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Alabama. Governor (1943-1947 : Sparks). Administrative files, 1942-1947.

Title: Administrative files, 1942-1947.

The Governor is the chief executive of the state whose function is to administer the laws of the state. One of the activities used to accomplish this function is the administering of executive decisions and actions. This series consists of the administrative files of Governor Chauncey Sparks. It contains correspondence, reports, photographs, pamphlets, publications, and telegrams. The records consist of correspondence and other material regarding the activities of the numerous state departments and agencies. The bulk of the routine correspondence was handled by George Bliss Jones, secretary to the governor, and Mabel Amos, the governor's recording secretary. The files continue to document the programs established during the administration of Frank Dixon in response to the United States' entry in World War II. The Selective Service System files contain information on recruitment, draft boards, industry, defense programs, jobs, propaganda, rationing, and civilian defense. Among the groups and agencies represented in these files are: Office of Price Administration (OPA), Alabama Salvage Committee, and the State Defense Council. Race relations and labor strikes plagued the Sparks administration. These files contain correspondence and telegrams between Governor Sparks, Alabama congressional officers, and I.S. Rouzer, President of the Alabama Mining Institute. The coal miners' strikes of 1943 in Ozark and Birmingham, and the 1945 strike in Birmingham are documented along with a strike of Birmingham newspapers that also occurred in 1945. Race riots and segregation are well documented in the Sparks records. The files contain reports from investigators and law enforcement officers, correspondence from citizens across the nation, publications, and other material maintained by the governor and his staff regarding race relations in the state. The two incidents that aroused the greatest furor were the race riot at the Alabama Dry Dock and Shipbuilding Corporation in Mobile in 1943 May, and an order by the War Department to end segregation at Maxwell Field in Montgomery. Another incident of note was the investigation of Cleburne County Sheriff Ewell Norton regarding the arrest of two African American youths around Christmas 1944 and the extraordinarily high fines set for minor violations. The records of Governor Sparks also contain considerable information regarding the ongoing debate over freight rates. This issue continued to be the main topic of concern at the Southern Governors' Conference meetings. The administrative files also document the Alabama Department of Archives and History's acquisition in 1945 of a piece of oar that supposedly came from the C.S.S. Alabama. Notable correspondents with the governor in this series included: Senator John H. Bankhead, Frank Boykin, Henry S. Geismer (the Governor's representative in Washington, D.C.), George Grant, Senator Lister Hill, Sam Hobbs, Pete Jarman, Carter Manasco, and Joe Starnes.

ArchivalResource: 49 cubic ft. (48 records center cartons and 4 indexes card boxes).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122380860 View

Folsom, James Elisha. Papers, 1938-1981.

Title: Papers, 1938-1981.

The papers, 1938-1981, contain correspondence, letters, legal records, financial records, lists, photographs, printed matter, awards, greeting cards, certificates, invitations, postcards, appointment books, medical records, newspaper clippings, serials, books, electoral returns, and maps. The most important series in this collection is the one on political campaigns, 1942-1962. Particularly well documented are Folsom's successful campaigns for Governor of Ala. in 1946 and 1954. Extensive correspondence and letter files for both campaigns are present, as are subject files, photographs, campaign materials, lists, and primary returns. Citizens supporting and opposing his campaign wrote to Folsom. Campaign tactics and strategy for particular areas are discussed, as is political patronage and requests for help. Folsom's private papers series, spanning the years 1938-1981, contains interesting material also, including Ala. politics, Folsom's business ventures, Ala. economic development, family matters, the death of his first wife in 1944, and many other subjects. The photographs are very interesting, though not voluminous. Also of interest is the series entitled political correspondence and letters, 1951-1954. In many respects this series is a direct precursor to his 1954 gubernatorial campaign, and the primary subject discussed is Ala. politics.

ArchivalResource: 20 cubic ft. (46 archives boxes, 3 telescoping boxes for 3 1/2" x 5" cards, 1 oversized container, and 7 oversized scrapbooks).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122380559 View

Dixon, Frank M. (Frank Murray), 1892-1965. Papers, 1924-1965.

Title: Papers, 1924-1965.

Papers, 1924-1965, consisting of correspondence, letters, telegrams, memoranda, advertisements, speeches, clippings, photographs, minutes, platforms, resolutions, lists, reports, receipts, budgets, scrapbooks, maps, and published materials. These papers center on the political life, and to a lesser extent, the personal life of Dixon. The political life of Dixon is particularly well documented, including his two campaigns for the governor's office of Ala. in 1934 and 1938, and his involvement in the Dixiecrat movement from 1948 into the 1950's. Correspondence and letters, numerous speeches, and campaign materials, all describe Dixon's and many others activities in great detail. His personal life, particularly his membership in various clubs and organizations, is also well documented, especially his activities in the American Bar Association and the Redstone Club of Birmingham, Ala. There are also several speeches and some campaign literature that document Bibb Graves' campaign for governor in 1934. Among the prominent correspondents with a significant amount of material in the Dixon papers are: Governors Homer M. Adkins of Ark.; Ellis Arnall of Ga.; Ross B. Barrett of Miss.; J. Melville Broughton of N.C.; James E. Folsom of Ala.; Spessard L. Holland of Fla.; Paul B. Johnson of Miss.; Sam H. Jones of La.; Robert S. Kerr of Okla.; Thomas E. Kilby of Ala.; Ben Laney of Ark.; John Patterson and Gordon Persons of Ala.; Leverett Saltonstall of Mass.; Chauncey Sparks of Ala.; J. Strom Thurmond of S.C.; William M. Tuck of Va.; George C. Wallace of Ala., and Fielding Wright of Miss.; U. S. Senators include: John H. Bankhead, Owen Brewster, Harry F. Byrd, James O. Eastland, Walter F. George, Lister Hill, Spessard L. Holland, and John Sparkman. U.S. Representatives include: George W. Andrews, Laurie C. Battle, Frank W. Boykin, George Grant, Sam Hobbs, George Huddleston, Robert E. Jones, and Albert Rains. Ala. politicians include: G. Claiborne Blanton, Albert Boutwell, Frank R. Broadway, C.J. Coley, Eugene "Bull" Connor, Sam Englehardt, Walter Givhan, Walter B. Jones, Thomas S. Lawson, Norvelle R. Leigh, Jr.; Gessner T. McCorvey, Ed Leigh McMillan, Albert Patterson, Marion Rushton, and Horace C. Wilkinson. Prominent newspapermen include: Tom Abernethy of the Talladega Daily Home; Harry M. Ayers of The Anniston Star; Virginius Dabney of the Richmond Times-Dispatch; John Temple Graves of the Birmingham Age-Herald; Grover C. Hall, Jr., of the Montgomery Advertiser; Horace Hall of The Dothan Eagle; Clarence and Victor Hanson of The Birmingham News; Barrett C. Shelton of the Decatur Daily News; Cash M. Stanley of the Montgomery Advertiser; and Earl L. Tucker of the Thomasville Times. There are many other prominent correspondents as well.

ArchivalResource: 6 cubic ft. (5 records center cartons; 1 card index box for 3x5 cards; one oversized box; and 3 oversized folders).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122387780 View

Alabama. Governor (1943-1947 : Sparks). Legislative tracking files, 1943-1945.

Title: Legislative tracking files, 1943-1945.

The Governor is the chief executive of the state whose function is to administer the laws of the state. One of the activities used to accomplish this function is the monitoring of bills being considered for passage by the state legislature. This series consists of correspondence, telegrams, newspaper clippings, petitions, resolutions, reports, and bills regarding pending legislation in which the Governor was interested. The records contain the Governor's messages to the legislature and reports to the Governor on the legislature's activity in regard to specific legislation. There is correspondnence between the governor and individual legislators. The records of Governor Sparks also contain reports, minutes, and newspaper clippings documenting the activities and decisions of various interim committees. George Bliss Jones, the Governor's secretary, coordinated much of the correspondence. This series also contains correspondence from constituents voicing their opinion for or against a specific bill. In addition to the usual legislation regarding, old age pensions, and education, the legislature considered bills concerning agriculture, public health, social welfare, and the poll tax. There is a considerable amount of material pertaining to the Income Tax Amendment that was defeated in the 1945 election. Among the agencies that were created by acts of the Alabama legislature were the Department of Labor, the Alabama Aviation Commission, the War Emergency Council, and the Department of Veteran Affairs. Correspondents include U.S. Representatives from Alabama Carter Manasco, Frank W. Boykin, Joe Starnes, Pete Jarman, George Grant, and John Newsome; and Senators Lister Hill and John H. Bankhead.

ArchivalResource: 7.5 cubic ft. (7 records center cartons and 1 archives box).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122388737 View

Crow, Charles B. (Charles Brandon), 1897-1955. Papers, 1920-1949.

Title: Papers, 1920-1949.

Papers, 1920-1949, that contain correspondence, letters, telegrams, financial records, estate records, applications, subject files, military records, lists, photographs, clippings, printed records, licenses, and other records. The most important series in this collection are the correspondence and letters, the subject files, and the patronage, political. In all of those series the political career of John H. Bankhead (1872-1946), and to a lesser extent, Lister Hill and Hugo L. Black are discussed. U.S. and Ala. politics receive much attention, especially the New Deal, unemployment, and the search for jobs through the patronage system. Aspects of the New Deal covered especially well include farm tenancy and the Farm Security Administration, the Agricultural Adjustment Act, the court packing scheme of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and the National Labor Relations Board. Ala. subjects and political subjects covered especially well include: the beginning of radio station WSGN, U.S. political patronage in Ala., the grooming of Jim Simpson to unseat John H. Bankhead (1872-1946) in 1942, the campaign of William B. Bankhead for the presidency, 1940; and a plan to create the Ala. Medical College in Birmingham. Race relations in the U.S. Army, and the World War, 1939-1945, received extensive treatment also.

ArchivalResource: 1.7 cubic ft. (5 archives boxes)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122441781 View

Bankhead, John Hollis, 1872-1946. Papers, 1880-1947 and n.d.

Title: Papers, 1880-1947 and n.d.

Papers, 1880-1947 and n.d., containing correspondence, letters, telegrams, biographical records, genealogical records, financial records, invitations, photographs, a diploma, campaign records, speeches, a script, voting records, bills and resolutions proposed by the U.S. Congress, hearings, reports, clippings, memoranda, subject files, diagrams, press releases, and other materials. This collection documents the life of Bankhead (1872-1946), particularly that part of his career in the U.S. Senate involving agriculture and farm tenancy. Other aspects of his senatorial career are not as well documented. His personal life and political campaigns also are represented, as is his work in 1940 with the Democratic National Committee. There are several good photographs of the former Senator, however, as well as other family members. Of interest are the folders of correspondence between Bankhead (1872-1946) and his sister, Marie B. Owen. U.S. and Ala. political, economic, and social issues are discussed in great detail, as is the Ala. Dept. of Archives and History. Also of interest are the "turtle" letters to his granddaughter Louise B. Davis, written while Bankhead (1872-1946) recovered from illness in 1936-1937.

ArchivalResource: 8 cubic ft. (17 archives containers, 1 oversized box, and 6 oversized scrapbooks)

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122568117 View