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Roland Arthur Paul papers

 Collection
Call Number: MS 1417

Scope and Contents

The papers consist of two, unpublished manuscripts by Roland Paul. Both manuscripts are based on Paul's diaries and notes of his experiences with the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on U.S. Security Agreements, then chaired by Senator Stuart Symington and strongly influenced by Senator William Fulbright. The first, entitled "The Power of Arrogance: The Assault of the Senators on America's Military Commitments, 1969-70," was completed in 1982. It offers a Washington insider's perspective on the attitudes, circumstances, and institutional structures that would later cause U.S. foreign policy and actions in Vietnam to fail. The manuscript includes several pages from an earlier, longer draft that give Paul's personal reflections on the Vietnam War, as well as copies of letters from several scholars who reviewed the manuscript for publication. Paul's second manuscript "A Million Elephants," completed in 1983, is a shorter version of the first, written in the form of a screenplay.

Dates

  • 1982-1983

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The materials are open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright status for collection materials is unknown. Transmission or reproduction of materials protected by U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.) beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. Works not in the public domain cannot be commercially exploited without permission of the copyright owners. Responsibility for any use rests exclusively with the user.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of Roland A. Paul, 1985.

Extent

0.5 Linear Feet (1 box)

Language of Materials

English

Catalog Record

A record for this collection is available in Orbis, the Yale University Library catalog

Persistent URL

https://hdl.handle.net/10079/fa/mssa.ms.1417

Abstract

The papers consist of two, unpublished manuscripts by Roland Paul. Both manuscripts are based on Paul's diaries and notes of his experiences with the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on U.S. Security Agreements, then chaired by Senator Stuart Symington and strongly influenced by Senator William Fulbright. The first, entitled "The Power of Arrogance: The Assault of the Senators on America's Military Commitments, 1969-70," was completed in 1982. It offers a Washington insider's perspective on the attitudes, circumstances, and institutional structures that would later cause U.S. foreign policy and actions in Vietnam to fail. The manuscript includes several pages from an earlier, longer draft that give Paul's personal reflections on the Vietnam War, as well as copies of letters from several scholars who reviewed the manuscript for publication. Paul's second manuscript "A Million Elephants," completed in 1983, is a shorter version of the first, written in the form of a screenplay.

Biographical / Historical

Roland Arthur Paul, Jr. was born January 19, 1937, in Memphis, Tennessee. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University in 1958 and his LL.B. from Harvard Law School in 1961. From 1962-1964 Paul worked in the Pentagon, first in the office of International Security Affairs and then as Special Assistant to the General Counsel, John McNaughton. In 1965 he joined the Council on Foreign Relations, and from 1969-1970 he served as counsel of the Senate Subcommittee on U.S. Security Agreements and Commitments Abroad. In 1973 Rutgers University Press published Paul's first book, American Military Commitments Abroad, which details the international scene during the late 1960s. Paul began private legal practice in the early 1970s.

Title
Guide to the Roland Arthur Paul Papers
Status
Under Revision
Author
compiled by Catherine Lawrence
Date
October 1985
Description rules
Finding Aid Created In Accordance With Manuscripts And Archives Processing Manual
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Part of the Manuscripts and Archives Repository

Contact:
Yale University Library
P.O. Box 208240
New Haven CT 06520-8240 US
(203) 432-1735
(203) 432-7441 (Fax)

Location

Sterling Memorial Library
Room 147
120 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511

Opening Hours