Public relations files, 1939-1943.

ArchivalResource

Alabama. Governor (1939-1943 : Dixon). Public relations files, 1939-1943.

Public relations files, 1939-1943.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/122439476

The Governor is the chief executive of the state whose function is to administer the laws of the state. One of the activites used to accomplish this function is the administering of greetings, congratulations, recommendations, and other responses to consitutents, public officials, dignitaries, and citzens of other states seeking information or offering observations. This series consists of the public relations files of Governor Frank Dixon. It contains correspondence, telegrams, clippings, photographs, reports, and publications that document the governor's relations with constituents and correspondents from other states. The records also document the governor's interaction with governors of other states, congressmen, the president of the United States, the vice-president, and other public officials and dignitaries. The files consist of greetings from the governor to visiting dignitaries, businessmen, and school groups. The governor also sent greetings and congratulatory messages to governors of other states and constituents celebrating anniversaries, birthdays, births of children, weddings, promotions, awards and honors, and numerous other special occasions. The files also contain letters from constituents asking for money for themselves or for fund raising projects. A large portion of these requests are for churches and church activities as well as numerous fraternal organizations. Included in the records are invitations to ribbon-cuttings, parades, and organizational events, and requests for speaking engagements. There are letters from citizens requesting appointments to speak with the governor and requests for a recommendation from the governor for a job, promotion, scholarship, and many other situations. This series also contains correspondence pertaining to the governor's speeches and statements. The participation of Alabama's chief executive in the National Governors' Conference and the Southern Governors' Conference is also documented in this series. The files contain correspondence with governors from other states, programs for the meetings, and other general information regarding the conferences. Some specific items of interest in the files of Governor Dixon include a letter from Rev. Charles E. Coughlin that accompanied his publication, "Am I an Anti-Semite?"; a telegram from Dixon to British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain regarding the Balfour Declaration; and a letter from President Franklin D. Roosevelt thanking Dixon for his telegram urgin the president to support S. 1305, a bill for the appropriation of funds to provide more effective programs of public education. The files also contain correspondence in regard to the governor's speech at the Bond Club in New York City on 1940 Nov. 27, and his speech, "Crossroads Democracy," before the New York Southern Society on 1942 Dec. 11; Dixon's participation in a national debate regarding the increasing power of the federal government; the national American Legion convention in Boston in 1940 Sept. where Dixon accepted the flag of the Thirty-third Alabama Infantry, C.S.A. from the governor of Massachusetts; and the coordination of President Roosevelt's state birthday party to benefit the state's handicapped children. Of interest is the correspondence regarding Dixon's participation in the 1940 National Democratic Convention in Chicago. The Governor also attended Roosevelt's inauguration in 1941 Jan. In 1942 Feb. Dixon participated in the launching ceremony for the USS Alabama in Norfolk, Va. There is correspondence, telegrams, and itineraries for all of these events. The files also document the governor's hunting and fishing trips as well as his attendance at numerous college football games. The majority of this correspondence was handled by Dixon's secretary, Roland Mushat.

11 cubic ft. (11 records center cartons)

Alabama Department of Archives and History