The Dirksen Congressional Center

The Dirksen Congressional Center promotes research and scholarship to advance the public understanding of the U.S. Congress

Working Papers

1957-69

1 Dirksen, Everett McKinley (1896-1969), Papers

Working Papers, 1857-69
42 .5 Linear Shelf Feet

The Working Papers were used by Dirksen and his staff as a topically arranged reference file for legislation, selected constituent cases, speeches, and other matters. The series originally consisted of five subject files roughly organized by chronological periods together with several miscellaneous groups of records each dealing with a specific topic. Dirksen’s staff designated these documents as “Working Papers” and “S-306 File. ” Because related information existed in each group and because the chronological divisions often were indistinct, the original groups were combined into a single Working Papers series. Subsequent additions to the collection from the family and former staff yielded other files that were blended into the series. These additions contained some records from Dirksen’s service in the House of Representatives.

Working Papers collected before the mid-1960s are relatively incomplete, apparently remnants of more comprehensive files that were discarded periodically by the office staff. According to his long-time executive secretary, Dirksen would assemble a wealth of data regarding pending business and then discard it when the matter passed. As a result, there are substantial gaps in many of the subject areas that span the 1950s and 1960s. There are only a few isolated files created before 1950.

The bulk of the series contains information concerning legislation between 1964 and 1969. Professional staff members assigned to committees on which Dirksen served maintained these papers for use in their work. Although Dirksen did not always assemble these records personally, they are more comprehensive than the files created in the 1950s and early 1960s and reflect more directly staff interests and activity. The Working Papers may have held special interest for Dirksen and his committee staff since they were not combined with similar office records in the Legislative Series or the Alphabetical Series.

The quality and quantity of information varies considerably from subject to subject. Many consist of only one document while others are comprised of several hundred pages or more. Subjects receiving substantial coverage include civil rights, foreign trade, Internal Revenue Code amendments, attempts to repeal section 14(b) of the Taft-Hartley Act, Dirksen’s prayer amendment and reapportionment amendment, and the activities of the Trading with the Enemy Act subcommittee. In these cases, the records generally include correspondence, news clippings, Congressional Record excerpts, congressional bills and committee reports, reference information, remarks, memoranda, and occasionally even Dirksen’s personal notes on specific topics. The Model Letters (f .1819a-1819z) provided the basis for responses to constituent letters on a wide range of topics; they are arranged chronologically.

The Working Papers are arranged alphabetically by subject and chronologically within each subject. A detailed folder list exists for this series.

  • A: Folders 1 – 179a

    Subjects: [Administrative Practice and Procedure Committee, Admissibility of Certain Evidence, Aging, Agriculture, Airline Strike, Alaska, Alien Property Custodian, Alliance for Progress, American Flag Committee, American History Month, American Telephone and Telegraph, Anti-ballistic Missiles, Antitrust and Monopoly Subcommittee, Appropriations, Asian Development Bank, Astronauts, Atlantic Union, Atomic Energy, Atomic Energy Commission, and Aviation]

  • B: Folders 180 – 205

    Subjects: [Bobby Baker, Bank Holding Act of 1956 Amendments, Bank Merger Act Amendments, Bankruptcy, Biafra, Black Capitalism, Blind Assistance, Brazil, Brown, William H . III, Buchanan Steel Products, Budget, Bureau of Mines]

  • C: Folders 206 – 518

    Select folders in this series have been digitized.

    Subjects: [Cable Television, Cairo- Illinois Migrant School, Camp Breckinridge, Kentucky, Job Corps Training Center, Campaign Financing, Capitol Building and Grounds, Capitol Columns, Capitol Guide Service, Cement Depletion, Census, Cerebral Palsy, Champion, George, Character Guidance Programs, Chemical and Biological Warfare, Civil, Defense, Civil Rights, Civil Service Retirement, Coal, College Benefit Retirement System, Commission(s), Commitments to Foreign Powers, Committee on the Present Danger, Commodity Credit Corporation, Communications Satellite Bill, Communism, Communism in Illinois, Community Self-Determination Act, Comstat, Conglomerates, Congo, Congressional Redistricting, Connally Amendment, Constitutional Amendments Subcommittee, Constitutional Amendments Subcommittee, Constitutional Rights, Constitutional Rights Subcommittee, Construction Safety, Consular Treaty, Consumer Affairs, Copper and Brass, Copyright Legislation, Corruption, Cost of Living, Crime Control, Cross, Hugh, Cross of Gold Speech, Cycles]

  • D: Folders 519 – 546

    Subjects: [Debt Ceiling, Defense, Democratic Party, Demonstration Cities, Desalting Plants, Diaz, Salvador, Disney, Walt, District of Columbia, Dixon-Yates Proposal, Dodd, Thomas J ., Driver, William, Dunes Proposal, Dunn, Roger]

  • E: Folders 547 – 629

    Subjects: [East-West Center for the Management Sciences, Economic Reports, Education Legislation, Education Reference, Eisenhower, Dwight David, Election Reform, Election Returns, Electronic Surveillance, Emancipation Proclamation, Employment Service Act of 1967, ” Enactment of a Law”, Enrico Fermi Nuclear Accelerator, Equal Rights, Erman-Howell Division, European Economic Community, European Trip, Everglades National Park, Exchange National Bank of Chicago, Excise Taxes, Executive Reorganization, Export-Import Bank]

  • F: Folders 630 – 977

    Subjects: [Fair Employment Practices, Fair Trade, Fairbanks, Morse and Company, Fall Out, Far Eastern Trip, Federal Alcohol Administration Act Amendments, Federal Aviation Administration, Federal Building Applications, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Federal Communications Commission, Federal Construction Procedures Act, Federal Contract Compliance, Federal Employee Freedom of Choice Act, Federal Employee Pay Act, Federal Foundation for the Field of Law, Federal Judicial Center, Federal National Mortgage Association, Federal Pay, Federal Power Commission, Federal Reserve Bank of St . Louis, Federal Reserve Board, Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation, Fifth Amendment, Finance Committee, Financial General Corporation, Financial Institutions Act of 1957, Firearms Control Legislation, Fiscal Policy, Flag Desecration, Flood Control and Marginal Lands, Floor Legislation, Fluorspar, Food Editors, Foreign Aid, Foreign Investors Tax Act of 1966, Foreign Policy, Foreign Relations Committee, Foreign Trade, Formosa, Fortas, Abe, Foundation, France, Free Enterprise, Freight Car User Charge, Freight Forwarder Rates, Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Market-Sharing Act of 1968, Full Opportunity Act, Future Scientists of America]

  • G: Folders 978 – 1002

    Subjects: [Gambling, Garner, John Nance, Gates, Byron E., General Governmental Matters Appropriations for 1960, General Motors, Genocide, George Rogers Clark Recreation Way, Gold, Government Indices, Government Spending, Grants, Great Lakes Basin Compact, Great Society, Gross National Product]

  • H: Folders 1003 – 1099

    Subjects: [Haiti, Halbach, Ernest K., Halleck, Charles, Harlan, John Marshall, Harris Trust and Savings Bank, Chicago, Hawaii, Health Care for the Aged, Health, Education and Welfare Department, Helium, Hell’s Canyon, Heptachlor, Highway Beautification, Highway Building, Hill, Robert, Holidays, Homestead Exemption, Hoover Commission for Reorganization of the Executive Branch of the Government, Housing, Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965, Housing and Urban Development Act of 1968, Housing for the Elderly, Howell, Evan, Human Events, Human Investment Act of 1969, Humphrey, Hubert, Hunger in America, Hunt, H. L., Hurley, Olive, Hurley, Patrick J.]

  • I: Folders 1100 – 1255

    Subjects: [Illinois Committee on Agriculture, Illinois River, Illinois Sesquicentennial, Illinois State Constitutional Convention Information, Illinois State Sales Tax, Immigration, Income Tax, India, Indians, Indochina, Industrial Capital, Inflation, Insurance, Inter-American Development Bank, Interest Equalization Tax Extension Act of 1965, Inaugurations, Interest Rates, Interior Department, Internal Revenue Code Amendments, Internal Revenue Code Reform, Internal Revenue Service, Internal Security, International Coffee Agreement of 1962, International Cooperation Administration, International Court of Justice, International Grain Arrangements, International Medical Research, International Monetary Fund, Interparliamentary Union Delegation, Interstate Commerce Commission, Interstate Land Sales, Interstate Taxation, Inventions, Investment Company Amendments Act of 1968, Investment Credit, Iran, Ireland, Israel]

  • J: Folders 1256 – 1279

    Subjects: [Jewish War Veterans of the United States of America, Job Corps, Johnson, George M., Joint-Stock Land Bank Bonds, Judiciary, Judiciary Committee, Junior Colleges, Jury System]

  • K: Folders 1280 – 1288

    Subjects: [Kammholz, Theophil C., Kennedy, Cornelius, Kennedy, Robert F., Keystone, King, Martian Luther, Knowles, John H., Korea]

  • L: Folders 1289 – 1777

    Subjects: [Laos, Labor, Labor Court, Labor Department, Labor Industry Promotion Fund, Labor Legislation, Labor Policy Association, Labor Problems, Labor and Public Welfare Committee, Labor Unions, Lamb, Edward, Langer, William, Langley Research Center, Lankton, J . Fletcher, Latin America, Latvia, Law Enforcement Assistant Act of 1965, Law Information, Leffler Causeway, Legislative and Judicial Salaries, Legislative Reorganization of 1967, Lend-Lease, Liberty Amendment, Life Insurance Tax Legislation, Limestone Amendment, Lincoln, Abraham, Lincoln Legislation, Lithuania, Livestock Packers’ Bonds, Lobbying Act, Loyalty Oath]

  • M: Folders 1778 – 1838

    Subjects: [MacArthur, Douglas, Macauley, Lord, Mansure, Edmund F., Marigold, Masonry, McCarran-Walter Immigration Act, McCarthy, Al, McCarthy, Joseph, McConnaughey, George C., McKinley, William, Medical Education, Medical Research, Memoranda, Mental Health, Merchant Marine Fleet, Mexico, Michigan Highway Department, Middle East, Military Expenditures, Milk Shed, Minerals and Metals, Minority Party Membership on Standing Committees, Miranda Decision, Miscellaneous, Mississippi River Bridge, Missiles, Model Letters, Monetary Reform, Monroe Doctrine, Montgomery Ward, Moon Shot, Morrissey, Francis X., Mortgages, Motor Vehicle Report, Mullins Report, Municipal Bonds, Mutual Funds, Mutual Security Legislation, Mutual Security Point 4 Youth Program]

  • N: Folders 1839 – 1908

    Subjects: [National Aeronautics and Space Administration, National CARIH Asthma Week, National Coal Association Week, National Commitments, National Committee for an Effective Congress, National Education Association, National Eye Institute, National Foundation of Law, National Guard, National Home Ownership Foundation, National Insurance Development Corporation, National Inventory Commission, National Labor Relations Act, National Labor Relations Board, National Lawyers Guild, National Old Line Insurance Company, National Parks, National Park Service Expansion, National UNICEF Day, Natural Gas Act, Natural Resources, Navy, Near East, Negros, Newspapers, News-Sun Broadcasting Company, Nixon, Richard M., Nominations, Norman, E . Herbert, North American Airlines, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, North Central Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Inc., Northwestern University, Nursing Homes, Nutrition and Human Needs Select Committee]

  • O: Folders 1909 – 1978

    Subjects: [Oak Ridge, Tennessee, Obscenity Legislation, Occupational Safety and Health Act, Office of Economic Opportunity, Office of Federal Contract Compliance, Oil and Gas Monopoly, Oil Import Controls, Oil Reserves, Olives, Olmstead, George, Olympic Games, One-Bank Holding Firms, Organization of American States, Organization of Congress, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Oscar Mayer Company, Otepka, Otto]

  • P: Folders 1979 – 2201

    Subjects: [Pabst Brewing Company, Pacific Far East Line of San Francisco, Packers and Stockyards Act, Panama Canal, Pan-American Games, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Pardons, Parochial Schools, Patent Legislation, Patrick Warren Construction Company, Pay As You Go Television, Payroll Deduction, Peanuts, Pension Plans, Peoples Gas Company, Photography Week, Poland, Politics, Pollution Legislation, Poor People ‘ s Campaign, Population, Porkbarrel, Postal Legislation, Potash, Poverty, Powell, Adam Clayton, Power Projects, Prayer Amendment, Prefabricated Door Boycott Case, Pre-Merger Notification, Presidential Campaign, Presidential Disability and Succession, Presidential Election, Presidential Messages, Presidential Protection, Presidential Qualifications, Prisoners of War, Private Bills, Production of Government Files in Criminal Prosecutions, Productivity and Competition, Prohibition, Public Buildings, Public Debt, Public Health Service Act, Public Information, Public Television, Public Works, Puerto Rico]

  • Q: Folders 2202 – 2203

    Subjects: [Quaker Oats Company, Questionaires]

  • R: Folders 2204 – 2425

    Subjects: [Radford, Arthur, Railroad File, Railroad Merger, Railroad Retirement, Railway Adjustment Board, Rainville, Harold, Randall Commission, Rat Extermination Act, Real Estate, Reapportionment, Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Red China, Red Cross, Reed-Dirksen Amendment, Refugee Relief Act, Reid, Ogden R., Renogtiation of War Contracts, Rent Control, Reorganization of Government, Representatives of Congress, Residual Oils, Republican Committee on Program and Progress, Republican Coordinating Committee, Republican Party, Republican Special Task Force, Reuther, Walter, Revenue Sharing, Right-Wing Radio-T.V. Broadcasts, Riots, Rubber, Rural Electrification Administration, Rush-Bagot Agreement Days]

  • S: Folders 2426 – 2644

    Subjects: [Saint Lawrence Seaway, Saint Patrick Speeches, Salaries for U .S . Congressmen and Senators, Saline Waters, Sangamon Valley Television Corporation, Sax Enterprises, Scales v . U.S., Science, Scrap Iron Shortage, Security Risks, Securities and Exchange Commission, “See the United States”, Selective Service, Senate Committees, Senate Committees, Senate Ethics, Senate Office Building Furniture, Senate Rules and Procedures, Separation of Powers Subcommittee, Sheil, Bishop, Sibley Memorial Hospital, Small Business, Small Business Act Amendments, Small Business Administration, Small Loan Legislation, Sobeloff, Simon, Social Security, Socialized Medicine, Softwood Lumber, Soil Bank Program, South Holland School District, Southwestern Illinois Area Study Commission, Soybeans, Spring Garden Planting Week, Spying, Star-Spangled Banner, States-Alaska Air Carriers, State Taxation, State’s Rights, Status of Forces Treaty, Steel Industry, Stepinatz, Archbishop Aloysius, Stevenson, Adlai, Stockpiles, Stoddart, John B., Strauss, Lewis L., Stricker, Adam, Strike Legislation, Student Disorders, Sugar, Summit Conference, Supersonic Transport Plane, Supreme Court, Surplus Commodities, Symington, Stuart]

  • T: Folders 2645 – 2832

    Subjects: [Taft, Robert, Tax File, Tax Foundation Speech and Dinner, Television, Tennessee Gas Transmission Company, Tennessee Valley Authority, Tideland Oil Deposits, Tieken, Robert, Tinker v . Des Moines Independent School District, Tire Safety Act of 1966, Tito, Tobacco, Trading With the Enemy Subcommittee, Trading With the Enemy Act Subcommittee, Traffic Safety Act of 1966, Transportation, Treaties, Truth in Lending Act, Twining, Lt . General N.B.]

  • U: Folders 2833 – 2859

    Subjects: [Ukranians, Uniform Relocation Assistance and Land Acquisition Policies Act of 1969, Uniformed Services Retirement Pay Equalization Act, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Fruit Company, United Nations, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, U.S. Civil Service Commission, U.S. Commissioner, U.S. Courts, U.S. Information Agency, U.S. Marshals, U.S. Standards Institute, U.S. Tariff Commission, U.S. Tax Court, Unknown Soldiers, Uranium, Urban Affairs]

  • V: Folders 2860 – 2892

    Subjects: [Vatican, Veterans Administration, Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Veterans Legislation, Vetoes, Vice Presidents Busts, Vietnam, Vital Statistics, Voice of America, Voluntary Military Manpower Procurement Act of 1969, Voting Information, Voting Machines, Voting on Sunday]

  • W: Folders 2893 – 2909

    Subjects: [Wage-Price Guidelines, Wallace, Henry, Warsaw Convention, Watkins Decision, Weisl, Edwin L., Welfare, Western High School Speech, Wheat Flour, Wilson, Charles, Witherell, Harry E., World Health Organization, World War II, World’s Fair]

  • Y: Folders 2910 – 2913

    Subjects: [Yalta, Youth Conservation Corps]

  • Z: Folders 2914

    Subjects: [Zeller, Duke]

  • Briefcase: Folders 2915 – 2925

    Subject: [Contents of Dirksen’s briefcase which he took to the hospital where he died in September 1969.]

Dirksen Collection