CIVIL RIGHTS ARCHIVAL MATERIALS AT THE LIBRARY Prepared by Carol Briley, February 2004 [ Truman Papers | Other Personal Papers | Federal Records | Oral Histories]

This material covers the historical background of President Truman's record on civil rights, including his issuance of Executive Order 9808, establishing the President's Committee on Civil Rights; and Executive Order 9981, creating the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services. There is also material relating to civil rights and minority issues that documents Truman's relationship with African-American leaders such as Walter White and groups such as the NAACP.

Because of the volume of our holdings, not all of our collections with information on civil rights issues are listed here.

PAPERS AS U.S. SENATOR AND VICE PRESIDENT - Approximately 30 pages. Includes press releases and speeches.

PRESIDENT'S SECRETARY'S FILES - Approximately 24 pages. Includes a list of the members of the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, drafts of suggested remarks by the President to the members of the committee, and progress reports from the committee to the President. Also information on the FBI, civil rights, Fair Employment Practices, and Walter White.

POST-PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS - Approximately 800 pages. Includes Post-Presidential Memoirs information on civil rights and interviews with Robert B. Landry and Philip B. Perlman.

OFFICIAL FILE - Approximately 25,000 pages. Including information on the President's Committee on Civil Rights; the Fair Employment Practices Committee; the President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services; the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; poll taxes; segregation; lynching; race riots; education; the committee on government contract compliance; and unemployment.

PRESIDENT'S PERSONAL FILE - Approximately 1000 pages. Includes information on civil rights speeches to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, June 29, 1947, and to Howard University, June 13, 1952; and the Civil Rights Message of February 2, 1948.

CONFIDENTIAL FILE - Approximately 5 pages. Includes information in the State Department Correspondence file on the appointment of an African-American ambassador.

STAFF MEMBER AND OFFICE FILES

PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGY BOARD FILES - Approximately one page. File 337 Staff Meeting 6-27-52 mentions lynching.

CLARK M. CLIFFORD FILES - Approximately 200 pages. Includes Lincoln Memorial speech, June 29, 1947, clippings, and a draft of the proposed civil rights bill of 1949.

ROBERT L. DENNISON FILES - Approximately 5 pages. Includes information on the desegregation of the Navy.

MARTIN L. FRIEDMAN FILES - Approximately 40 pages. Includes material on the Fair Employment Board.

DAVID LLOYD FILES - Approximately 20 pages. Including material on Truman's speech to the National Council of Negro Women. Also includes information on other civil rights speeches, including the July 27, 1948, message to Congress; the August 14, 1951, American Legion speech; the St. Louis speech of November 1, 1952; and the National Archives speech of December 15, 1952.

CHARLES S. MURPHY FILES - Approximately 170 pages. Includes information on civil rights speeches, including the July 27, 1948, message to Congress; the August 14, 1951, American Legion speech; the St. Louis speech of November 1, 1952; and the National Archives speech of December 15, 1952.

PHILLEO NASH FILES - Approximately 1000 pages. Includes correspondence relating to the Fahy Committee; speeches by President Truman on civil rights at Howard University and elsewhere; and material documenting the impact of this issue on the 1948 presidential campaign.

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OTHER PERSONAL PAPERS

EBEN A. AYERS PAPERS - Approximately 30 pages. Includes information on the Fair Employment Practice Committee, 1943-1946.

ELEANOR BOUTECOU PAPERS - Approximately 800 pages. The civil rights file includes information on poll taxes and race riots.

OSCAR L.CHAPMAN PAPERS - Approximately 1000 pages. Includes information on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, race relations, and segregation of public facilities in Washington, D.C.

TOM C. CLARK PAPERS - Approximately 40 pages. Includes information on the proposed civil rights act of 1949. CLARK M. CLIFFORD PAPERS - Approximately 220 pages. Includes correspondence concerning segregation in the National Guard; printed material; drafts of Executive Order 9981; material on the 1949 State of the Union Address; and correspondence relating to the Fahy Committee. Also includes the confidential memo to the President [Clifford-Rowe Memorandum of November 19, 1947] discussing civil rights policy as an election strategy.

GEORGE M. ELSEY PAPERS - Approximately 800 pages. Includes correspondence and speeches on civil rights and desegregation delivered by President Truman.

JOHN W. GIBSON PAPERS - Approximately 30 pages. Information on the NAACP speech.

J. HOWARD McGRATH PAPERS - Approximately 800 pages. Includes proposed legislation on civil rights, including anti-poll tax, anti-lynching and fair housing legislation.

FRANCIS P. MATTHEWS PAPERS - Approximately 4000 pages, Documents the President's Committee on Civil Rights, including transcripts of hearings, policy meetings, reports, memorandums and correspondence.

PHILLEO NASH PAPERS - Approximately 50,000 pages. Includes correspondence, newspaper clippings, reports, and other documents relating to minorities and race relations; materials related to the Gillem Board report and to the Fair Employment Practice Committee; segregation in housing, Army schools at Army bases; Communist Cold War propaganda suggesting that African-Americans would not fight for the United States; and the combat performance of African-American units as evidence to the contrary.

DAVID K. NILES PAPERS - Approximately 1,000 pages. Documents Niles' contacts with civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and with African-American leaders such as Walter White and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. As an important civil rights advocate within the Truman White House, Niles helped bring about the creation of the President's Committee on Civil Rights and the desegregation of the armed forces. The civil rights and minorities file contains reports, correspondence, newspaper clippings, memoranda and other items, mostly relating to Niles's official role as liaison between the White House and minority groups. SAMUEL ROSENMAN PAPERS - Approximately 100 pages. Includes information on the July 27, 1948, special message to Congress.

DAVID STOWE PAPERS - Approximately 800 pages. Includes material on migratory labor.

JEROME K. WALSH PAPERS - Approximately 20 pages. Includes one folder on civil rights.

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FEDERAL RECORDS

RECORD GROUP 220. PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON CIVIL RIGHTS - Approximately 22,000 pages. Includes material relating to the President's Committee on Civil Rights as established by Executive Order 9808 on December 5, 1946; copies of public hearings, letters of solicited advice, and evidence and recommendations for policy improvements.

RECORD GROUP 220. PRESIDENT'S COMMITTEE ON EQUALITY OF TREATMENT AND OPPORTUNITY IN THE ARMED SERVICES - Approximately 12,000 pages. Includes correspondence and other documents relating to the organization and proceedings of the Fahy Committee, under the chairmanship of former Solicitor Gerneral Charles Fahy, in 1949-50; minutes of meetings; draft reports of the committee; material on the desegregation policies of the Army, Navy, and Air Force; a copy of the 1945 Gillem Board report on African-Americans in the Army; and newspaper clippings documenting press coverage of the committee.

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ORAL HISTORIES

JOHN E. BARRIERE. Staff member, Research Division, Democratic National Committee, 1948. Approximately 4 pages.

DAVID E. BELL. Special Assistant in the White House Office, 1947-48; Administrative Assistant to the President, 1951-53. Approximately 3 pages.

ANDREW J. BIEMILLER. Congressman from Wisconsin, 1945-47 and 1949-51. Approximately 17 pages.

KENNETH M. BIRKHEAD. Associate Director of Public Relations, Research Division, Democratic National Committee, 1948. Approximately 2 pages.

ELEANOR BONTECOU. Attorney, Civil Rights Section, Department of Justice, 1938-1955. Discusses the Justice Department and rights issues. Approximately 3 pages.

SAMUEL C. BRIGHTMAN. Associate Director of Publicity, Democratic National Committee, 1947-52; Director of Publicity, Democratic National Commmittee, 1952-1957. Approximately 9 pages.

OLIVER CARTER. Chairman, Democratic State Central Committee of California, 1948-51; U.S. District Judge, Northern District of California, 1950-76. Approximately 13 pages.

EWAN CLAGUE. Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Department of Labor, 1946-53. Approximately 3 pages

TOM C. CLARK. Attorney General of the United States, 1945-1949; Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, 1949-1967. Discusses the black vote and the Southern block, the President's Committee on Civil Rights and the Justice Department. Two interviews. Approximately 25 pages. BRUCE CLARKE. U.S. Army officer, commanding racially integrated units of the armed forces. Approximately 25 pages on desegregation of the armed forces. CLARK M. CLIFFORD. Special Counsel to the President, 1946-1950. Two interviews. Approxmately 70 pages.

MATTHEW J. CONNELLY. Appointments Secretary to the President, 1945-53. Approximately 35 pages.

JONATHAN DANIELS. Press Secretary to the President, 1945; Editor, Raleigh (N.C.) News and Observer, 1948-1970. Approximately 6 pages.

C. GIRARD DAVIDSON. Assistant Secretary of the Interior, 1946-1950. Relates to the President's message on civil rights, E.O. 9980, the President's Committee on Civil Rights; and desegregation. Approximately 35 pages.

ADMIRAL ROBERT L. DENNISON. Naval Aide to the President, 1948-53. Relates to the desegregation of the Navy. Approximately 5 pages.

JOHN S. DICKEY. Chief, World Trade Intelligence Division, Office of Public Affairs Department of State, 1944-45; public liaison office, U.S. delegation, U.N. Conference on International Organization, 1945. Approximately 5 pages.

INDIA EDWARDS. Associate Director, 1947-48, Executive Director, 1949-50, and Vice Chairman, 1950-56 Democratic National Committee. Two interviews. Approximately 4 pages.

GEORGE M. ELSEY. Naval officer assigned to the White House Map Room, 1942-47; Special Assistant in the White House Office, 1947-49; Administrative Assistant to the President, 1949-51; Assistant to the Director, Mutual Security Agency, 1951-53. Two interviews. Approximately 4 pages.

OSCAR R. EWING . Vice Chairman, Democratic National Committee, 1942-1947, Administrator, Federal Security Agency, 1947-53. Approximately 8 pages.

JOHN G. FEENEY. Administrative Assistant to the President, 1952-53. Approximately 5 pages.

STANLEY FIKE. Jackson County Missouri Journalist; friend of Harry S. Truman; Administrative Assistant to Stuart Symington, 1952-76. Two Interviews. Approximately 3 pages.

EDWARD FOLLIARD. White House Correspondent, Washington Post, 1943-54. Approximately 4 pages.

MARTIN L. FRIEDMAN. Special Assistant to the White House Office, 1950-53. Approximately 4 pages.

MONROE FRIEDMAN. Chair, Alameda County (Calif.) Democratic Central Committee, 1948. Approximately 3 pages.

D.W. GILMORE. Member, Missouri State Senate 1949-51; President Young Democrats of America, 1949-51. Approximately 4 pages.

GOULD LINCOLN. Columnist, Washington Evening Star, 1909-1974. Approximately 2 pages.

WILLIAM H. HASTIE. Governor of the Virgin Islands, 1946-49; Judge, 3rd U.S. District Circuit Court of Appeals., 1949-71. Approximately 2 pages.

KENNETH HECHLER. Special Assistant to the President, 1949-53. Approximately 2 pages.

RANDALL JESSEE. Kansas City friend and confidant of Harry S. Truman Approximately 2 pages.

WALTER JUDD. Member of Congress from Minnesota, 1943-63; U.S. Delegate, 12th General Assembly of the United Nations, 1947. Approximately 2 pages.

CARLTON KENT. Washington, D.C. correspondent, Chicago Daily Times and Chicago Sun-Times, 1945-71. Approximately 3 pages.

E.W. KENWORTHY. Executive Director, President's Committee on Equality of Treatment and Opportunity in the Armed Services, 1949-50. Approximately 28 pages.

MILTON KRONHEIM. Washington, D.C. businessman and friend of Harry S. Truman. Approximately 2 pages.

MARX LEVA. Special Counsel to the General Counsel to the Secretary of Defense. Approximately 3 pages.

JAMES LOEB. National Director, Americans for Democratic Action, 1947-51. Approximately 20 pages.

KATIE LOUCHHEIM. Delegate to the 1948 and 1952 Democratic National Conventions; Director of Women's Activities; Democratic National Committee, 1953-60; Vice-Chairman, Democratic National Committee, 1956-60. Approximately 5 pages.

H. GRAHAM MORRIS. Assistant Attorney General, Claims Division, 1948-50 and Assistant Attorney General, Antitrust Division, 1950-52, Department of Justice. Approximately 27 pages.

CHARLES MURPHY. Administrative Assistant to the President, 1947-50; Special Counsel to the President, 1950-53. Approximately 20 pages.

ROBERT NIXON. Washington D.C. Correspondent, International News Service, 1944-58. Approximately 1 page included in a discussion on the 1948 campaign.

NEALE ROACH. Assistant Director, Democratic National Convention, 1944; Manager of the 1948, 1952, and 1956 Democratic National Conventions. Approximately 2 pages.

JOHN SNYDER. Secretary of the Treasury, 1946-53. Approximately 11 pages.

STEPHEN SPINGARN. Assistant General Counsel, Department of the Treasury, 1946-49; Member of the President's Temporary Commission on Employee Loyalty, 1946-47; Deputy Director of the Office of Contract Settlement, 1947-49; Special Assistant in the White House Office, 1949-1950; Administrative Assistant to the President, 1950; Member, Federal Trade Commission, 1950-53. Approximately 35 pages.

ELMER STAATS. Comptroller General of the United States, 1966-81. Approximately 1 page.

ISAAC STOKES. Official at the Department of State. Department of Commerce, Economic Cooperation Administration and Mutual Security Agency. Approximately 2 pages.

J.WILLIAM THEIS. Chief, U.S. Senate Staff of the International News Service, 1945-58; Chief, U.S. Senate staff of United Press International, 1958-68. Approximately 1 page.

J.C. TURNER. Official, International Union of Operating Engineers. Approximately 2 pages.

HARRY VAUGHAN. Military Aide to Harry S. Truman as Vice President, 1945, and as President, 1945-1953. Approximately 2 pages.

EARL WARREN. Republican Vice-President candidate, 1948; Chief Justice of the United States, 1953-69. Approximately 5 pages.

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