Democratic Party National Committee Papers, 1928-1948 | Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

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Collection Overview

Title: Democratic Party National Committee Papers, 1928-1948

Primary Creator: National Committee of the Democratic Party (1928-1948)

Extent: 261.45 Cubic Feet

Arrangement: This is a collection in 26 series.

Abstract

The Democratic National Committee (DNC) Papers document the political activities, community organizing, campaign strategies, polling and data analysis, and direct public correspondence of the Democratic Party leadership from 1928 to 1948. The collection holds a significant quantity of FDR's direct correspondence with the general public during his 1932 campaign as the Democratic presidential nominee.

Scope and Contents of the Materials

This collection consists of the records of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), 1928-1948. Materials in this collection are related primarily to the nominations, campaigns and elections of Franklin D. Roosevelt as president of the United States in 1932, 1936, 1940 and 1944. The collection contains correspondence exchanged among Franklin D. Roosevelt, many Democratic Party officials, activists and supporters, and the general public; patronage correspondence related to persons seeking positions in the government; campaign research materials and subject files; campaign literature; newsclipping files and scrapbooks; copies of Roosevelt campaign speeches and press releases.

A small amount of material in this collection pertains to Democratic Party activities following Roosevelt's death in 1945 and to the campaign and election of Harry S. Truman as president in 1948.

For political historians these papers present a rich portrait of a time when campaigns began to adopt a more scientific approach to elections that reflected growing voter registration efforts across the country. Almost half the collection consists of individual files on the 48 states. In addition, the human element is very much on display as there are files on dinner speeches, patronage requests, as well as some 30 boxes of clipping and memoribilia. Two individuals that figure heavily into this collection are DNC Chairman James Farley and his associate Emil Hurja. The latter, an influential political statistian and polling specialist, donated papers to the FDR library.

Researchers should also consult the records of the Women's Division of the DNC, a seperate but related collection that also contains a great deal of FDR's 1932 campaign correspondence and many additional records of the Party's political organizing of the New Deal era.

Administrative Information

Repository: Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library & Museum

Access Restrictions: This material is subject to copyright restrictions under Title 17 of the U.S. Code.

Acquisition Source: National Committee of the Democratic Party, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, James Farley, and Lela Stiles

Acquisition Method: The papers were donated to the Library by the National Committee of the Democratic Party, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, James Farley, and Lela Mae Stiles.

Related Materials: Numerous collections in the Library including: President's Official, Personal, and Secretary's Files; Women's Division of the Democratic Party National Committee Papers; Mary Dewson Papers; Stephen T. Early Papers; Harry L. Hopkins Papers; Louis M. Howe Papers; Emil Hurja Papers; National Committee of Independent Voters for Roosevelt; Eleanor Roosevelt Papers

Box and Folder Listing

Browse by Series:

[Series 1: Correspondence, 1928-1933],
[Series 2: Campaign Materials, 1932],
[Series 3: Library and Research Bureau Papers, 1928-1933],
[Series 4: 1932 Campaign File - Newspaper Clippings [by state]],
[Series 5: Newspaper Clippings [by subject], 1931-1932],
[Series 6: 1932 Campaign Literature Files - Newspaper Clippings],
[Series 7: Patronage Correspondence, 1932-1933],
[Series 8: Patron Correspondence and Records, 1933-1940],
[Series 9: Applications for Positions, 1934-1936],
[Series 10: Democratic National Convention, 1936],
[Series 11: Willkie Index - Speeches and Statements],
[Series 12: Correspondence of James A. Farley, Chairman, 1936],
[Series 13: Election Forecasts, October 1936],
[Series 14: Democratic National Committee Campaign Correspondence, 1940],
[Series 15: 1940 Campaign Correspondence - Publicity Suggestions],
[Series 16: Correspondence with State Leaders (Elections and Newspaper Clippings), 1936-1937, 1940-1948],
[Series 17: Correspondence with Prominent Democratic Leaders, 1941-1948],
[Series 18: Presidential and Federal Appointments],
[Series 19: Campaign of 1942],
[Series 20: Miscellaneous Speech Materials and Speech Drafts],
[Series 21: Campaign of 1944 - Democratic National Convention],
[Series 22: Miscellaneous Papers [general subject files], 1932-1948],
[Series 23: Roosevelt - Speeches and Statements (Clippings)],
[Series 24: Roosevelt - Campaign Speeches],
[Series 25: Roosevelt - Miscellaneous Materials, 1929-1945],
[Series 26: Duplicates Unless Otherwise Noted [press releases]],
[All]

Series 14: Democratic National Committee Campaign Correspondence, 1940

This series contains correspondence related to the 1940 campaign. Included in this series are letters replied to by form letter, anonymous letters and communications, and miscellaneous correspondence. Arranged alphabetically by last name of correspondent.

Box 524

File Description given, February 17, 1943

Anonymous Letters and Communications

Box 525

Answered Form Letters, A-G

Box 526

Answered Form Letters, H-P

Box 527

Answered Form Letters, Q-Z
Miscellaneous, A-B

Box 528

Miscellaneous, C-Z