stroyed in 1858 when his home in North Bend, Ohio was consumed by flames. While the Library of Congress has 800 items from the Tyler presidency, purchased in 1919 for $1,000, a large part of the original collection was destroyed in the burning of Richmond in 1865. Documents of President Taylor not already scattered by descendants were burned during the Civil War when the family plantation was put to the torch. Peculiarities surround the papers of some Presidents. After leaving office, President Grant reportedly returned certain of the letters he had received from political friends and associates to their writers. Most of Chester A. Arthur's papers "have disappeared." The documents of Harding's presidency disappeared for a time and were thought to have been destroyed by his wife but they then turned up in Marion, Ohio, and are under seal, the most sensitive items to be released in 2014. COMPLICATIONS OF TRADITION Traditionally, then, the papers of the President were regarded as his personal property. But, as the Federal institution began to grow, questions began to arise as to the propriety and wisdom of this practice. Historians became alarmed that papers were accidently destroyed, lost, and often selectively released for scrutiny. Archivists lamented omissions in the national government record which the situation created. Not only might entire files be carried from the White House, but presidential correspondence might be retrieved from departmental files. As it applied to government records, the concept of presidential papers knew no bounds. This aspect of the practice became particularly acute in the aftermath of the creation of the Executive Office of the President. Franklin D. Roosevelt established a panoply of emergency and wartime agencies within this domain, all of which served the President in an advisory capacity and all of which could be regarded as producers of "presidental papers." The removal of the papers of these entities constitutes both a records management problem and an administrative continuity difficulty. PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARIES Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to return presidential papers to the public realm through a new type of institution-the presidential library. When F.D.R. advanced this concept in 1938, two prototype libraries were already in existence. In 1914 the State of Ohio completed the Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial Library in Fremont, Ohio. Built in fulfillment of obligations to receive the former Chief Executive's papers and memorabilia, the library has 67,425 items and 293 volumes of material. The memorial, which also houses certain state historical papers apart from those of President Hayes, is maintained jointly by the State of Ohio and the Rutherford B. Hayes-Lucy Webb Hayes Foundation. President Herbert Hoover placed his presidential papers in the Hoover Library of War, Revolution and Peace, located on the Stanford University campus. In 1919 Hoover pledged $50,000 to the University to establish an institution which would serve as a repository of information on propaganda and activities of World War I. Built at a cost of $600,000 for the basic archival building, the resulting entity is now called the Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace. It is no longer attached to Stanford University but maintains itself through donations and as a contract research institution. It holds papers evolving from Hoover's public service since 1914. Certain of the presidential papers were transferred to the Herbert Hoover Library at West Branch, Iowa, when that presidential library was completed and turned over to the National Archives in 1964. It was Franklin Roosevelt who developed the concept of a publicly maintained presidential library. The idea apparently germinated in the President's mind in 1938. By December of that year he had organized an "Executive Committee" on the project and had recruited Waldo Gifford Leland to chair the panel. After an initial organization meeting and gathering with the President on December 17, plans were made to organize a corporation to gather funds for the private construction of the library building. The Carnegie Corporation granted the Execu 3 The bulk of the records of these temporary agencies are, in fact, divided between the Roosevelt Library and the National Archives in Washington. 4 Lloyd, op. cit., p. 13. Paul Dickson. Think tanks. New York, Atheneum, 1971, p. 303. Lloyd, op. cit., p. 15. 7 For Leland's own account of the evolution of the Roosevelt Library see Waldo Gifford Leland. The creation of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library: a personal narrative. The American Archivist, v. 18, January, 1955: 11-31. tive Committee $1,500 for its activities, only about half of which was actually expended. The first round of pledges to the corporation secured $450,000. The declared purposes of the corporations were to construct and equip a building or buildings at Hyde Park, or elsewhere, either for the corporation or for the United States, for the housing and preservation of such historical materials as Franklin D. Roosevelt might give, bequeath, or transfer to the corporation or to the United States, as well as any other acceptable historical materials; and to provide for the custody and maintenance of such buildings and historical materials, making the latter available to students, scholars, historians, teachers, and others until ownership and control should be taken over by the United States. The corporation had power to solicit, accept, borrow, invest, and expend money, and to transfer property to the United States provided that adequate legislation should have been enacted for the acceptance of such property and for its permanent care and maintenance.10 The Roosevelt Library was established through special legislation (53 Stat. 1062) enacted in 1939. Similar institutions for succeeding Chief Executives were brought into existence under the provisions of the Presidential Libraries Act of 1955 (69 Stat. 695; 44 U.S.C. 2107 et. seq [1970]). As established in the F.D.R. model for such institutions, present arrangements allow a President to take virtually any papers he wishes upon leaving office, to sort the papers with a view to security classification restrictions and/or personal wishes regarding their placement in the public realm, and to construct an edifice with private funds to house the papers and other materials of his administration. Upon completion of the library building, a former President might then deed over such papers as he wishes to publicly release and turn over the library facilities to the Federal government for supervision and maintenance. The important considerations to keep in mind with regard to these processes are: (1) it is the President who determines the scope of the term "presidential papers," (2) that however defined, "presidential papers" are regarded as the personal property of the former Chief Executive, (3) that a former President has the option to withhold papers for public scrutiny for reasons of his own choosing, and (4) a former President may destroy papers in his possession without disclosing their identity, contents, or an acknowledged reason for his action. In the absence of an official presidential library being built, a former President may, under existing law and practice, retain his papers or dispose of them in any manner he wishes. Almost every Chief Executive since F.D.R. has deposited his papers and artifacts in such a library." The exception to this rule is former President Richard M. Nixon who has established a contractual relationship with the General Services Administrator regarding his materials of office but has not indicated if and when an official library will be made available for the housing of his papers and artifacts." Complicating this arrangement are requests and subpoena demands for documents and tape recordings from this records cache. PENDING LEGISLATION As a reaction, in whole or in part, to prevailing practices regarding presidential papers, the following bills have been introduced during the 93rd Congress. H.R. 12116-Rep. Delbert Latta: Provides that all letters, memoranda, and other papers produced or acquired by any office or employee of the United States in connection with the performance of his duties shall be the property of the United States and prohibits the sale or use of such property for personal gain. H.R. 14935 and companions-Rep. Richard C. White: Sets forth general provisions for the preservation and management of Federal government records and invests the Administrator of the General Services Administrations with authority to determine the selective retention of agency records, to recover unlawfully removed records, and to order specific actions with regard to agency records and records management practices. The application of this bill to presidential documents would appear to be tangential, governing Federal agencies other than the White House Office. H.R. 14939 and companions-Rep. Thomas Luken; S. 2949-Sen. Birch Bayh: Provides for the public ownership of all documents prepared for or 8 Thid., p. 15. Thid., p. 16. 10 Thid., pp. 17-18. 11 For an indication of the location of presidential papers see Appendix I. 12 For an indication of the nature of this contractual relationship see Appendix II. by any elected Federal official in connection with the performance of their duties, including the President, the Vice President, and Members of Congress. H.R. 16454-Rep. Jonathan Bingham: A briefer version of H.R. 14939. The foregoing paragraphs generally outline current conditions with regard to presidential papers and identifies legislation affecting same. There is no intention to advocate or oppose any particular policy or item of pending legislation regarding this subject. President George Washington John Adams (17351826), President 1797-1801. Thomas Jefferson James Madison James Monroe APPENDIX I DEPOSITORIES AND PURCHASES OF PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS Depositories 1 The Library of Congress has some 800 volumes of letters, diaries, The Adams papers are largely in the Massachusetts Historical The Library of Congress has 236 volumes of the correspondence, There are 114 boxes and 10 volumes of papers in the Library of Chief repositories are the Library of Congress with 40 volumes and See footnotes at end of table. Purchases 2 The Library of Congress acquired its papers in purchases totaling $45,000 in 1834 and 1849. Many of the 23,600 items held by the Library of Congress were purchased in 1848 for $20,000 from Thomas Jefferson Randolph, executor of the Jefferson estate. Fully half of the collection purchased at that time was returned, however, as being of too "personal" a nature for government acquisition. This returned cache of papers was ultimately dispersed by the heirs to friends, relatives, and collectors. Of the approximately 10,000 items in the Madison collection held by the Library of Congress, most were acquired through 2 purchases from Mrs. Madison and one from the Chicago Historical Society. The cost of the 3 transactions amount to $65,000. The Library of Congress holds 4,200 items which were acquired from the Monroe heirs in 1849 for $20,000. President DEPOSITORIES AND PURCHASES OF PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS-Continued John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren William Henry Harrison (17731841), President 1841. John Tyler (17901862), President 1841-45. James K. Polk (1795 1849), President 1845-49. Zachery Taylor (17841850), President 1848-50. Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce (180469), President 1853-57. James Buchanan Depositories 1 Most are in the Massachusetts Historical Society (some 15,000 The Library of Congress has a collection of over 340 volumes and Purchases? Of the 20,000 items held by the Library of Congress, a small number of papers were Donated in 1903 by the F. P. Blair family; 2 purchases of papers were made an 1911 and 1932 for a total expenditure of $18,000. Some of Jackson's papers were lost in 1834 when the Hermitage burned. The Library of Congress has 73 volumes and containers, and the Van Buren's papers re- Most are in the Library of Congress and Indiana State Library, but A There are 8 volumes in the Library of Congress, and a smaller col- mained in the control of his family until 1904-05 when they were presented to the Library of Congress. The former President is thought to have destroyed many of his papers before his death. number of Harrison's records are thought to have been destroyed when his homestead burned in 1858. While a large part of the Tyler cache was burned in 1965 when Richmond was put to the torch, the Library of Congress purchased its collection from Tyler's son in 1919 for $1,000. The Library of Congress has 188 volumes and boxes. The diary, There were 2 purchases of 1 volume and 2 boxes are in the Library of Congress. The Kentucky The Buffalo Historical Society has all but a few that are in the The largest collection, 1,500 items is in the New Hampshire His- The Library of Congress has 11 volumes and boxes, and the His- Polk papers by the Library of Congress, 1 from a family heir and 1 from the Chicago Historical Society, both of which totaled $13,500. Pierce is thought to have destroyed many of his papers; much of his official and personal White House correspondence has disappeared. See footnotes at end of table. President Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson (1808-75), DEPOSITORIES AND PURCHASES OF PRESIDENTIAL PAPERS-Continued President 1865-69. Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-93), President 1877-81. James A. Garfield (1831-81), President 1881. Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland (1837-1908). Benjamin Ha.rison William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt William H. Taft (18561924), President 1909-13. Depositories 1 The major collection, over 100 volumes and boxes, is in the Library The Library of Congress has 275 volumes and boxes. The Ruther- The Library of Congress has over 100 volumes and boxes. The Some 300 volumes and 75,000 items are in the Rutherford B. There are 343 volumes and boxes, most pre-Presidential, in the The Library of Congress has 5 boxes; the New York Historical The major collections are at the Library of Congress with 407 The Library of Congress has 290 volumes and 193 boxes. Indiana There is a collection of 417 volumes and boxes in the Library of The Library of Congress has well over 1,000 volumes and boxes. There are 1,300 boxes at the Library of Congress. Other collections Purchases 2 The Library of Congress acquired its collection of Johnson papers through two purchases from family heirs for $7,500. Though not a prolific letter writer, Grant is reported to have returned certain letters he received as Presidentjto the originator of the correspondence. The first actual Presidential library, the Hayes Memorial Library is maintained by the State of Ohio and the Rutherford B. Hayes-Lucy Webb Hayes Foundation. The Library of Congress was made a gift of its Garfield collection in 193031 by the former President's children. The Cleveland collection of the Library of Congress was presented as a gift by Mrs. Preston, the former President's widow The Harrison papers were presented to the Library of Congress by members of the former President's family. Approximately 122,000 items were presented The T. R. collection held by the Library of Congress was donated by the former President himself. Of the half a million item See footnotes at end of table. |