663-0.
[26] Page 86 http://darrow.law.umn.edu/Clarence_Darrow_
Timeline.pdf
[27] The Essential Words and Writings of Clarence Darrow.
Modern Library. 2007. p. 20. ISBN 978-0812966770.
[28] Archived copy (PDF). Archived from the original
(PDF) on 2016-02-21. Retrieved 2015-10-15.
[29] Clarence Darrow debate. American Chesterton Society.
Retrieved May 21, 2014.
[30] G.K. Chesterton January, 1915. Clarence Darrow dig-
ital collection. University of Minnesota Law School. Re-
trieved May 21, 2014.
[31] The Scopes Trial - Clarence Darrow Myths. Brad-
buryac.mistral.co.uk. 1999-12-06. Retrieved 2013-10-
20.
[32] Darrow versus the Eugenicists. andreweker-
sten.com.vhost.zerolag.com. 2011-05-27. Retrieved
2013-10-20.
[33] Kogan, Rick (March 4, 2016). Clarence Darrows
Words, if Not His Ghost, Still Linger in Jackson Park.
Retrieved November 16, 2016.
 9

[34] Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. Inherit the Wind.

Bantam, 1955.

[35] Sweet Trials Project. University of Detroit Mercy. Re-

trieved 2013-10-20.

[36] "Clarence Darrow (2014)". OldVicTheatre.com.

[37] "Clarence Darrow (2015)". OldVicTheatre.com. Kevin

Spacey returns to The Old Vic stage in Clarence Darrow
for a limited run of 6 weeks only following his sell-out and
critically acclaimed run of 22 performances in 2014.

[38] "GE True: Defendant: Clarence Darrow, January 13,

1963. Classic Television Archive. Retrieved March 1,
2013.

[39] Blum, Howard. Extra! Extra! Unionist Bombs Wreck

The 'Times". NPR. Retrieved 2013-10-20.

[40] Haldeman-Julius was an eye-witness to the trials. Excerpt

regarding the Scopes Trial here, regarding the Sweet Tri-
als here and here.

[41] Home | Central Michigan University.

Clarke.cmich.edu. 2010-10-07. Retrieved 2013-10-20.

6 External links
An excerpt on the McNamara case from Clarence
Darrow: Attorney for the Damned.
Attorney for the Damnedor just Another Damned
Attorney?
Ossian Haven Sweet American National Biography.

Works by Clarence Darrow at Project Gutenberg

Works by or about Clarence Darrow at Internet
Archive
Works by Clarence Darrow at LibriVox (public do-
main audiobooks)

Darrow Family scrapbooks at the Newberry Library

Mary Field Parton-Clarence Darrow Papers at the
Newberry Library
10 7 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

7 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

7.1 Text
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Maury Markowitz, Formulax~enwiki, Mrwojo, Kchishol1970, Infrogmation, PhilipMW, Nanobug, Kingturtle, Charles Matthews, Przepla,
Nv8200pa, Buridan, AlexPlank, KeithH, Postdlf, Seano1, GreatWhiteNortherner, DocWatson42, Philwelch, Henry Flower, Chinasaur,
MMcCallister, Lurker, Edcolins, Utcursch, Craverguy, Antandrus, Adashiel, RevRagnarok, D6, Mongrel 8, WGFinley, Dave souza, Carp-
trash, Night Gyr, Bender235, RoyBoy, Orlady, Cory.willis, Bobo192, Infocidal, Viriditas, Allthewhile, Darwinek, DCEdwards1966, Sam
Korn, Pocket Rockets, Alansohn, Penwhale, Lightdarkness, Malo, Phyllis1753, NTK, SidP, Cromwellt, Bsadowski1, Arild.nes, Alka-
fett, JeremyA, Bkwillwm, Cbustapeck, Macaddct1984, Rchamberlain, Avnit, Sin-man, BD2412, MC MasterChef, Rkevins, Rjwilmsi,
Koavf, Brighterorange, EvanSeeds, Ground Zero, Gurch, Str1977, DVdm, VolatileChemical, Awbeal, PUPSTAHS, The Rambling Man,
NTBot~enwiki, RussBot, Gaius Cornelius, Bachrach44, TomStewart, ExRat, Rjensen, UDScott, Ino5hiro, Howcheng, Bobak, PhilipC,
Amcfreely, Zwobot, Zargulon, Womble, Chase me ladies, I'm the Cavalry, Alias Flood, Jonathan.s.kt, Luk, JerryOrr, SmackBot, Epero-
tao, Stev0, Jim62sch, Eskimbot, Rachel Pearce, Hmains, Bluebot, Rshu, PrimeHunter, JoeBlogsDord, Basalisk, Colonies Chris, Stedder,
Zsinj, Edivorce, AndySimpson, Cenestrad, Jwy, Derek R Bullamore, Rhkramer, Metamagician3000, Byelf2007, CIS, Lambiam, Sylocat,
Deaconse, Guat6, Dr.K., Amitch, Roland Deschain, Iridescent, Ewulp, GiantSnowman, Tawkerbot2, Dave Runger, Lbr123, Eastlaw, Croc-
totheface, Jacobking, Mhenneberry, Twelsht, Cydebot, Jackyd101, Evenmadderjon, Bellerophon5685, Hebrides, Lausey, The Little Blue
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Bongwarrior, BostonPRGuy, Daytrivia, Nyttend, Jatkins, Froid, Seleucus, The Mystery Man, TheLetterM, Kraxler, Citizenmom, Martin-
Bot, STBot, Dx87, Rettetast, Sm8900, J.delanoy, Wolfwood309, Rrostrom, UBeR, Crazyboy14285714, Libroman, Ian.thomson, About-
movies, JayJasper, Nwbeeson, Magcarta, Djr13, Vinsfan368, Mateck, VolkovBot, ABF, John Darrow, Paugus, Tzetzes, Philip Trueman,
TXiKiBoT, Technopat, GDonato, Fredrick day, Gen. Quon, Steven J. Anderson, DavidKelly999, Plazak, Billinghurst, MCTales, Vchim-
panzee, Alcmaeonid, MrChupon, Rontrigger, Oxxo, Dawn Bard, Flyer22 Reborn, Wedg~enwiki, Monegasque, Darth Kalwejt, Polbot,
Ruanha, Fratrep, Maelgwnbot, Mygerardromance, Tradereddy, Nn123645, Stillwaterising, Ian reeve, WikipedianMarlith, YSSYguy, Clue-
Bot, Tatigringo, Wikievil666, Shaliya waya, Niceguyedc, Piledhigheranddeeper, Auntof6, Les woodland, Masterpiece2000, Stepshep, Ex-
cirial, Jusdafax, Gtstricky, Lartoven, Sun Creator, 7&6=thirteen, Knowz, XLinkBot, Avoided, Good Olfactory, Kbdankbot, Addbot, Iron-
holds, Cuaxdon, KorinoChikara, Vishnava, LaaknorBot, Glane23, West.andrew.g, Tassedethe, InMyHumbleOpinion, OlEnglish, Ayaz360,
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logg257~enwiki, Whigg, Srich32977, Bbqtaco1214, Omnipaedista, Green Cardamom, Ling.Nut.Public, 117Avenue, I dream of horses,
Jamouse, Rushbugled13, Serols, Lindsey40186, Kzero22, Newberry Library SC, Cnwilliams, NortyNort, ItsZippy, Dexamyl1, Mean
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row, Gcbennett77, Epikuro57, Periglio, Lugia2453, VIAFbot, Crossfreak296, Psbwp, Kharkiv07, Wmdarrow, Bluedudemi, Motekov,
JaconaFrere, Genarians, Digger45, Summerzcn, AlisonHinderliter, Gillian.gillian, Lupin dark, KasparBot, Slovebz, EnnDee21, Smile-
more330, H.dryad, InternetArchiveBot, LXA43, Arluck Entertainment, Jerrythesquid, Iamsamstimpson, HistoryHobo, LawSoHardUni-
versity, Tyree999, Wikishovel, Russel Harrison and Anonymous: 381

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