Charles L. Kades Papers

Charles L. Kades was born in 1906 in Newburgh, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1927 and Harvard Law School in 1930, joining the Manhattan law firm of Hawkins, Delafield, and Longfellow as a municipal bond lawyer. From 1933 to 1942, he brought his knowledge of public finance to Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal administration, serving as Assistant General Counsel for the Public Works Administration and then for the Treasury Department. An Army reservist since 1924, Kades entered active military duty in 1942. After service in the Army Civil Affairs Division in Washington, he participated in the U.S. D-Day landing in Southern France in August, 1944. In 1945, he was re-assigned to the General Headquarters of the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP) in Tokyo, Japan. As Deputy Chief of the Government Section of SCAP, Kades became head of the steering committee charged by General Douglas MacArthur in February 1946 with producing a "democratic" draft constitution for Japan. He maintained life-long relationships with several SCAP colleagues and superiors, including General Courtney Whitney, then Chief of the Government Section. Kades returned to private law practice at Hawkins, Delafield, and Wood in 1949 and became known for his role in developing new methods of tackling public fiscal crises (the municipal assistance corporation) and financing public works ("pothole bonds"). From the 1950s to the 1970s, Kades participated intermittently in discussions with scholars, journalists, and Japanese politicians about the origins of Japan's post-war constitution. After his retirement to Heath, Massachusetts, in 1976, he became more actively involved in these discussions, travelling to Japan, participating in conferences, and producing an article for Political Science Quarterly (1989). He also provided numerous interviews for scholars and journalists. Charles Kades died in 1996.

1906 March 12

Born in Newburgh, New York

1923

Graduated from Newburgh Free Academy

1924

Joined the U.S. Army Reserve

1927

Graduated from Cornell University

1930

Graduated from Harvard Law School

1930-1933

Worked for law firm of Hawkins, Delafield, and Longfellow, specializing in public finance and municipal bonds

1933-1937

Assistant General Counsel at the Public Works Administration

1938-1940

General Assistant to the Chief Counsel for the Bureau of Internal Revenue

1940-1942

Assistant General Counsel to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Henry Morgenthau)

1942-1943

Attended Fort Benning Infantry School and underwent command and general staff training at Fort Leavenworth

1943

Assistant Executive Officer to General John Hilldring, Civil Affairs Division, War Department General Staff

1944 August

As Regional Liaison Officer with the First Airborne Task Force of the 7th Army, participated in the U.S. invasion of southern France on 15 August 1944

1945 January-August

Returned to former position at the Civil Affairs Division, War Department General Staff, in Washington, D.C.

1945 August

Awarded the Legion of Merit for work with the Civil Affairs Division of the U.S. Army

1945 August 15

Promoted to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Army

1945 August 25

Arrived in Japan

1945-1949

Served in Japan as Deputy Chief of the Government Section, General Headquarters of SCAP (Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers).

1946 February

Head of the Government Section Steering Committee organized to draft a revised constitution for Japan.

1946 June

Awarded the Oak Leaf Cluster of the Legion of Merit by General MacArthur for "Exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services in Japan."

1949 May 3

Resigned from active military service on the second anniversary of the effective date of the new Japanese Constitution. Returned to work as an attorney at Hawkins, Delafield, and Wood.

1950

Address to the American Civil Liberties Union; published article in the American Bar Association Journal

1958

Acted as guide for a visiting delegation of the Japanese Constitutional Reform Commission.

1973

Legal adviser to the New York State government on the creation of so-called "pothole bonds," used to finance highway maintenance and repair.

Mid-1970s

Legal adviser to New York Governor Hugh Carey on the creation of the Municipal Assistance Corporation for New York City.

1976

Retired as senior partner from Hawkins, Delafield, and Wood. Lived in Heath, Massachusetts.

1989

Published an article on the Japanese constitution in Political Science Quarterly

1996 June 18th

Died at the age of 90 in Greenfield, Massachusetts.