Melvin Rader papers, approximately 1930-1980

Melvin Miller Rader was a University of Washington professor of philosophy. He was born in Walla Walla, Washington in 1903, and received three degrees from the UW: B.A. (1925), M.A. (1927), and Ph.D. (1929). He joined the UW philosophy faculty in 1930, where he earned distinction for his work as a humanist and scholar in the field of esthetics. His book, "Ethics and the Human Community", discusses the social implications of art and the universal standards of human values. His "Modern Book of Esthetics" has been widely used as a textbook. Rader gained notoriety in the late 1940s when he was accused of being a Communist by Washington State's Joint Legislative Fact-Finding Committee on Un-American Activities (also known as the Canwell Committee.) Rader, with the help of Seattle Times reporter Edwin Guthman, was able to prove the allegations against him to be false. He later wrote the book "False Witness" detailing his experiences with the Canwell Committee. Rader was also active in the American Civil Liberties Union, serving as its state president in 1973. Rader died on June 14, 1981.