Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Republican Congressman from Ontonagon in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Correspondence, campaign materials, copies of bills introduced in Congress, and files concerning congressional reapportionment and the problems of the Upper Peninsula.

The John B. Bennett collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Election and political materials; Congressional papers; Biographical; Photographs; and Sound recordings.

District judge from Warren, Michigan. Correspondence, campaign materials, and other papers concerning his work as delegate to Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1961-1962, as Warren city councilman, and as attorney and judge; papers concerning local and state Democratic politics, and his activities with Polish-American organizations and his interest in Polish American history and personages. Also includes digital images.

The Don Binkowski collection consists of correspondence, campaign materials, and other papers concerning his work as a delegate to the Michigan Constitutional Convention, 1961-1962, as Warren city councilman, and as attorney and judge; also papers concerning local and state Democratic politics, and his activities with Polish-American organizations.

Binkowski was a district judge from Warren, Michigan who collected extensively about Democratic politics and the Polish American community in Michigan. The collection includes materials collected by Binkowski on Democratic politics, the Polish community in Michigan, the cities of Detroit, Warren, and Hamtramck, Michigan, and collected letters, postage covers, and stamps.

The collection includes materials collected by Binkowski on Democratic politics, the Polish community in Michigan, the cities of Detroit, Warren, and Hamtramck, Michigan history in general, and collected letters, postage covers, and stamps. Digital materials include video files and an archived website. Photographs include images of strike violence, 1934-1938, at various Michigan firms; photos of Polish American public figures and organizations, also photos of political meetings and elected officials. Audio cassettes mostly contain recorded interviews with Polish American political figures.

Lawyer and Democratic candidate for Michigan Lieutenant Governor in 1966; campaign files.

The collection consists of a Campaign files series documenting his election to become state lieutenant governor in 1966. Included in the papers are correspondence, speeches, and campaign schedules. There are also various papers concerning political personages of the day: Zolton Ferency, George Romney, G. Mennen Williams and Robert Griffin.

Files of state chairs, Neil Staebler, John J. Collins, Zolton Ferency, Sander Levin, James McNeely, Morley Winograd, Olivia Maynard, Richard Wiener, F. Thomas LeWand, and Gary Corbin; files of deputy state chair, Billie S. Farnum, vice chairs Adelaide Hart and Olivia Maynard, and vice chair Robert Mitchell; files relating to state constitutional convention, and to state and national political campaigns, since 1950; sound recordings and visual materials.

The records of the Democratic Party of Michigan have come to the library in several accessions beginning in 1967 and periodically thereafter. The record group is comprised of files mainly from the Lansing office of the Democratic Party of Michigan. The files are of the officers of the party: state chair, vice chair, deputy chair, and secretary among others. As might be expected, the records relate to the day-to-day operation of the party, the management of political campaigns (i.e. selecting candidates, defining issues, raising funds, getting out the vote, etc.). In addition, much of the records concern the state organization's relationship with the National Democratic Party and its participation in the national convention to select a presidential nominee. Because of inconsistencies in how files were maintained and used, the files of one party officer might also include materials of his / her predecessor. Thus the researcher should be examine the entire finding aid for material on any given topic or time period.

The records of the Democratic Party of Michigan has been arranged into the following series: (1) Earlier records, prior to 1965; (2) State Chair, Democratic State Central Committee files; (3) Other Party Officers; (4) Headquarters files; (5) Detroit Office Files; (6) Topical Files; (7) State Central Committee Meeting Minutes; (8) State and National Convention files; (9) Appeals Committee; (10) Publications and miscellaneous; (11) Visual Materials; (12) Sound Recordings.

Professor of political science at the University of Michigan and Democratic mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan for one term, 1957-1959. The collection consists primarily of Eldersveld's mayoralty subject files. There are also some of his writings, as well as notes, course materials, correspondence, departmental memos, reports, biographical material, and recordings of interviews.

The Samuel J. Eldersveld Papers document Eldersveld's academic career, his mayoralty, and personal background. The collection consists primarily of Eldersveld's writings, notes, course materials, correspondence, departmental memos, reports, oral history project, biographical material and mayoralty subject files. The collection contains the following series: Mayoralty Files, 1957-1959, Ann Arbor City Council, Personal/Biographical, Academic Career and Sound Recordings.

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.

Michigan Republican State Senator; the collection relates primarily to proposed legislation, other files document issues of concern to the Hispanic community of Michigan; also issues relating to Michigan veterans.

The Papers of Valde Garcia contains documents that span his entire career as a Michigan State Senator from 2001 to 2010. A small number of records date from Garcia's time as a Michigan State Representative before entering the senate. The collection is arranged into three series: Bills and Legislation, Hispanic Issues, and Personal Records.

Granholm was the Democratic governor of Michigan from 2003 to 2010. Records are primarily arranged by office of origin and staff member and document Granholm's service as governor. The series in the collection are: Transition 2002, Legal Division, Policy Division, Executive Office, Communications Division, Economic Recovery Office, Northern Michigan Office, Other Executive Divisions, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Office of the First Gentleman, Archived Websites, and Memorabilia. The collection includes paper, digital materials, and audio-visual materials. Extensively documented topics include economic diversification, renewable energy, environmental issues, education, Michigan's response to the 2008 financial crisis, the Governor's Hearing on the Removal of Kwame Kilpatrick from the office of Mayor of Detroit, and Michigan soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Jennifer Granholm papers document the activities, policies, and accomplishments of the executive branch of Michigan's state government from 2003 to 2010. The collection consists of twelve series and is primarily arranged according to office of origin. The series are: Transition 2002, Legal Division, Policy Division, Executive Office, Communications Division, Economic Recovery Office, Northern Michigan Office, Other Executive Divisions, Office of the Lieutenant Governor, Office of the First Gentleman, Archived Websites, and Memorabilia. While the collection documents the full range of Governor Granholm's activities, it is especially strong in documenting the governor's efforts in the areas of economic diversification, renewable energy, education, and Michigan's response to the 2008 financial crisis. Also of note are the documents pertaining to the Governor's Hearing on the Removal of Kwame Kilpatrick from the office of Mayor of Detroit, the Legal Division files on the state's interactions with Michigan's Native American tribes, the administration's work on behalf of the University of Michigan in the Gratz and Grutter affirmative action lawsuits, the administration's response to Proposal 2, and dossiers kept on each Michigan soldier killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan.

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.