Democratic Party of Michigan records, 1932-2008 (majority within 1950-1994)
97 linear feet (in 99 boxes) — 1 film reel — 18.4 GB (online)
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.
97 linear feet (in 99 boxes) — 1 film reel — 18.4 GB (online)
15 linear feet — 1 volume — 1 oversize folder
The George Murphy papers, which encompass the years 1911 to 1961, are most comprehensive for the decade following 1932. During this period - the most politically active in Murphy's career - the correspondence is especially useful in illustrating George Murphy's role in his brother's emergence as a politician, especially his role as dispenser of patronage in the depression years. The papers, of course, illuminate the social function performed by the Recorder's Court and contain voluminous correspondence with state and federal judges, attorneys, prisoners, prison officials, probation officers, etc. Judge Murphy also maintained close contact with affairs in his home town, Harbor Beach. Included in the collection are significant materials on affairs in the Philippines during his brother's governorship there, particularly correspondence during the years 1933 to 1936 with his sister, Marguerite, Eleanor Bumgardner, and with leading Filipinos concerning conditions there.
71.5 linear feet (in 73 boxes) — 1 oversize folder — 1 oversize volume — 7.77 GB (online)
The John B. Swainson collection consists of four subgroups of files: pre-gubernatorial (covering the period of 1943 to 1960), gubernatorial (covering his one-term, two-year tenure as the state's chief executive), post-gubernatorial (covering the years since he left the governor's office, 1963 to 1975), and visual materials.
The great bulk of the collection is the gubernatorial subgroup documenting the last months of Swainson's term as lieutenant governor under Governor G. Mennen Williams, the 1960 campaign for governor, his gubernatorial administration, and his unsuccessful campaign for re-election. The importance of the collection, as with all gubernatorial records, is its documentation of public policy issues of the early 1960s and the relationship of the governor to the legislature, to the heads of the state's various boards and commissions, to the federal government, and to the citizens of Michigan.
71.5 linear feet (in 73 boxes) — 1 oversize folder — 1 oversize volume — 7.77 GB (online)
25 linear feet
The collection includes extensive correspondence, speeches, press releases, political campaign materials, newspaper clippings, agendas, and assorted printed material relating to her work in the Democratic Party; material concerning state and national Democratic politics, 1948-1967, and materials accumulated from her service with the Democratic National Committee and the Michigan State Central Committee.
The collection has been arranged into the following series: Correspondence; Press Materials; Speeches; Miscellaneous Materials; Organizational Activities; State and Local Politics; National Politics; Printed Materials; and Photographs.
Current results range from 1911 to 2008