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Harold Stassen Papers open



I am happy to post the following announcement concerning
a collection in which I was one of five people involved in the
field appraisal. This fairly detailed description is derived from
portions of the EAD finding aid
http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html.
(there is also a link at the end of the announcement)
Craig Wright
___________________________________
Craig G. Wright
Associate Curator of Manuscript Acquisitions
Minnesota Historical Society
651.296.7989           craig.wright@mnhs.org


______________________________________________
The Minnesota Historical Society is pleased to announce the
opening to research of the Harold Stassen Papers, a manuscript
collection documenting the life and career of a former Minnesota
governor, presidential contender, naval officer, United Nations
charter delegate, and Eisenhower cabinet member.

The principal strengths of the collection lie in its representations
of mid-twentieth century Republican Party dynamics and United
States international relations.  Included are correspondence and
memoranda, speeches, campaign literature, schedules and
itineraries, awards and certificates, press releases, press
conference transcripts, magazine articles authored by Stassen,
news clippings, scrapbooks, photographs, sound recordings,
motion films, and video recordings which highlight Stassen's
gubernatorial and presidential campaigns, his role in post-World
War international diplomacy, and his involvement with civic,
professional, and religious organizations.

A major portion of the papers relate to Stassen's involvement
in Minnesota and national Republican politics, most notably
his 1938 gubernatorial campaign and his 1948 and 1952
presidential campaigns. One notable aspect of this coverage is
the documentation of the grass  roots strategies and
organizational structures Stassen utilized in order to conduct
campaigns which broke from the traditional emphasis on
Republican party leadership. This strategy of bringing the
campaign to the people necessitated an abundance of speeches,
the coordination of protracted campaign tours entailing
numerous stops, the administration of local campaign
headquarters, and extensive correspondence between campaign
officials, prospective supporters, and the public in general.

Juxtaposed to Stassen's belief in grass roots campaigning is
a significant amount of material documenting his relationships
with several key national and Republican Party figures including
Thomas E. Dewey, Robert A. Taft, Dwight D. Eisenhower,
Richard M. Nixon, Joseph McCarthy, Earl Warren, Warren
Burger, Amos J. Peaslee, Edward J. Thye, and Joseph Ball,
Elmer Ryan, George MacKinnon, Bernhard M. Shanley,
Bernard W. LeVander, and Elizabeth P. Heffelfinger.

Stassen's advocacy of the United States as a leading participant
in international affairs is also reflected in a significant portion of
the papers.  His resignation as Minnesota's governor in order to
enlist in the Navy during World War II  and his appointment by
President Roosevelt as a delegate to the 1945 United Nations
Conference on International Organization was, in part, motivated
by his conviction that the country was ill served by isolationist
tendencies.

When Admiral Halsey took command of the Third Fleet in June
1944 Stassen was assigned as his Assistant Chief of  Staff for
Administrative Purposes, Aide, and Flag Secretary.  The Third
Fleet's prominent role in the Battle of Leyte Gulf is documented
in Stassen's war diary.  During August and September 1945
Stassen formulated evacuation plans for Allied prisoners of war
interned in Japan and took an active part in the rescue of prisoners
prior to the formal Japanese surrender.  Papers documenting these
activities include materials related to Stassen's participation in the
liberation of the O'Mori POW camp which held Gregory "Pappy"
Boyington, leader of the Black Sheep Squadron. Papers related
to Stassen's involvement in the development of the United Nations
charter illustrate his role in fostering international cooperation, his
efforts at forwarding the position of the United States as a global
leader, and his emergence as a negotiator in international relations.

After the war the United States' involvement in international
relations continued to play a significant role in Stassen's political
career. European recovery and the international spread of
Communism were important issues during Stassen's 1948 and
1952 presidential campaigns and are well documented in the
collection. Papers related to Stassen's posts within the Eisenhower
administration deal almost exclusively with international issues,
particularly domestic security concerns raised during the Cold
War, foreign aid, and nuclear disarmament.

Although the bulk of the collection relates to Stassen's career prior
to leaving the Eisenhower Administration in 1958, the remaining
papers, though not as extensive, provide documentation of  his
continued work in politics and internationalism throughout the
second half of the century.  Stassen continued his activity in
Republican politics, campaigning not only in presidential elections
but in state and municipal elections as well.  He remained
outspoken in his views regarding contemporary public policy
issues and events such as American involvement in the Vietnam
War, the Nixon impeachment proceedings, the Iraq-Kuwait
Crisis of 1990-1991, and the evolving role of the United Nations.

In addition to that portion of the collection related to his work in
government and politics Stassen's interest in international relations
is also reflected in a substantial amount of material concerning his
participation in various professional and religious associations.
The most notable of these would be the International Council on
Religious Education, the Committee on Constitutional Aspects of
International Agreements of the American Bar Association, the
Crusade for Freedom, the American Baptist Convention, and
the U.S. Inter-religious Committee on Peace.

The collection consists of 212 cubic feet with materials spanning
1910s-1999, the  bulk concentrated between 1938 and 1980,
and organized into seven series:  1. Personal Papers;  2. Campaigns
and Politics; 3. Naval Service;  4. United Nations; 5. Eisenhower
Administration; 6. Organizational Memberships; and 7. Engagements,
Speeches, and Publications.  An inventory describing the collection
may be accessed through the Society's website:
http://www.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00202.html.

The Minnesota Historical Society, founded in 1849, is a private
non-profit educational institution, open to the public.  Access to
the Society's building and its research collections is free.  Additional
information my be obtained by visiting the Society's web site,
http://www.mnhs.org, by e-mail to refinfo@mnhs.org, by mail to
Reference Department, Minnesota Historical Society, 345 Kellogg
Blvd. West, St. Paul, MN 55102, or by phone at 651/296-2143.

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