Collections : [University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library]

Records, 1935-1980, of the Bureau of Government Library. Include clipping file, pamphlet file, and student papers relating to public administration and politics in Michigan.

The Records are arranged in three series: Clippings, Pamphlets, and Student Papers.

Record group consists of Administration, Office Reference, and Reforms subgroups; files relate to lobbying efforts on behalf of campaign reform, ethics in politics, lobbying reform.

The records of Common Cause in Michigan comprise nearly seventeen linear feet of materials and consist of agendas, minutes, newsletters, correspondence, memoranda, press releases, reports, and drafts and comments on pending legislation. The materials document this public interest group's efforts to secure a more ethical, open, responsive, and representative government in Michigan. The strengths of the record group derive from its reflection of the reform issues salient to the Michigan electorate and the perspective it manifests on the close relations between the Michigan legislature and lobbyists in the 1970s, 80s and 90s. The records also shed light on the internal workings and outreach efforts of Common Cause in Michigan. The record group is arranged into three series: Administration, Office Reference, and Reforms. Each series is further divided by period of time (with overlap) reflecting the different dates of accessioning.

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.

Donald W. Riegle, Jr. served five terms as a Representative from Michigan's 7th district in the U.S. House of Representatives (1967-1976) and three terms as a U.S. Senator from Michigan (1976-1995). Riegle was born in Flint, Mich. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in Business Administration (1960) and from Michigan State University with an M.B.A. (1961). The collection reflects Riegle's service from 1966 to 1994 as a U.S. Congressman and Senator. Material from Riegle's years in U.S. Senate comprise the majority of the collection. Collection includes campaign material, topical files, material related to bills and acts, committees and subcommittees; also material related to Michigan affairs, constituent mail, and personal files.

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.

Douglas Ross (1942- ) is a Michigan political figure. He has been active in many political organizations and the Democratic party and served as Michigan Director of Commerce and United States Assistant Secretary of Labor. He also ran, unsuccessfully, for governor of Michigan in 1998. Ross' main concerns are economic policy and education. He currently runs a charter school in Detroit, Michigan. The papers cover most of his career, especially as Michigan Senator and at the Department of Labor, and include his notes and articles, correspondence, publications, and videotapes.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, right-to-life activist; collected newsletters, clippings, and other materials relating to the right-to-life movement

The Elizabeth Lemmer papers consists of collected newsletters and printed material from Michigan Citizens for Life (later renamed Right-to-Life of Michigan) and the Michigan Right-to-Life Committee, a political action group organized to counter attempts to legalize abortion in 1972. In addition, the collection includes scattered correspondence and newspaper clippings regarding the issue of abortion.

Campaign manager for G. Mennen Williams and official of the Communications Workers of America. Correspondence, schedules and publications concerning politics, election campaigns, 1954-1976, labor, communications satellites, the Democratic Party, and the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services.

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.

The Stephenson collection is comprised of a single series of mayoralty files, arranged alphabetically, and dated 1973-1975. The collection consists of correspondence, speeches, reports, and other materials concerning his mayoralty activities, the operation of city departments, finances, union negotiations, zoning and ordinance issues, and community debate over such matters as revenue sharing, rent control, and the lowering of the penalty for possession of marijuana.

Katharine Tennyson was a nurse in Detroit, Michigan, who was an activist supporting reform of Michigan abortion laws in the early 1970s. The collection documents her work with various organizations, especially the Michigan Abortion Referendum Committee.

Chairman of the Michigan Republican Party, Regent of the University of Michigan, Michigan Supreme Court justice. Political files include activities as Republican State Chairman and his involvement in the presidential campaign of Nelson Rockefeller (1964) and George Romney (1967-1968); also files from his service as regent of the University of Michigan (1969-1975) and justice of the Michigan Supreme Court (1975-1977).

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.

Pastor of the Grand Rapids A. M. E. First Community Church, Grand Rapids, Michigan, city commissioner, acting mayor, and later mayor, 1971-1975. Mayoralty files, political materials, scrapbooks of career activities, and photographs.

The Lyman Parks collection consists mainly of files created and accumulated during the period of his mayoralty. Included are files on the many federal, state and local conferences that he attended. The correspondence files consist mainly of congratulatory letters. The best documentation of Parks' mayoralty will be found in his speech file and in the several scrapbooks from the years when he was in office. The collection also includes photographs, both portraits and photographs of public activities.

The collection has been arranged into the following series: Biographical and Personal; Correspondence; Mayoralty Files; A.M.E. Activities; Photographs; and Scrapbooks.

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.

Organization formed to coordinate support for abortion reform in Michigan in the 1972 statewide election. The record group includes position papers, surveys, mailings, press releases, correspondence, visual materials, and clippings relating to the campaign.

The papers of MARC have been organized both chronologically and by type of material. Papers from the drive for legislation (1969-1971) are followed by materials from the petition drive (1971-1972) and the referendum campaign (1972). Campaign materials include the publicity and press releases of MARC, organizing materials, publicity distributed by the group opposed to Proposition B, the Michigan Right to Life Committee, and correspondence.

Democratic Party official, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party from 1973 to 1979, president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs from 1979 to 1980, and chairman of the Commission on Presidential Nomination and Party Structure from 1973 to 1978. Committee work files and reports relating to his various political appointments.

Records of various officers of the Michigan Conference of the National Organization for Women collected by one-time state presidents Margot Duley-Morrow and Alicia Perez-Banuet. Presidential files of Duley-Morrow, Nan Frost-Welmers, Shirley Monson, Lynn Hierholzer, Gloria Woods, and Alicia Perez-Banuet; files of state chapter developer Rhonda Drinan, and Macomb County chapter president Doris Little; contain correspondence, newsletters, clippings, mass mailings, agendas and minutes, photographs, and other materials concerning the formal and personal aspects of this feminist organization. Topics covered include the Equal Rights Amendment, the Project for Equal Education Rights, Women's Assembly III, and other issues pertaining to women's rights.

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.

Ann Arbor, Michigan, businessman and attorney, chairman of the Michigan Democratic Party State Central Committee, U. S. Congressman-at-large, 1963-1964, gubernatorial candidate in 1964, member of the U. S. Federal Election Commission, 1975-1978. Chronological, congressional and topical files relating to political and personal activities; include political files detailing state election campaigns 1948-1964, particularly the campaigns of G. Mennen Williams and John B. Swainson; also photographs and transcript of oral interview, 1979.

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.

Michigan State Democratic Party officer, candidate for public office; regent of the University of Michigan; topical files, speeches, and miscellaneous.

The Olivia Maynard papers document the period of 1977 to 1982, when she was engaged in state Democratic politics and in organizations relating to women's rights. Some of the files concern her campaign for lieutenant governor in 1978. In addition, the collection includes several folders of her speeches given both as a candidate and as a party official.

Detroit portrait painter and feminist activist. Correspondence, printed material, newspaper clippings, photographs, reports, speeches, articles and other papers documenting her career as an artist, and with the Michigan Women's Commission, the National Association of Commissions for Women, the National Organization for Women (NOW) and other civic, Republican, and feminist organizations.

While most of the material relates directly to Patricia Hill Burnett, the papers also relate to the more general women's movement during the 1970s and early 1980s.

The Perry Bullard Papers (1973-1992) document Bullard's service as a state representative from Michigan's 53rd district, primarily between the years of 1980 and 1992. The collection contains correspondence, newspaper clippings, committee reports and studies, bills, and briefing material on issues that came before the Michigan House of Representatives between 1973 and 1992.

The Perry Bullard papers document his twenty year career in the Michigan House of Representatives, especially as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. The collection includes both Bullard files and files maintained by members of his staff. The files document the passage of acts (or failure of bills) through correspondence, staff memoranda, communications from constituents and lobbying groups, and all manner of background and printed material. The series in the collection are Correspondence; Legislative Files; House Judiciary Committee files; Topical Files; Political and Campaign materials; Publicity, Speeches, Clippings; and Personal Materials.

Republican member of the Michigan House of Representatives. Legislative files, 1967-1974, concerning in part his interest in water pollution legislation; political files concerning election campaigns, and involvement in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County, Michigan, Republican Party activities; and photographs.

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