Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Submit an Application for Executive Clemency (1953)

Date: January 10, 1953

Created By: Julius and Ethel Rosenberg

Era: The Presidency, The Rosenberg Case

Citations: DDE’s Records as President, Official File, Box 354, OF-101-R Amnesty- Pardons, Rosenberg, Julius and Ethel (2); NAID #12451358

This January 10, 1953 document records the formal application for executive clemency submitted on behalf of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who had been convicted of conspiracy to commit espionage and sentenced to death. The application was filed shortly before the transition from President Harry S. Truman to President Dwight D. Eisenhower, making the question of whether to commute the Rosenbergs’ sentences an issue that would carry into the opening weeks of the Eisenhower administration.

The document itself serves primarily as an administrative record tracking the clemency request through the federal government rather than presenting the Rosenbergs’ arguments for clemency. It shows that the application was filed on January 10, 1953, and records its subsequent consideration by the Department of Justice and the White House. On February 9, the Attorney General’s report advised that the request be denied. The White House portion of the form records the final decision on February 11, 1953, when President Eisenhower denied executive clemency.

Although brief, the document provides a useful view of the formal process through which a request for presidential clemency moved from application to Justice Department review and ultimately to presidential action. It also marks an important stage in Eisenhower’s involvement in the Rosenberg case, documenting his decision not to commute their death sentences.