The David Kendall collection covers the period of 1932 to 1976. Included with the collection is a small group of earlier family material, principally copies of the Civil War letters of Austin Kendall, DWK's uncle, and papers of his father Calvin Kendall, a teacher and educator, from the turn of the century.
The Kendall papers (12 linear feet) have been arranged into 10 series: Personal, Correspondence, Chronological File (General Counsel to the President), Speech File, Articles, Topical Files, National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Scrapbooks and Newspaper Clippings, Student Papers, and Family Papers.
David Kendall was a lawyer and respected public servant. From the date of his graduation from Princeton in 1924 up to his death in 1976, Kendall involved himself in an extraordinary number of political, business, civic, and philanthropic endeavors. Nurtured in Kendall by reason of family background and education was a deep-felt responsibility to contribute to his country and to the public welfare. Perhaps best known as general counsel to President Eisenhower and as the man who helped revitalize America's passenger railroad system, Kendall always lent experience, good judgment, and sagacity to whatever task he applied himself. The Kendall papers document the life of a man known and respected by vast legions of friends and colleagues, and widely involved in the public welfare.
David Kendall was born in Indianapolis, Indiana on February 11, 1903, the son of Calvin N. Kendall and Alla Perkins Field Kendall. He received his early education in the primary schools at Princeton, New Jersey, and Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts. He received his B.A. degree from Princeton in 1924 and his LL.B. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1931.
From 1925 to 1928, Kendall was a reporter and editorial writer for the Jackson Citizen Patriot and the Detroit News. After graduation from the UM Law School, he began the practice of law at Jackson, where he was a partner in the firm of McKone, Badgley, Kendall and Domke, where he worked, except for a four-year stint in the military during World War II, until December 31, 1954.
Kendall was a life-long and active Republican. He was a delegate from Michigan to the Republican National Convention in 1936. A dedicated supporter of Arthur Vandenberg, Kendall cherished the hope and worked for the nomination of Michigan's senator as Republican candidate for president. He championed Vandenberg's cause in the presidential elections from 1936 to 1948. In 1946, he served as vice-chairman of Vandenberg's senatorial campaign committee. In 1952, he was assistant to the Michigan Republican state chairman, and from 1953 to 1956, he served as a member of the Republican National Committee. Always deeply involved in politics, Kendall preferred to work behind the scenes, and never stood for office himself.
On January 10, 1955, following his nomination by President Eisenhower, Kendall assumed office as general counsel of the Treasury Department. In July he was nominated and confirmed as assistant secretary of the Treasury. He served there until December 1957, when he joined the Washington law firm of Cummings, Sellers, Reeves, Conner & Kendall. He was there but a few months when Eisenhower appointed him to be his Special Counsel, working in the White House from December 1958 to January 1961.
Following the Kennedy election in 1960, Kendall returned to the practice of law in Washington. In 1962, Kendall was named vice president for legal affairs of the Chrysler Corporation. He served until his 65th birthday in 1968. He then became counsel of the firm of Butzel, Eaman, Long, Gust & Kennedy. In 1971, Kendall was appointed chairman of the board of incorporators of the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, the group responsible for the establishment of the national passenger railroad system that became known as AMTRAK.
David Kendall died December 27, 1976.
