Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Founder and president of the Center for Military Readiness (CMR), opponent of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) from Livonia, Michigan. Collection includes anti-ERA materials authored and collected by Donnelly as National Media Chair of Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum and founder of the Michigan Stop-ERA Committee, 1974-1983; also materials on the International Women's Year Conferences, 1977-1978; transcript, 1983, of testimony before a Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary; publications of Donnelly Media Associates of Livonia, Michigan, 1984; files relating to her interest in issues arising from the participation of women serving in the military, especially her work as executive director of the Center (formerly Coalition) for Military Readiness and her activities as a member of the Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces; and photographs.

The Donnelly collection (1 linear foot) contains a wide variety of materials relating to her political activities. The collection has been arranged into two series: Topical Files and Women in the Military. The Topical Files series is arranged alphabetically by topic, and composed of clippings, correspondence, articles, press releases, newsletters, brochures, and schedules. There are four folders dealing with Donnelly's anti-ERA efforts (1973-1986). Also included here material concerning her endorsement of political candidates, including Ronald Reagan (1980, 1984), Jack Kemp (1986-1988), and Richard Chrysler (1986).

The Women in the Military series documents her work as executive director of the Center (formerly Coalition) for Military Readiness and her activities as a member of the Presidential Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces.

Detroit, Michigan, attorney, Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1955-1974, and member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Congressional papers, arranged by term, include legislative files, bills files, topical files, schedules, sound recordings, photographs, motion pictures, and scrapbooks. The collection details relationship with colleagues and constituents and pertains to committee activities, legislation sponsored, and issues of the day. Topics of interest include civil rights, the war in Vietnam, Sleeping Bear Dunes, the humane slaughtering of animals, the economy and the fiscal policy of the federal government, women's rights, the Equal Rights Amendment, economic problems of women, and the need for national health insurance legislation.

The Griffiths collection consists primarily of correspondence exchanged with constituents and lobbying groups on matters of pending or proposed legislation and on topics of current interest. The collection's great value is its documentation of the workings of this one congressional office and its perspective on the issues confronting the nation in the period of 1955 to 1974. With the Democrats in control of the Congress, these years witnessed legislative efforts to use the power of the Federal Government to rectify the ills of society on matters of civil rights, assistance to the poor, health care for the aged, environmental protection, and so forth. It was also a time of strife in society resulting from the war in Vietnam, tension among the races, and the Watergate crisis. The Griffiths collection documents these issues with letters from constituents and her response to the concerns of the people.

Beyond general issues, the Griffiths papers have importance for their documentation of the specific contribution of this one woman member of Congress, who served for twenty years, and who was rewarded by her colleagues with increasingly responsible committee positions. Especially significant was her appointment to the powerful Ways and Means Committee under the chairmanship of Wilbur Mills. Griffiths' files from her work on W and Means Committee detail the major pieces of tax reform legislation of the 1960s, notably Griffiths' efforts to legislate some equity into the benefits accorded to American women.

The Martha W. Griffiths papers, with few exceptions, have been maintained in the arrangement scheme used by the Griffiths office.