Clarence Darrow

Lore & Background

He grew up in Kinsman, Ohio, where his father was known as the 'village infidel' and his mother was an early supporter of female suffrage.

Reader's Guide

Darrow's significance lies in his transformation from a corporate lawyer to a leading labor attorney and civil libertarian. He helped organize the Populist Party in Illinois and represented major labor figures, including the McNamara brothers in the Los Angeles Times bombing case. His defense of the McNamaras led to a plea bargain that spared them the death penalty but drew criticism from organized labor. Darrow himself was later charged with attempting to bribe jurors in that case; he was acquitted in one trial and the second ended with a hung jury.

Did You Know?

• Darrow was the fifth son of Amirus and Emily Darrow, and grew up in Kinsman, Ohio, where his father was called the 'village infidel' and his mother was an early supporter of female suffrage.
• In 1894, Darrow represented Eugene V. Debs in the Pullman Strike case and took on his first murder case defending Patrick Eugene Prendergast, which resulted in the only execution among his fifty murder defenses.
• Darrow helped organize the Populist Party in Illinois and represented the McNamara brothers in the Los Angeles Times bombing case, securing a plea bargain that spared them the death penalty.
• He was posthumously inducted into the Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame and described as a 'sophisticated country lawyer' whose wit and eloquence made him one of the most prominent attorneys and civil libertarians in the nation.