Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

John Dingell, Jr. was Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Michigan and longest-serving member in congressional history, 1955-2015. Dingell was the son of John Dingell, Sr. (Democratic congressman from Michigan's 15th district, 1933-1955), and husband of Debbie Dingell, who succeeded him as Representative of Michigan's 12th district in 2015. The collection documents John Dingell, Jr.'s election campaigns and his 59-year tenure in Congress. Records include legislative files, correspondence, speeches, scrapbooks, press clippings, photographs, and audiovisual materials.

The collection documents John D. Dingell, Jr.'s political career including his 59 years in the United States House of Representatives (1955-2015). The papers include campaign materials documenting Dingell's 29 elections, Democratic National Committee and Michigan Democratic Party materials, and redistricting in Michigan.

The bulk of the papers document Dingell's tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives including legislative files on topics such as civil rights, healthcare, insurance, Social Security, Medicare, environmental issues, endangered species, the auto industry, agriculture, taxes, and trade; administrative office files including correspondence, schedules, voting records, and legislative planning; and photographs, press clippings, scrapbooks, and speeches.

The collection includes born-digital records, as well as 254 pieces of audiovisual material, described in the Container Listing at the item level. Dingell's member website, campaign website, as well as his personal Twitter account are cataloged separately.

Republican member of the Michigan state legislature (House and Senate, 1971-1990); governor of Michigan (1991-2003); active member of the Republican Governors' Association and the National Governors' Association. The Engler collection consists primarily of materials created and maintained by Governor Engler and his staff during the period when he was governor, 1991-2003. Other records include papers from his several terms in the Michigan House and the Michigan Senate. The collection includes papers files, photographs, sound recordings, videotapes, memorabilia, and some electronic files. The gubernatorial files are arranged mainly by unit or functional responsibility within the governor's office. These series are Executive Office, Communications Division, Legal Division, State Government Affairs, Legislative Affairs Division, Operations Division, External Affairs, Scheduling, Washington DC Office, and Office of the First Lady. Topics extensively documented include state welfare and school funding reform, reorganization of state boards and commissions, notably the restructuring of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and Republican party politics.

The John Engler papers are the most important source available for the study of Michigan's state government from 1991 to 2002. The collection is particularly strong on the topics of welfare and school funding reform, state government reorganization and the rising impact of the National Governors' Association in state and national politics. Engler's efforts to attract commerce to Michigan are also well-documented. The materials are arranged into two main subgroups: Pre-gubernatorial Papers and Gubernatorial Papers. The bulk of the material relates to Engler's gubernatorial career, therefore, the analysis that follows focuses primarily on this subgroup.

The materials in the "Gubernatorial Papers" subgroup are arranged according to the offices and subdivisions of the governor's office that created them. This means that the governor's speeches and press releases, for example, may be found within a grouping or "series" called "Communications Division," within the "Gubernatorial" subgroup, while legislative histories for various public acts may be found within the "Legislative Affairs" series.

While some kinds of documents were produced uniquely by one division, other kinds were produced in several divisions of the governor's office. The governor's correspondence, for example, was drafted and approved by several different staff members. Letters to important business and political leaders may be found within the "Executive Office" series, the "State Government Affairs" series, and the "Washington DC Office" series in particular. There no comprehensive chronological correspondence file.

In using the collection, the researcher should think functionally and ask who would have created the information sought. For example, the policy advisors in the State Government Affairs Division created individual topical files which gathered together correspondence and research materials to support briefing memoranda which they presented to the governor, while the speechwriters in the Communications Division often gathered different types of materials to help them shape the presentation of the same policies to the public.

Republican state senator from Battle Creek, Michigan, 1987-2002; legislative files documenting issues of higher education appropriations, state health concerns, and expenditure of monies received from lawsuit against the tobacco companies.

The papers represent a fragment of this state senator's career as much material had been discarded prior to the library's contact with the Schwarz office. Although some of the materials (mainly clippings) date to the period when he first came to Lansing in the mid-1980s, the great bulk of the collection dates from Schwarz's last term in office, 1999-2002. As might be expected, the files pertain to Schwarz's activities in the state senate, especially on issues of appropriations to the state's colleges and universities. There is also substantial information relating to current state health issues. Not present in these papers are materials relating to his activities outside the senate, campaigns for office, or his candidacy for governor in 2002. There are also no photographs or other visual materials in the collection.

The papers have been brought together in the following series: Higher Education; Health Issues; Other Issues; and Miscellaneous.

Soldier in the 1st Michigan Regiment of Engineers and Mechanics during the Civil War. Collection includes originals, transcripts, and images of letters written by John Kelley Hough as a Union soldier, a family photo, and biographical information.

John Kelley Hough's letters constitute the bulk of the collection. Files include fifteen original letters with transcrips and digitized images of the originals, and one photocopy of a transcript and its digital image. The Hough Family series includes biographical information about the Hough family and a digital image of a family photo dated 1897 with information about the people depicted on the photograph. Also, a list of family members that are mentioned in John Hough's letters.

Detroit social activist involved in GLBT organizations and activities. The collection consists of correspondence, essays and articles, e-mails, conference materials, organizational records, publications and articles on the subjects of GLBT history, gay civil rights, gay marriage, interracial and interfaith marriage, GLBT families, sexual and gender equality, violence against GLBT persons, religion and homosexuality, gay clergy, clergy with AIDS, and violence against GLBT persons. The collection also includes materials related to the development of public transportation in the Detroit Metropolitan area; election campaigns and vote suppression of ethnic minorities; and U.S. and international politics and economy.

The collection, spanning 40 years of John Kavanaugh's activism, documents both the history and challenges faced by the Michigan and national GLBT community, as well issues facing the area's racial and ethnic minorities. Of most value, the collection provides documentation regarding the position of various denominations on questions of homosexuality and gay and interracial marriage; racial and ethnic discrimination, and voters' suppression based on race and ethnicity. Kavanaugh's correspondence includes letters and hard copies of e-mails, many of them sent to individual clergy and to groups of citizens. His writings are sometimes represented in form of a self-published newsletter or e-newsletter (e.g. The bead reader and The missing lines). The collection contains a great number of non-mainstream publications, as well as articles and clippings from obscure and rare periodicals. The collection also includes a significant amount of material on the subject of public transit in Michigan, specifically, in the city of Detroit.

The collection is organized into five series: Issues; Black and White Men Together; Religion; Public Transit; and Digital materials.

The John Teachout collection consists of phonograph records produced by his Idiom Recording Company. Several of the records are of local Ann Arbor or University of Michigan performances. In addition to music, some of the records are of dramatic readings. A few of the identifications are uncertain as they were taken from hand-written labels.

Papers of a soldier in the Allied intervention in Russia, 1918-1920, the "Polar Bear Expedition."

Photograph of John W. Ferguson, a soldier in the Allied intervention in Russia, 1918-1920, riding a horse in Russia, possibly in Murmansk.

Jonathan W. Bulkley (1938-2019) was the University of Michigan's Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Peter M. Wege Endowed Professor Emeritus of Sustainable Systems in the School of Natural Resources and Environment (now the School for Environment and Sustainability). Bulkley's expertise in water resource management and water policy was sought in numerous lawsuits over the course of his career, most notably as special master (1978-1979) and monitor (1979-2009) in several cases regarding the failure of various Michigan organizations to comply with iterations of the 1972 Clean Water Act. He was also a member of the Ann Arbor, Mich. Housing Commission and served as its president in 1974-1976. This collection primarily documents Bulkley's legal and other professional activities and includes architectural drawings, clippings, correspondence, court proceedings and testimony, reports, legal documents, committee and meeting files, operating logs, notes, publications, and photographs. A small portion of records relates to Bulkley's work on the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. These records include records of meetings, policy statements, and staff materials documenting the work of the commission.

The Jonathan W. Bulkley papers primarily document Bulkley's involvement in several legal cases, including the 1977 lawsuit United States v. The City of Detroit (case number 77-71100) and the 1987 lawsuitU.S. v. Wayne County (case number 87-70992), both presided over by Judge John Feikens. These lawsuits concerned the failure of both the City of Detroit and Wayne County's wastewater treatment plants to adhere to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and Clean Water Act. Judge Feikens was lauded for his handling of these cases, as he focused on negotiation and settlement, rather than unilateral judgement; the cases were resolved through complex consent judgements that were amended over time.

This collection also documents Bulkley's involvement in the Ann Arbor Housing Commission as well as various other academic and professional work he undertook throughout his career. Examples include his work in various smaller lawsuits, including one brought against the City of Toledo, Ohio by the U.S. (civil action number 3:91:CV7646), his involvement in the controversy over the removal of the Huron River's Argo Dam, and his work with the Michigan Environmental Science Board (MESB).

Materials in this collection include correspondence, maps, memos, reports, articles and clippings, notes, papers, court proceedings, testimony, and other legal materials, committee and meeting files, operating logs, course notes, architectural drawings, subject files, project plans, and photographs.

Researchers should note that due to the complex and intermingled nature of the various legal cases, some materials relating to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) may be found in the Rouge River Watershed (RRW) series, and vice versa. When possible, materials have been kept in Bulkley's original groupings, and have been arranged in a rough chronological order.

Joseph Kumao Sano was a Japanese American veteran and lawyer whose family was forcibly removed to illegal detention centers during World War II. While incarcerated, Sano was recruited by the Army to serve as a Japanese language instructor for the Army Intensive Japanese Language School. Sano's military work extended beyond language instruction; he participated in the Strategic Bombing Survey in 1945 and served as a bilingual arbiter for the International War Tribunal for the Far East from 1946 until 1948. His papers consist of materials related to Japanese American incarceration; pedagogical notes for the Army Intensive Japanese Language School; and Sano's arbitration work. It also includes Sano's personal files, scrapbooks, and concentration camp ID cards.

The Joseph Kumao Sano papers are divided into three series: Personal Papers; War-time Imprisonment and Military Service; and Scrapbooks and Artifacts. His personal papers primarily consist of biographical material; identification and permits; and documentation from Sano's work with the California Bank. It also includes correspondence between Sano and his family.

Materials in the War-time Imprisonment and Military Service series document the forced removal of the Sano family from California to the Santa Anita detention center and the Jerome concentration camp; and Sano's work for the Army Intensive Japanese Language School, the Strategic Bomb Survey, and his service during the International War Tribunal for the Far East. It also includes his work post-war with the Bank of Japan.

The Scrapbooks and Artifacts series contains scrapbooks and albums documenting Sano's life until the forced removal of Japanese Americans in 1941, his work for the International War Tribunal for the Far East, certificates, Bank of Japan photographs, and personal photos of the Sano family. Also included are a number of objects collected by Sano during the war in the United States, and from Post-war Japan.

Researchers should note that this collection documents the forced imprisonment of Japanese Americans at the Santa Anita detention center and the Jerome concentration camp. For more information regarding language and the arrangement of this collection, please see the processing note.

Detroit (Mich.) businessman and chairman of New Detroit Committee, organization established after the 1967 Detroit Riot to investigate and remedy the causes of that civil disturbance. Correspondence, reports, speeches, articles, photographs, and printed material relating to the riot and to his work with New Detroit.

The papers of Joseph L. Hudson, Jr., date from 1967 to 1983 and measure 6 inches. The collection consists entirely of material relating to the New Detroit Committee, which Hudson chaired during its first year of existence.

The collection includes correspondence relating primarily to the composition of the Committee; membership lists; notes made by Hudson; speeches and articles by Hudson and by Kent Mathewson, who was chief executive officer of New Detroit; press releases and periodic progress reports of New Detroit; photographs; and newspaper clippings about the, riot and about New Detroit. Most of the material dates from the period 1967 to 1969, but a few progress reports from the 1970s and 1980s and a 1983 General Fact Book regarding New Detroit are also included.

The papers reflect the difficulties faced by Hudson and the Committee in trying to create an organization that included representatives of the white "establishment" and grass roots black organizations. It was necessary for the Committee to be responsive to the needs of various sectors of the community ranging from prominent white businessmen to militant blacks. A folder entitled "Important Considerations" contains a frank assessment--apparently by Hudson--of the credibility problems the Committee would face within the black community and outlining steps to be taken to mitigate such problems. The collection is also useful in documenting attitudes and divisions within the black community over the direction that should be taken in rebuilding Detroit. Included is correspondence of the Federation for Self-Determination, a militant black organization that rejected a grant from New Detroit and severed its relations with the committee early in 1968 because it found unacceptable the stipulation that a New Detroit Committee member oversee the project. Also included is correspondence of the more moderate Detroit Council of Organizations, which accused the New Detroit Committee of catering to militant blacks and ignoring the desires of moderate blacks.

Several photographs of the July 27, 1967 meeting of community leaders are contained in the collection.