Bureau of Government Library (University of Michigan) records, 1935-1980
57 linear feet
The Records are arranged in three series: Clippings, Pamphlets, and Student Papers.
57 linear feet
The Records are arranged in three series: Clippings, Pamphlets, and Student Papers.
97 linear feet (in 99 boxes) — 1 film reel — 18.4 GB (online)
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.
164 linear feet
The papers in this collection reflect Donald Riegle's service from 1966 to 1994 as U.S. Congressman and Senator. There is nothing from his years before his entry into politics in 1966 and nothing from the period afterwards. The papers from his Congressional years amount to 21 linear feet; those from his Senate years comprise 143 linear feet, which is of course the vast majority of the collection.
In a broad sense, most of the collection consists of memoranda, notes, reports, and similar materials, concerning pending legislation. Some concerns committee hearings and testimony. There are also files containing campaign and other political material, staffers' files, and a certain amount that might be considered relating more to Riegle the person. This includes a manuscript of an unpublished book; his schedules, speeches, and records of his legislative activity. The collection also documents the activity of his liaison offices in Michigan.
35.2 linear feet
The papers of Helen Berthelot have been arranged into seven series by date and topic. The files arranged primarily by date are largely unprocessed and relate to her activities in the Michigan Democratic Party and as a lobbyist for the Communications Workers of America. The strengths of the collection is the material relating to the various campaigns of G. Mennen Williams for governor, 1948 to 1958, the Presidential campaigns of 1960 and 1964, and Williams's campaign for the United States Senate in 1966. The collection also includes correspondence, photographs, and material related to the publication and reception of Win Some, Lose Some: G. Mennen Williams and the New Democrats.
3 linear feet
The Lawrence Lindemer Papers contain correspondence, memoranda, official reports, newspaper clippings, photographs, and an audio tape documenting the political and legal career of Lawrence B. Lindemer. While the entire collection spans from 1954 to 1982, the bulk of the records date from 1964 to 1976 with an additional cluster of records dated 1981-1982.
The collection has been divided into four series: Political files; Regent of the University of Michigan; Legal Career, including Michigan Supreme Court; and Other materials. The Lindemer files are especially valuable for their documentation of Lindemer's activities within the Republican Party, as state chairman, as chair of the Midwest Nelson Rockefeller campaign for President in 1964, and his involvement in the presidential candidacy of George Romney for President in 1968.
59 linear feet — 8 oversize volumes — 33 film reels — 74.52 GB (online)
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.
19 linear feet
The Michigan NOW record group includes administrative records, files of individual presidents, newsletters from local chapters, records of the Michigan NOW PAC (Political Action Committee), and topical files of subjects of interests to the Michigan Conference such as the ERA, educational equity, and abortion rights.
The organization of the collection is rather artificial, both because the documents were in extremely poor order upon their accession and because there is only the broadest unity to the collection's components. The records have been grouped under the name of the individual most responsible either for their creation or for their accumulation and preservation. There were two individuals primarily responsible for these records coming to the Bentley Library. They were Margot Duley-Morrow (two-term president, 1981-1983) who donated records in 1984 and Alicia Perez-Banuet (president, 1997-1998) who donated materials in three major accessions.
319.5 linear feet — 2 oversize volumes — 12.4 GB (online)
Neil Staebler first began donating his files to the Michigan Historical Collections of the University of Michigan in 1961 following his eleven year tenure as chairman of the Democratic Party State Central Committee. Periodically thereafter and continuing into the 1970s, Staebler continued to add to his collection with Congressional papers (1963-1964), campaign files when he ran for governor in 1964, topical records created from his years of service with the Democratic National Committee (see attached vita), and records from his term as commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (1975-1978).
This collection comprised of twelve series documents Staebler's career and the course of Democratic politics since World War II. Since Staebler was principally an organizer of campaigns, a behind-the-scenes manager who preferred to handle the details of an election rather than to step into the candidate's spotlight himself, the collection concerns all phases of a successful campaign not just the posturings of the party's candidates. There is, for example, much information relating to the day-to-day operations of the party, i.e. fund-raising activities, the annual Jefferson-Jackson Day Dinner, the formulation of the party's platform and related resolutions at the Spring and Fall conventions, and the activities of party-related special interest organizations.
20 linear feet
The Raymond Smit collection consists entirely of materials generated during his eight years in the Michigan House of Representatives, 1967-1974. The series in the collection are Legislative files which consists of subject files and bills files; Personal Materials; Political Files (1960-1975); Legislative Special Topics Files (1967-1974); and Photographs
6 linear feet
The records of the 14th district reflect the embattled atmosphere that surrounded Durant and his supporters. Divided into three series, office files, chronological files, and miscellaneous files, each reflects the district's conservatism and its struggle against the state Republican party.
43.5 linear feet
The Robert J. Harris papers document his term as mayor of Ann Arbor, 1979-1983 and a professor at the University of Michigan law School, 1959-1974. Papers include mayoralty files relating to city politics and municipal issues, including the affairs of the police department and other city departments, the Ann Arbor Transportation Authority, the Model Cities Program, and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments (SEMCOG); and scattered law school course and research materials, ca. 1959-ca. 1963.
The papers are organized into eight series: Alphabetical Files (boxes 1-9); Model Cities; Boards and Commissions File, City Departments File, Council Activities File, Miscellaneous Files, Newspaper clipping File, and Law School.
19 linear feet — 1 oversize volume — 1 oversize folder
The Tom Downs collection includes correspondence, minutes, reports and newspaper clippings concerning the administrations of Michigan governors G. Mennen Williams and John B. Swainson, the problems of employment and unemployment, and the recount of the 1962 gubernatorial election in Minnesota won by Karl Rolvaag. The collection is organized in the following series: Political and other activities, 1949-1965; Michigan Employment Security Commission; Michigan Constitutional Convention and related; Miscellaneous; Sound Recordings; Visual Materials; Oral history project, 1995; and Writings, research, and later activities.
3 linear feet
The UPI State Capitol Bureau informational files collection is broken up into two series: Background Files, and Michigan Politician Files. Each series has been retained in its original order with original folder headings.
11 linear feet
The papers of Walter De Vries reflect primarily his work for Romney and Milliken from 1962 until 1970. The papers are divided into two series, De Vries office files and polling data.
5 linear feet
The McNitt papers consist of materials collected relating to his interest in, and activities with, the local Democratic Party. Included are newsletters, leaflets, campaign materials and newspaper clippings concerning state, county, and municipal politics, particularly the presidential campaigns of Eugene McCarthy in 1968 and George McGovern in 1972, Ann Arbor City Council and school board elections; the New Democratic Coalition of Michigan; the Human Rights Party; the state presidential primary in 1972; Democratic state conventions; state elections in 1968, 1970, 1972, and 1974; and the election campaign of Congressman Richard F. VanderVeen in 1974.
The collection also includes copies of student papers on topics relating to Michigan history. The titles of these papers are "The Library Extension Movement in Grand Rapids", "Journalism and the Republican Party of Michigan, 1890-1920; A Study of the Michigan Republican Newspaper Association", and "Peace and American Society : Rebecca Shelley and the Peace Movement."
Finally, there are many hundreds of photographs taken by McNitt relating to the construction of the Bentley Library and to the accessioning of the papers of Gerald R. Ford.