The Brush of a Comet: Archibald Macleish at the Library of Congress
In the spring of 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had been mulling over the question of who would succeed Herbert Putnam as Librarian of Congress. Dr. Putnam, a scholar, had made the Library attractive to foreign visitors such as J. J. Jusserand, the French ambassador, and Lord Bryce, the British ambassador. The President was tempted to appoint Archibald MacLeish, and sought the advice of his friend Justice Felix Frankfurter.