Oral history interview with Michael Waldman, 2013.

Biographical Note

President of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law.

Scope and Contents

Career beginnings: Columbia College graduate, New York University Law School, Public Citizen's Congress Watch; William J. Clinton Administration: joined Clinton presidential campaign, appointed as Special Assistant to the President for Policy Coordination on campaign finance reform, President Clinton's Director of Speechwriting; history of presidential speechwriting from Abraham Lincoln to William J. Clinton; William J. Brennan Jr. and the development of the Brennan Center for Justice: pushing for institutional reform in United States democracy; progressive versus conservative theories of immigration; relationship with Carnegie Corporation as Brennan Center funder; history of campaign finance reform in the United States: Tillman Act of 1907, Buckley v. Valeo, McCain-Feingold legislation of 2002, McConnell v. Federal Election Commission, Federal Election Commission v. Wisconsin Right to Life, Citizen's United, Political Action Committees and SuperPACs; Brennan Center and voter rights: history of voting rights in the United States, National Voter Registration Act, Help America Vote Act, early voting, Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act; importance of the Carnegie Corporation in establishing the legitimacy of the Brennan Center.

Subjects

• Brennan Center for Justice.
• Carnegie Corporation of New York.
• Charitable uses, trusts, and foundations--Political activity.
• Education.
• Endowments.
• Farber, Myron, interviewer.--http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/ivr
• Gregorian, Vartan.
• Interviews.
• Lawyers--Interviews.
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Waldman, Michael, 1960---Interviews.

Access Conditions

Copyright by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, 2013. The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York hold a non-exclusive license to enable library activities.