Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Republican U.S. Senator from Michigan; advocate of the United Nations and bipartisan foreign policy. Correspondence, scrapbooks, diaries, and visual materials.

The Arthur H. Vandenberg collection consists of 8 linear feet of materials (available on microfilm), 25 volumes of scrapbook/journals, and assorted audio and visual materials. The collection covers Vandenberg's entire career with a few folders of papers post-dating his death in 1951 relating to the dedication of memorial rooms in his honor in the 1970s. The collection is divided into four major series: Correspondence; Speeches; Campaign and Miscellaneous Topical; Clippings, Articles, and Scrapbooks; Miscellaneous and Personal; Visual Materials; and Sound Recordings.

Soldier from St. Johns, Michigan who served in Co. A, Twenty-third Michigan Infantry during the Civil War, later Regent of University of Michigan, teacher, lawyer, Republican member of Congress from Michigan, and U.S. Assistant Secretary of the Treasury. Correspondence, letterpress books; scrapbooks; genealogy, speeches, memoirs, and miscellaneous items; also scattered papers of his wife's family (Mary Cecilia Swegles Spaulding).

The Oliver Lyman Spaulding papers consists of correspondence, letterpress books, scrapbooks, genealogy, speeches, memoirs, and miscellaneous items; also scattered papers of his wife's family (Mary Cecilia Swegles Spaulding). The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Topical Files; Letterpress books, scrapbooks, diaries, etc.; Swegles Family papers; Photographs; and Masonic artifacts. Portions of the collection covering the years, 1861-1865, have been microfilmed and are available for inter-library loan.

Three diaries (1862-1865) tell of the everyday routine of army life, military operations in Kentucky, and comment on the weather, on the freeing of the slaves, and on other officers. Spaulding's "Military Memoirs" give a complete account of his army activities from the organization of his regiment through the Kentucky and Tennessee campaigns to his discharge. A testimonial (June 22, 1865) from officers of the 2nd Brigade, written at Salisbury, N.C., orders, official correspondence, and miscellanea regarding Morgan's Raid are also included. Also included in the collection are three letters from civilians in Charleston, S.C., describing the attack on Fort Sumter and other events of the beginning of the war. Two letters (Mar. 22 and Apr. 9, 1861) are from W. T. Adams, and the other (Oct. 24, 1861) is from Richard D. Tuttle.

Prosecuting attorney of Saginaw County, Michigan, attorney general of Michigan, 1929-1931, governor, 1931-1932, general counsel to the Department of Defense during the Army-McCarthy Hearing, 1954-1955, and Secretary of the Army, 1955-1961. Correspondence, speeches, tapes, appointment books, scrapbooks, photograph albums, newspaper clippings, and other materials concerning his political career.

The Wilber M. Brucker Collection consists of correspondence, subject files, scrapbooks, tape recordings, visual materials, political ephemera, and other materials from a lifelong career in public service. The collection provides significant, though not always extensive, material on his activities as state attorney general, governor, and secretary of the army. In addition, the papers include documentation from Brucker's private career: his law practice, his involvement in the preparation of a plan for the reapportionment of the Michigan Legislature, his devotion to Republican Party causes, his activities with the Knights Templar of Michigan, and as a member of the World War I Rainbow Division. With some exceptions, the early phases of Brucker's life are not as well represented as one might hope. There is really no body of Brucker gubernatorial materials extant. What remains are scattered items, largely concerning the election campaigns of 1930 and 1932.

The collection has been arranged into twelve series: Biographical; Correspondence; Family Papers; Subject Files; Knights Templar; Rainbow Division; Appointment Books; Speeches; Secretary of the Army; Newspaper Clippings; Personal: Albums, Scrapbooks, etc.; and Visual Materials.