Lowell Mellett Papers, 1938-1944 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

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Collection Overview

Title: Lowell Mellett Papers, 1938-1944

Primary Creator: Lowell Mellett

Extent: 9.58 Cubic Feet

Arrangement:

This is a collection in two series:

Series 1: Government Agency and Departmental Files

Series 2: Personal Files, Alphabetically

Date Acquired: 11/03/1960

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection is in two series that primarily chronicles his years in the White House as an aide to FDR during WWII. The first series contains material and correspondence filed under government agencies, departments, organizations, and surnames. The second series consists of personal correspondence.

Collection Historical Note

Lowell Mellett was a veteran journalist and editor who became an Adminstrative Assistant to FDR from 1940-1944. Born in 1884, Mellett was a native of Indiana. After working around the country for a series of regional newspapers, most notably the St Louis Post-Dispatch, Mellet moved to Washington DC. There he joined the United Press as a war correspondent during World War I before settling in Washington DC as an editor for Colliers and the Washington News.

Mellet was a respected editor on the Washington news scene up until 1938 when he joined the National Emergency Council. Later he became the Director of the Office of Government Reports and assumed the role of a coodinator of government films when World War II broke out. Mellett went back to news in 1944 and joined the Washington Star as a columnist. He went on to publish "Handbook of Politics-Voters Guide" in 1946 and retired in 1956.

Administrative Information

Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Access Restrictions: Material that might be used to embarrass, harass or injure living persons has been closed.

Acquisition Source: Anne Mellett Keezer

Acquisition Method: The papers were presented to the Library by Anne Mellett Keezer, daughter of Lowell Mellett, on November 3, 1960.

Related Materials:

President’s Official File

President’s Personal File

President’s Secretary’s File

Henry A. Wallace Papers

Harry L. Hopkins Papers

Gardner Jackson Papers

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Departmental Files],
[Series 2: Personal Files],
[All]

Series 1: Departmental Files

Box 1

U.S. Supreme Court - Black, Justice Hugo L.
U.S. Supreme Court - Douglas, Justice William O.
U.S. Supreme Court - Frankfurter, Justice Felix
U.S. Supreme Court - Jackson, Justice Robert W.
U.S. Supreme Court - Murphy, Justice Frank
U.S. Supreme Court - Reed, Justice Stanley F.
U.S. Supreme Court - Stone, Justice Harlan F.
U.S. Senate - Vice President Henry Wallace
U.S. Senate - Col. Edwin A. Halsey - Secretary of the Senate
U.S. Senate - United States Senate
U.S. Senate - Barkley, Senator Alben W. (Ky.)
U.S. Senate - Bone, Senator Homer T. (Wash.)
U.S. Senate - Byrd, Senator Harry F. (Va.)
U.S. Senate - capper, Senator Arthur (Kansas)
U.S. Senate - Hill, Senator Lister (Ala.)
U.S. Senate - McKeller, Senator Kenneth (Tenn.)
U.S. Senate - Mead, Senator James M. (NY)
U.S. Senate - Murray, Senator James E. (Mont.)
U.S. Senate - O'Mahoney, Senator Joseph C. (Wyo.)
U.S. Senate - Pepper, Senator Claude (Fla.)
U.S. Senate - Thomas, Senator Elbert D. (Utah)
U.S. Senate - Senate Subcommittee Movie Investigation

Box 2

House of Representatives - Congressional Correspondence
State Department - Secretary Cordell Hull
State Department - Stettinius, Edward R., Jr.
State Department - Welles, Sumner
State Department - Acheson, Dean
State Department - Berle, A. A., Jr.
State Department - Cultural Relations
State Department - Current Information, Division of
State Department - Office of Foreign Relief and Rehabilitation Operations
State Department - Miscellaneous Correspondence
Treasury Department - Secretary Morgenthau
Treasury Department - Gaston, Herbert E.
Treasury Department - Commissioner of Internal Revenue
Treasury Department - War Savings Staff
Treasury Department - Miscellaneous Correspondence
War Department - Secretary Henry L. Stimson
War Department - General Marshall, Chief of Staff

Box 3

War Department - Army Air Forces (Priorities)
War Department - Army Services Forces - War Department
War Department - Army Specialist Corps - Dwight F. Davis
War Department - Adjutant General
War Department - Bureau of Public Relations
War Department - Miscellaneous Correspondence
Justice Department - The Attorney General
Justice Department - Federal Bureau of Investigation
Justice Department - Gilfond, M. E.
Justice Department - McGuire, Matthew F., Assn't to the Attorney General
Justice Department - Rowe, James H.
Justice Department - The Solicitor General
Justice Department - Special War Policies Unit
Justice Department - Miscellaneous Correspondence
Post Office Department - The Postmaster General - Frank C. Walker
Post Office Department - Miscellaneous Correspondence

Box 4

Navy Department - Secretary Frank Knox
Navy Department - Forrestal, James V.
Navy Department - U.S. Marine Corps
Navy Department - U.S. Coast Guard
Navy Department - Office of Public Relations
Navy Department - Miscellaneous Correspondence
Interior Department - Secretary Ickes
Interior Department - Michel Straus - Director of Information
Interior Department - Office of Indian Affairs
Interior Department - Miscellaneous Correspondence
Agriculture Department - Secretary Claude R. Wickard
Agriculture Department - Agricultural Adjustment Administration
Agriculture Department - Farm Security Administration
Agriculture Department - Federal Surplus Commodities
Agriculture Department - Office of Information
Agriculture Department - Rural Electrification Administration
Agriculture Department - Salisbury, Morse
Agriculture Department - Wilson, M. L. - Extension Work
Agriculture Department - Miscellaneous Correspondence
Commerce Department - Secretary Jesse H. Jones
Commerce Department - Wilson, Frank R.
Commerce Department - Civil Aeronautics Administration
Commerce Department - National Inventors Council - Thomas R. Taylor
Commerce Department - Reconstruction Finance Corporation
Commerce Department - Miscellaneous Correspondence

Box 5

Labor Department - Secretary Frances Perkins
Labor Department - Wage and Hour Division
Labor Department - Jacobs, Harold - Wage and Hour
Labor Department - Miscellaneous Correspondence
Executive Office of the President - National Resources Planning Board
Administrative Aides to the President - Barnes, James M.
Administrative Aides to the President - Currie, Lauchlin
Administrative Aides to the President - McReynolds, William H.
Administrative Aides to the President - Niles, David K. - Administrative Assistant
White House, 1938
White House, 1939
White House, 1940
White House, 1941

Box 6

White House, 1942
White House, 1943
White House, 1944
White House - Executive Orders, 1942
White House - Eugene Casey
White House - Early, Stephen
White House - Hassett, William D.
White House - Hopkins, Harry L.
White House - McIntyre, Marvin Hunter

Box 7

White House - Roosevelt, Eleanor
White House - Rosenman, Hon. Samuel I.
White House - Watson, Maj. Gen. Edwin M.
Independent Agencies - Fieser, James L. - American Red Cross
Independent Agencies - Civil Service Commission
Independent Agencies - Fly, James Lawrence - Chairman, Federal Communications Commission
Independent Agencies - Graves, Harold N. - F.C.C. (Seaks)
Independent Agencies - Federal Reserve System - Board of Governors
Federal Security Agency - McNutt, Paul V., Administrator
Federal Security Agency - Jesse O. Irvin - Director of Information, FSA
Federal Security Agency - Social Security Board
Federal Security Agency - Public Health Service
Federal Security Agency - Office of Education
Federal Security Agency - William D. Boutwell - Office of Education, FSA
Federal Security Agency - Civilian Conservation Corps
Federal Works Agency - Fleming, Brig. Gen. Philip B., Administrator
Federal Works Agency - Carmody, John M., Former Administrator
Federal Works Agency - M. L. Ramsey - Director of Information
Federal Works Agency - Works Projects Administration
Federal Works Agency - Director of Information - WPA
Federal Works Agency - Public Buildings Administration
Federal Works Agency - Library of Congress (MacLeish)

Box 8

Federal Works Agency - U.S. Maritime Commission
Federal Works Agency - The National Archives
Federal Works Agency - Franklin D. Roosevelt Library
National Housing Agency - John B. Blandford, Jr. - NHA
National Housing Agency - Ferguson, Abner H.
National Housing Agency - Federal Home Loan Bank Board
National Housing Agency - Home Owners Loan Corp.
National Housing Agency - Housing - Miscellaneous
National Housing Agency - United States Housing Authority
National Housing Agency - National Labor Relations Board
National Housing Agency - National Mediation Board
National Housing Agency - Securities and Exchange Commission
National Housing Agency - Tennessee Valley Authority
National Housing Agency - Sturdevant, W. L.
National Housing Agency - Lilienthal, David E.

Series 2: Personal Files

Box 8

"Prelude to War"
A - General
American Retail Federation
Anderson, Robert N.
Arnold, Thurman
Atlantic Monthly, Sepeptember 1941
Attendance Records

Box 9

B - General
Balderston, John
Bane, Frank
Baruch, Bernard
Beecher, John
Benton, William - V.P., University of Chicago
Bickel, Earl A.
Bing, Dr. Edward J.
Bliven, Bruce - New Republic
Boddy, Manchester
Boettiger, John - Seattle Post Intelligencer
Bohn, Dr. Frank
Bolte, Guy - Movies
Brown, Roy A. - NEA, Calif.
Bruce, Edward - Fine Arts
Burkhardt - Calif.
Butcher, Harry C. - CBS Radio

Box 10

Bye, George T.
C - General
Campaign, 1944
Carson, John
Carter, John Franklin
Censorship
Clippings
Cohen, Benjamin V.
Collier's - Davenport
Corcoran, Thomas G.
Council for Democracy

Box 11

Coy, Wayne
Coyle, David Cushman
Crowell, Evelyn M.
D - General
Daniels, Jonathan
Davidson, Jo - Lahaska
Davies, Joseph E.
Davis, George L. (Ala.)
Dodd, William and Martha
Douglas, Paul H.
Drekoff, Max M.
Dunbar, Ruth
E - General
Easby-Smith, Col. James S.
Ernst, Morris
Ervin, Charles W.
Ethridge, Mark F.
F - General
Finnegan, R. J. - Chicago Times

Box 12

Flegel, Austin F., Jr.
Flynn, Edward J.
Foreman, Clark
Fredericks, R. T. (Okla.)
G - General
Gallagher, Thomas
Gillingham, George O.
Granik, Theodore - American Forum of the Air
Gridiron Club
Griffith, E. J. - Portland, Ore.
Ha-Hi - General
Hj-Hy - General
Haas, Frank E. - St. Paul
Haas, Saul - Seattle
Harmon, Francis S.
Harriman, W. Averell
Harris, A. I. (Minneapolis)
Harry, DeWitt
Harvey, Guy H. (So. Dakota)

Box 13

Hollander, Richard
Honeyman, Mrs. Nan Wood
Hotz, William J. (Omaha)
Howard, N. R. (of the Cleveland News)
Howard, Roy W.
Hoyt, Palmer (Portland, Ore.)
Hughes, J. J. (Iowa)
I - General
Ingersoll, Ralph (of P.M.)
J - General
Jackson, Gardner "Pat"
Jacobs, Harold D.
Johnson, Sveinjorn (Ill.)
K - General

Box 14

Keenan, Jospeh
Keezer, Dexter
Kirby, James P.
Knapp, Dr. George L.
L - General
Lee and Losh
Lemmon, Walter S.
Lilley, Charles J.
Lockwood, W. T. (Idaho)
Luce, Henry R. (Life, Time, Fortune)
Mc - General
McGill, Ralph (Atlanta, Ga.)
M - General

Box 15

Meeman, Edward J. (Memphis)
Mellett, John C.
Mellett, Lowell * (Personal)
Michelson, Charles
Mittell, Sherman
Morrow, Walter
Morton, Charles W., Jr. - The Atlantic Monthly
Moskovit, Harold R.
N - General
National Press Club
Neuberger, Richard L.
Newspaper Publishers Committee
Noel, Percy
O - General
Office of Government Reports Division - OWI

Box 16

P - General
Perry, John - Agriculture Department
Perry, John H.
Picture, 1944
Poynter, Nelson
Pyle, Ernie
Q - General
R - General
Radio
Redman, Fulton J.
Renshaw, Donald (Calif.)

Box 17

Richberg, Donald
Riis, Roger William
Rochester, Alfred R.
Romney, Miles (Montana)
Royal, John F. - NBC Radio
Sa-Sm - General
Sn-Sy - General
Sheey, Rev. Maurice S.
Somerville, H. P.
Speeches
Speech Material
Spewack, Samuel
Sterling, Donald J. (Portland, Ore.)
Stewart, Donald Ogden
Swope, Herbert Bayard

Box 18

T - General
Taylor, Mrs. Mary
Thomason, S. E. (Chicago)
Travel Vouchers
U - General
V - General
Vanderbilt, Cornelius, Jr.
Vickery, Howard F. (Fed. Home Loan Bank Board)
W - General
War Mobilization, Office of
Warner Brothers
Weisman, Jacob M.
Western Newspaper Union
White, B. Frank (Texas)
White, Walter
White, William Allen and William L.
Williams, Jay Jerome
Willkie, Wendell L.
Wilson, Lyle C.
Wood, George A. G.
Wood, Lorenzo K. (Kentucky)

Box 19

World Wide Broadcasting Foundation
Wright, Chester
X-Y-Z - General
Pamphlets

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Departmental Files],
[Series 2: Personal Files],
[All]