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Summary
- Abstract:
- Robert MacCrate was a lawyer who served as counsel to New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller. This collection contains correspondence and legislation sent to the Governor by MacCrate concerning pending bills in the New York State Senate and Assembly. There also are background reports and summaries on major topics of interest including transportation, health, economic trends, education, and discrimination in New York State.
- Extent:
- 5.4 cubic ft.
- Language:
- English .
- Preferred citation:
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Robert MacCrate Papers, 1958-1962, 2009. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the MacCrate Papers).
Background
- Scope and Content:
This manuscript collection contains two series. Within the legislative series there are retained copies of memoranda (1959-1962) sent to Governor Rockefeller by his counsel, Robert MacCrate, concerning pending bills in the New York Senate and Assembly. Bound with the memoranda are copies of the Governor's approval or veto messages for the bills. The memoranda and approval or veto messages are arranged by year and source of the bill (Senate or Assembly), and thereunder by bill number. All bills considered by the legislature are not included in this collection, but the range of subjects in the bills that were considered by MacCrate was quite large including business regulations, court reorganization, education law and zoning regulations. Yearly subject indexes to the Governor's approval and veto messages for both Assembly and Senate bills appear at the end of the last volume for each year. the majority of the subject files consists of 1958 summaries and background papers prepared for New York State government on various topics of interest to the state including discrimination, education, business and economic trends, culture, child welfare, health, rehabilitation, and transportation.
- Biographical / Historical:
Robert MacCrate was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., on July 18, 1921. He married Constance Trapp on May 4, 1946, and they had three children: Christopher Robert, Barbara Constance, and Thomas John. MacCrate received a B.A. from Haverford College in 1943, and an LL.B. from Harvard University in 1948. He was accepted to the New York bar in 1949 and to the District of Columbia bar in 1965. He was an associate of the firm Sullivan and Cromwell in New York city from 1948 to 1955, and later he was a partner (1956-59, 1962-present). He was law secretary to New York Appelate Division Presiding Justice David W. Peck (1951), and counsel to New York Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller (1959-62). Under Governor Rockefeller, MacCrate, served as associate counsel (Feb. 2, 1959-June 1, 1959) and then counsel (June 1, 1959-June 30, 1962). The primary responsibility of counsel to the governor was to translate the governor's programs into law. He and his staff ensured that bills were correctly drafted and helped to prevent enactment of bills that were antithetical to the governor's programs. Along with the budget director and the secretary to the governor, the counsel was one of the people on whom Governor Rockefeller relied most heavily for administration and program development. MacCrate later served as special counsel to the U.S. Army investigation into the Mylai incident (1969-70), counsel of the New York State Court on Judiciary (1971), and President of the American Bar Association (1987-89). During his career, he contributed articles to professional journals.
MacCrate died in April 2016 at age 94. He was survived by his three children, their spouses, 10 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. His wife prceded him in death earlier that year.
- Acquisition information:
- The legislative items in this manuscript group were donated to the University Libraries, M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, by Robert MacCrate, on July 7, 1989. The subject files were donated by Rod Perkins from the estate of Roswell B. Perkins, Esq. in November 2021.
- Processing information:
Originally processed in 1989 by Geoffrey Huth. Jodi Boyle arranged and described the subject files series in 2021.
- Arrangement:
The collection is arranged into two series. Series one is arranged chronologically and series two is alphabetical.
- Physical location:
- The materials are located onsite in the department.
Subjects
- Subjects:
- Public Servants
Legislature
Legislature - Names:
- MacCrate, Robert
- Places:
- New York (State)--Social conditions
Contents
Access
Using These Materials
- ACCESS:
- The archives are open to the public and anyone is welcome to visit and view the collections.
- RESTRICTIONS:
-
Access to this record group is unrestricted.
- TERMS OF ACCESS:
-
The researcher assumes full responsibility for conforming with the laws of copyright. Whenever possible, the M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives will provide information about copyright owners and other restrictions, but the legal determination ultimately rests with the researcher. Requests for permission to publish material from this collection should be discussed with the Head of Special Collections and Archives.
- PREFERRED CITATION:
-
Preferred citation for this material is as follows:
Identification of specific item, series, box, folder, Robert MacCrate Papers, 1958-1962, 2009. M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York (hereafter referred to as the MacCrate Papers).