Samuel James Ervin, Jr., was a Burke County, N.C., attorney, North Carolina legislator, judge, United States senator, and long-time champion of civil liberties. Ervin was first appointed to the North Carolina General Assembly in 1923, where he also served in 1925 and 1931. After the death of his brother Joseph W. Ervin (1901-1945), Ervin was appointed to the House of Representatives. In 1954, Ervin was appointed to the United States Senate, where he served on the Judiciary Committee, the Rackets Committee (Select Committee on Improper Activities in Labor Management), and the Watergate Committee (Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities. The Private Papers Subgroup contains letters, subject files, financial material, and writings chiefly of Ervin and his wife Margaret. The bulk of the material is dated after his Senate appointment in 1954. Earlier items include letters from Ervin while he was stationed in France during World War I, 1917-1919; collegiate material from the University of North Carolina, 1913-1917, and Harvard University Law School, 1919-1922; and letters relating to Ervin's judicial appointments, 1930s-1954. Post-1954 items include letters from colleagues, family members, and others; subject files documenting his chief interests, including constitutional law, Watergate, the Equal Rights Amendment, and school desegregation; and speeches, articles, and books by and about Ervin. Also included are Ervin family history materials; biographical materials; items relating to the estates of Ervin family members; photographs of Ervin; films, videos, and audio tapes he recorded; and items relating to trips the Ervins made and to organizations in which they were active, especially the North Carolina Society of Washington, D.C.
