Oral history interview with Daniel H. Pollitt, November 27, 1990

This is the first interview in a nine-part series of interviews with civil liberties lawyer Daniel H. Pollitt. Pollitt begins the interview with a discussion of his family history. Born in 1921, Pollitt was the son of World War I veteran and lawyer Basil Hubbard Pollitt and Mima Riddiford Pollitt. After describing his father's career as a professor and lawyer, Pollitt explains his mother's pursuit of her own legal career. In 1938, Pollitt's mother earned her law degree and went to work for the Justice Department. Shortly thereafter, she divorced Pollitt's father and became the sole provider for her family, working as a civil liberties lawyer well into her eighties. Pollitt describes how he met his wife, Jean Ann Rutledge, and offers a brief overview of her family history, noting that both Jean Ann and her father were lawyers, as well. Pollitt then turns his attention to his own decision to pursue a degree in law. After serving in World War II, Pollitt--though not initially drawn to the legal profession--earned a law degree at Cornell University in 1949. Following his graduation, Pollitt worked for the law firm MacFarland and Sellers for one year, where he helped to represent the Na