Born in Seattle, Washington, in 1904, Carl McFarland received his B.A.
in 1928, his M.A. in 1929, and his LL.B. in 1930 from the University of Montana
in Missoula. In 1932 he earned an S.J.D. from Harvard Law School, and a year
later his dissertation,
In1932, McFarland joined the law firm of Toomey and McFarland in
Helena, Montana. Early in 1933 he accepted the Montana State Supreme Court's
offer to act as Commissioner of the codification of the Montana statues. He had
barely begun this work when he left to join the Department of Justice in
Washington, D.C. First employed as a special assistant anti-trust attorney,
McFarland was later appointed assistant attorney general by President Franklin
Roosevelt. In charge of the vast Lands Division, he was instrumental in
drafting much New Deal legislation. Also during this period McFarland co-wrote
By 1939 both McFarland and Cummings had left the Justice Department. McFarland joined Cummings in private practice at the latter's Washington firm of Cummings and Stanley (later called McFarland and Sellers). Beginning in 1940 McFarland was active in American Bar Association committees, chiefly the Legislation and Administrative Law Committee. In this capacity he was the principal draftsman of the Administrative Procedure Act, the federal statute which provides for the governing of more than one hundred governmental agencies and which was voted into law in 1946 without a single dissent in either house. For his contributions to this legislative achievement, McFarland was awarded the American Bar Association's Gold Medallion. Following the passage of the bill, he served a brief term as Chairman of the Civil Service Commission's Hearing Examiner Board in 1948-1949.
Leaving private practice in 1951, McFarland began an eight-year stint as president of the University of Montana. He joined the faculty of the University of Virginia Law School in 1959. An authority on legislative and administrative law, McFarland served on the Hoover Commission, the President's Conference on Administrative Procedure in 1954-1955, and the Virginia Code Commission. He was consultant to the Virginia Commission on Constitutional Revision and chairman of the 1968 United States Public Land Law Revision Commission.
Carl McFarland retired from teaching in 1975 and died on May 16, 1979.
The Carl McFarland scrapbook begins with clippings, photos, and memorabilia from his student years at the University of Montana in Missoula and scenic photos of Montana including Seeley Lake, Lolo, the Mission Mountains, Glacier National Park, Yellowstone National Park and other locations. The next section relates to his Harvard Law School experience before coming back to Montana with clippings and additional scenic photos. A smaller group of photos focuses on East Coast travels including Williamsburg and Atlanta. The last item is a 1937 clipping and photo regarding McFarland's appoirntment as assistant attorney general of the United States.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana-Missoula.
Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes.
[Name of document or photograph number], Carl McFarland Scrapbook, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.
The scrapbook was held by the McFarlands and forwarded by their estate representative to Robert Sullivan, retired Dean of The University of Montana Law School, who passsed it to Robert T. Pantzer, former president of The University of Montana, who in turn forwarded it to retired archivist Dale Johnson, who placed it in the Archives in 2000.
Donated in February, 2000.
Papers from Carl McFarland's tenure as president of The University of Montana-Missoula are held in the Archives & Special Collections as part of the Office of the President's Record Group.
The bulk of Carl McFarland's papers are held by the University of Virginia Law School in Charlottesville, Virginia.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.