Collection inventory

Summary
Creator:	Robertson, D. B.
Title:	D. B. Robertson Papers
Dates:	1939-1981
Size:	2 boxes (2 linear feet)
Abstract:	The D. B. Robertson Papers include clippings, correspondence, drafts, and other written materials related to the works he produced while a professor at Syracuse University.
Language:	English
Repository:	University Archives, Special Collections Research Center Syracuse University Libraries 222 Waverly Ave., Suite 600 Syracuse, NY 13244-2010 https://library.syracuse.edu/special-collections-research-center/university-archives

Biography

D. B. Robertson (1915-1986) was a professor in the Department of Religion at Syracuse University from 1961 to 1981.

D. B. Robertson was born in Gaffney, South Carolina. He received his Bachelor's degree from Berea College in 1940 and his Bachelor in Divinity at Union Theological Seminary in New York City in 1943. His career in academia was suspended for two years during World War II, when he served as army chaplain from 1945 to 1946. Robertson eventually received his PhD from Columbia University in 1948 and, for a short time, studied at the University of Heidelberg, Germany (1953-1954) and at Harvard Divinity School (1958-1959).

Robertson was a Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Berea College from 1947 until 1960, at which point he joined the faculty at Syracuse University. It was during his time as a doctoral student and professor at Berea College that Robertson met Professor James Luther Adams and Professor Reinhold Niebuhr, two contemporary theologians who would become the focus of Robertson’s academic work at Syracuse University.

Robertson’s first publication was editing Voluntary Associations: a Study of Groups in Free Societies (1966), a collection of essays honoring James Luther Adams. Though published in 1966, Robertson was writing to colleagues about the project as early as 1959. Originally, the book was meant to be a surprise gift for Adams. However, Robertson began corresponding with Adams about the project in 1961 and interviewed him a few years later at his residence at Gould Farms.

Near the same time that he was completing his work on Adams, Robertson was also finishing a second book, Should Churches Be Taxed? (1968). In 1965, Robertson took a short leave of absence so that he could finish his research. He also put together an unpublished booklet in 1968 titled, "History of the Department of Religion at Syracuse University."

Another of Robertson's publications, Reinhold Niebuhr's Works: a Bibliography (1979), traced the intellectual history of the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. Robertson had first corresponded with Niebuhr while he was finishing his thesis at Columbia. He continued to correspond with Niebuhr and collect his writings over the next twenty years.

D. B. Robertson received an honorary doctorate from Berea College in 1977. When he retired from Syracuse University in 1981, Robertson returned to Berea College and served as the Eli Lilly Visiting Professor of Religion.

Return to top

Scope and Content Note

The D. B. Robertson Papers include materials mostly related to the publications he produced while he was a professor at Syracuse University. This collection ranges from 1939 to 1981 and includes seven series:

The General Correspondence series includes letters between D. B. Robertson and professors from other universities.

The General Interviews series contains one interview with Dr. James Robinson on Albert Schweitzer’s missionary work in Africa and another interview with Howard M. Ham about religious education at Syracuse University.

The "History of the Department of Religion at Syracuse University" series includes notes and photocopied material used in writing the booklet.

The Lectures, Speeches, and Writings series comprises a lecture by James Moffat from the Union Theological Seminary, a speech by Chancellor Tolley, as well as some of Robertson’s own writings.

The Reinhold Niebuhr’s Works: a Bibliography series contains correspondence between D. B. Robertson and Reinhold Niebuhr himself, as well as members of his family and others who supported the production of the book. This series also contains a review written by Robertson of Faith and Politics: a Commentary on Religious, Social, and Political Thought in a Technological Age by Niebuhr, along with a speech Niebuhr gave at the Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

The Should Churches Be Taxed? series includes extensive annotated drafts and proofreading copies of the book, along with photocopied material and notes used in research. Note: pages 120-224 of the draft copy were missing when the collection was processed.

The Voluntary Associations: a Study of Groups in Free Societies series contains nearly three decades of correspondence between D. B. Robertson and James Luther Adams, as well as correspondence between Robertson and writers and editors who contributed to the production of the book. There are interviews that Robertson transcribed when he visited Adams at Gould Farm. There are also writings, biographical material, and photographs of James Luther Adams. Lastly, the bulk of this series contains annotated drafts of each of the chapters.

Return to top

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

Please note that the collection is housed off-site, and advance notice is required to allow time to have the materials brought to the Reading Room on campus.

Use Restrictions

Written permission must be obtained from the Syracuse University Archives and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.

Return to top

Related Material

The Archives holds both a clippings file and portrait file for D. B. Robertson.

Return to top

Selected Search Terms

Names

Associated Titles

Subjects

Types of material

Return to top

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

D. B. Robertson Papers,
University Archives,
Special Collections Research Center
Syracuse University Libraries

Acquisition Information

D. B. Robertson donated his papers to the Archives between 1975 and 1976.

Processing Information

Materials were rehoused in acid-free folders.

Finding Aid Information

Created by: Tim Carter
Date: 2016
Revision history:

Return to top

Arrangement

Folders are arranged alphabetically.

Return to top

Inventory

	General Correspondence
Box 1		A - L 1958-1978
Box 1		M - S 1939, 1961-1978
Box 1		T - Unidentified 1961-1978

	General Interviews
Box 1		Ham, Howard M. on Religious Education at Syracuse, Transcript. 1966
Box 1		Robinson, James on Albert Schweitzer, Transcript 1964

	"History of the Department of Religion at Syracuse University"
Box 1		Notes and Photocopied Material circa 1965

	Lectures, Speeches, and Writings
Box 1		Moffat, James - Lecture on Jonathan Edwards 1944
Box 1		Robertson, D. B. - Writings undated
Box 1		Tolley, William Pearson - Speech 1964

	Reinhold Niebuhr's Works: a Bibliography
		Correspondence about Reinhold Niebuhr
Box 1			A - M 1953-1960
Box 1			N - W 1952-1965
Box 1		Niebuhr, Hulda - Correspondence 1958
Box 1		Niebuhr, Lydia and Gustav - Correspondence 1959
Box 1		Niebuhr, Reinhold - Correspondence 1948-1969, undated
Box 1		Niebuhr, Reinhold - Speech 1953
Box 1		Niebuhr, Ursula M. - Correspondence 1952-1979
Box 1		Review by D. B. Robertson of Faith and Politics: a Commentary on Religious, Social, and Political Thought in a Technological Age circa 1968

	Should Churches Be Taxed?
		Drafts
Box 1			Appendices and Notes, Annotated 1968 (2 folders)
Box 1			Appendix 1 1968
Box 1			Copy 2 1968
Box 1			Footnotes 1968
Box 1			Pages 1-119 1968
Box 1			Pages 120-224 1968
Box 1			Pages 225-349 1968
Box 1			Pages 350-451 1968
Box 1			Parts and Appendices Not Used in Should Churches Be Taxed? 1968
Box 1			Proofreading Pages 1968
Box 1			Seven Papers, Intended Appendices But Never Used in Book, Should Churches Be Taxed? 1968
Box 1			Table of Contents - Page 241 1968
		Research
Box 1			Annotated Bibliography 1965-1966
Box 1			Clippings and Notes on Church and State 1960-1967
Box 1			Notes on America Journal 1967
Box 1			Notes on "Proposed Amendments on the Constitution", photocopies 1965
Box 1			Notes on Scholarly Articles 1965
Box 1			"Review of Religious Research" 1964

	Voluntary Associations: a Study of Groups in Free Societies
Box 1		Adams, James Luther - Biographical Material 1954-1973, circa 1976
		Adams, James Luther - Correspondence
Box 1			1949-1963
Box 1			January 1964-June 1964
Box 1			July 1964-December 1964
Box 1			1965
Box 1			1966
Box 2			1967-1969
Box 2			1970-1973
Box 2			1974-1976
Box 2			circa 1976, 1977-1981
		Adams, James Luther - Interviews
Box 2			Notes on an Interview with James Luther Adams May 1964
Box 2			Section 1-4, transcript 1964
Box 2			Section 5-9, transcript 1964
Box 2			Section 10-14, transcript 1964
Box 2		Adams, James Luther - Photograph 1961
Box 2		Adams, James Luther - Writings 1934, 1955-1963
Box 2		Adams, James Luther - Writings 1964-1978, undated
		Correspondence about Voluntary Associations
			Incoming
Box 2				1959-1962
Box 2				1963-1965
			Outgoing
Box 2				1959-1962
Box 2				1963-1965
		Drafts
Box 2			Preliminary Pages 1966
Box 2			I. Sociological Theory (The Nature of Voluntary Associations) 1966
Box 2			II. Associations in History: Theory and Practice 1966
Box 2			III. The Religious Background of the Idea of Loyal Opposition 1966
Box 2			IV. The Meaning of "Church" in Anabaptism and Roman Catholicism: Past and Present 1966
Box 2			V. Hobbes's Theory of Associations in the Seventeenth-Century Milieu 1966
Box 2			VI. The Voluntary Principle in Religion and Religious Freedom in America 1966
Box 2			VII. The Political Theory of Voluntary Association in Early Nineteenth-Century German Liberal Thought 1966
Box 2			VIII. Rauschenbush's View of the Church as a Dynamic Voluntary Association 1966
Box 2			IX. A Note on Creative Freedom and the State in the Social Philosophy of Nicolas Berdyaev 1966
Box 2			X. Missionary Societies and the Development of Other Forms of Associations in India 1966
Box 2			XI. The Communaute de Travail: Experimentation in Integral Association 1966
Box 2			XII. The Politics of Mass Society: Significance for the Churches 1966
Box 2			XIII. A New Pattern of Community 1966
Box 2			XIV. The Crisis of the Congregation: a Debate 1966
Box 2			XV. The Voluntary Church: a Moral Appraisal 1966
Box 2			XVI. SANE as a Voluntary Organization 1966
Box 2			XVII. Voluntary Associations as a Key to History 1966
Box 2			XVIII. James Luther Adams: a Biographical and Intellectual Sketch 1966
Box 2			XIX. Bibliography - Writings of James Luther Adams 1966
Box 2			Index 1966
Box 2			Notes 1966

Return to top