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Hubert H. Humphrey Digitization Project

In the second installment of our NHPRC funded project to digitize Hubert H. Humphrey's speech texts, we focus on the period from 1948-1952.

During the 1948 Democratic National Convention, Humphrey found himself in the midst of an important historic decision: whether to take on the issue of civil rights promoted by President Truman in his 10 point plan to Congress earlier that year, or to let the current plank endorsed by the platform committee stand as it was, excluding any specific measures that would force Congress to act.

The decision was a hard one that could potentially split the party in two and wasn't made until five in the morning, leaving Humphrey barely enough time to line up support and write the speech he was to give that night in support of the minority report. When the vote was announced and everyone realized that the Humphrey-Biemiller plank had passed, there was exhilaration.

As Humphrey described it: "that night, all we knew was that we, a group of young liberals, had beaten the leadership of the party and led them closer to where they ought to have been... I was thirty-seven years old, and not very long from teaching and graduate school. I had taken on our establishment and won. It was a heady feeling. But it confirmed something I felt and hoped. You could stand for a principle in politics and you could move an unwilling party toward a necessary goal. How slowly and with what difficulty you kept it moving I was yet to learn" (The Education of a Public Man, 1976, p. 79).

Later that year Humphrey was elected to the United States Senate, the first Democrat from Minnesota to win that honor.

In a Meet the Press interview Humphrey gave as Senator-elect he revealed his trouble with the Dixiecrats who had walked out of the 1948 Democratic National Convention following his speech. He declared that as the junior Senator from Minnesota he would have a lot to learn. "I'm going to look forward to the opportunity of becoming much more informed on many national issues and I'm going to be a cooperative member of the United States Senate... I'm surely not foolish enough, may I say, to think that some young fellow from out here in Minnesota is going to come down and upset the Congress of the United States, nor do I have any intention of trying to do so" (p. 7).

It was a naive comment to make so soon after being elected to office. Humphrey had already made life difficult for the Southern Democrats who effectively ran the Senate and they refused to allow him to threaten their power again by virtually ignoring him in Congress his first year. Similarly, Humphrey's quest to pass a civil rights bill was ignored by his opponents through Senate filibuster and cloture. In this 1949 speech Humphrey not only explained that he had been silent in the Senate, perhaps having learned his lesson after being shunned by his seniors, but also described the ways in which his bill had continually been defeated by unfair rules in the Senate in "an unholy alliance against civil rights" (p. 2).

Even as Humphrey fought with Republican and Democratic Senators over philosophical issues of political importance to him during this time, he also began to learn how to work with his opponents on domestic and regional issues important to his constituents and his own re-election. In this 1949 radio interview shared with Senator Joseph McCarthy of Wisconsin, Humphrey and McCarthy talked about their sponsorship of the Gillette-Wiley bill and answered questions in a well-balanced dialogue about the oleomargarine-butter controversy.

Still, it would take Humphrey some time to fully acculturate himself to the inner workings of the Senate. In this 1951 radio interview that discussed the President's dismissal of General MacArthur during the Korean War, Humphrey and Senator Homer Capehart clearly did not see eye to eye. After the interview Humphrey got physical with the Republican Senator and was held back from actually punching Capehart by his attentive aide. Not until Humphrey had more fully studied Senate etiquette and gotten to know people like Lyndon Johnson who took Humphrey under his wing did Humphrey begin to understand how to go about creating lasting legislative change.

These speech texts, as well as all of Humphrey's speech files from 1941-1952 can now be viewed in the Hubert H. Humphrey Speech Text Files finding aid. We will continue to make more of Humphrey's speeches available each month during this 12 month NHPRC grant. Look for the next installment including the years 1953-1957 in November!

This project was awarded the support of a $46,000 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) administered by the National Archives.

Learn more about how the NHPRC helps preserve records of enduring national historical value and promotes their public access and interpretation through archival and documentary programs.

NHPRC Basic Project Grant

The final numbers on our NHPRC Basic Project grant award are in! This turned out to be a very high performing project, with the processing team hitting or exceeding all the targets noted in our grant application. Aggregating all arrangement and description (and incidental) work, we completed 4,792 cubic feet and were able to maintain a processing performance average of 1.62 hours per cubic foot of accessions. See our final report for more detail.

New and Updated Finding Aids - September 2012

Name/Abstract	File No.
Julian Baird: An Inventory of His Family Papers	00815
Correspondence, speeches, congressional committee minutes, photographs, clippings, and other material largely documenting Baird's tenure as U.S. Treasury undersecretary, 1957-1961. Also included are the papers of Julian's sons, Duncan H. and John B. Baird.
Brown County, Minnesota: An Inventory of Telephone Directories	lb00111
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Brown County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Conservation Department: Forestry Division: An Inventory of Its Timber Management and Sales Records	gr00640
Files and record books regarding the appraisal of timber on state lands for quality and sale value, the issuance or sale at auction of timber cutting permits, other aspects of the management of state timber lands, and timber trespass (unauthorized or illegal logging).
Conservation Department: Forestry Division: Miscellaneous Records and Reports	cons026
An assortment of correspondence, reports, statistical and survey data, and miscellany; about half comprised of files of correspondence and related materials kept by or attributed to specific Forestry Division commissioners and other administrators, particularly E. V. Willard, G. M. Conzet, and Chester S. Wilson.
Conservation Department: Waters Division: An Inventory of Its Divisional Records	gr00638
Records of the Conservation Department's Division of Drainage and Waters/Division of Waters, including materials created under its predecessors, the Drainage Commission of the State of Minnesota (1901-1919) and Department of Drainage and Waters (1919-1931), and its successor, the Natural Resources Department's€™s Waters Division (1971-1979). Many of the files were created under the tenure of division director Sidney A. Frellsen (1948-1967).
Conservation Department: Waters Division: An Inventory of Its Watershed District Files	gr00639
Files documenting both the division's administration of the state's watershed district system, including its organization and maintenance and related drainage and legislative issues, and the actual establishment, organization, maintenance, and improvement of each individual watershed district and related drainage ditches.
Cottonwood County, Minnesota : An Inventory of Telephone Directories	lb00085
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Cottonwood County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
James S. Griffin: An Inventory of His Papers	P1679
Newspaper clippings, articles, general correspondence, and subject files documenting the career of a member of the St. Paul police force, the city's first Black deputy police chief, and St. Paul School Board member.
Hubert H. Humphrey: An Inventory of His Speech Text Files	00442
Copies of Humphrey's speeches, in varying formats including notes, drafts, speaking texts, printed copies, and transcripts. Also present are excerpts, sample speeches, and incomplete indexes and checklists.
Intermedia Arts Minnesota: An Inventory Its Moving Image Collection	iii47_intermediaarts
The collection includes documentaries, experimental films and performance art. Topics include dance and music performances, discussions and lectures, folk art, art installations, public art, school partnership programs, spoken word and performance art.
Jackson County, Minnesota : An Inventory of Telephone Directories	lb00117
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Jackson County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Manuscript Biographies Collections: An Inventory of the Collection	P939
An assortment of manuscript items or groups of related items whose value is largely biographical. They include biographical and autobiographical sketches and notes, wedding and baptismal certificates, appointments, letters, brief reminiscences, school records, clippings, memorial statements, and other personal memorabilia.
Martin County, Minnesota: An Inventory of Telephone Directories	lb00119
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Martin County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Clinton Morrison and Family: An Inventory of Their Papers	01055
Genealogies, photocopied obituaries and memorials, correspondence, family histories, financial records, biographies, speeches, and photographs related to four generations of a prominent Minneapolis family.
Natural Resources Department: An Inventory of Its Published Records and Reports	gr00515
Reports, newsletters, and miscellaneous print and near-print items of or about the Natural Resources Department.
Natural Resources Department: Commissioner's Office: An Inventory of Its Garber (Commissioner Allen) Correspondence	gr00648
Correspondence of Commissioner Garber, documenting all aspects of department administration and natural resources management. Garber held the office from February 15, 1999 through January 3, 2003.
Natural Resources Department: Commissioner's Office: An Inventory of Its Merriam (Commissioner Gene) Correspondence	gr00647
Correspondence of Commissioner Merriam, documenting all aspects of department administration and natural resources management. Merriam held the office from January 27, 2003 through January 2, 2007.
Natural Resources Department: Commissioner's Office: An Inventory of Its Subject Files	gr00646
Files documenting various aspects of the commissioner's office, including the department's clerical training and innovation boards and management improvement committee, and the office's involvement with the Governor's Loaned Executives Action Program, International Association of Game, Fish, and Conservation Commissioners, and Coastal Zone Management Program.
Natural Resources Department: Office of Management and Budget Services: An Inventory of Its Records	gr00645
Mainly files of Planning Director Vonny Hagen, covering projects on Dunlap Island in the St. Louis River and on the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, the office's involvement with provisions of the Conservation and Reinvestment Act, and related topics.
Natural Resources Department: Parks and Recreation Division: An Inventory of Its Reading Files	gr00644
General correspondence, primarily outgoing, of the Park Development and Resources Section (1974-1987), and copies of outgoing letters of the Parks and Recreation Division in general and of individual staff members.
Natural Resources Department: Parks and Recreation Division: An Inventory of Its State Parks Files	gr00642
Correspondence, memoranda, contact and planning reports, opinion surveys, press releases and clippings, annual reports, photographs, and maps regarding development projects and usage provisions and regulations in state parks.
Natural Resources Department: Parks and Recreation Division: An Inventory of Its State Parks Maps and Drawings	gr00641
Paper (including blueline, blueprint, and tracing and coated papers), linen, and Mylar maps, architectural plans, and drawings detailing topography, general layout, roads and trails, bridges, water and sewage systems, existing and proposed buildings, and other facilities in various state parks, historic sites, state waysides, and proposed state parks.
Natural Resources Department: Parks and Recreation Division: An Inventory of Its Subject Files	gr00643
Correspondence, reports, studies, legal and financial materials, minutes, maps, photographs, and related materials documenting the organization and operation of the division.
Northwest Bancorporation: An Inventory of the Records of Its Member Banks	00376
Financial and other records of a Minneapolis-based bank holding company and its member banks, particularly its flagship bank, the Northwestern National Bank of Minneapolis.
Redwood County, Minnesota: An Inventory of Telephone Directories	lb00101
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Redwood County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Renville County, Minnesota : An Inventory of Telephone Directories	lb00095
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Renville County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
St. Paul Winter Carnival Association: An Inventory of Its Association Records	00205
Minutes, scattered correspondence, financial information, administration files, and printed materials of a voluntary association which has sponsored a mid-winter festival in St. Paul, Minnesota since 1885.
St. Peter State Hospital An Inventory of Its Daily Reports and Records	gr00079
Daily narratives and records documenting the medical condition of individual patients, including those kept by the assistant physician (1894-1900), head nurse (1893-1913), head nurse, detention hospital (1911-1913), and a general record (1912-1917, 1923-1927, 1963-1964).
St. Peter State Hospital: An Inventory of Its Admission and Discharge Books	gr00076
Documenting the admission and discharge of patients, the records include series divided by female and male patients (1866-1904), entries kept by admission number (1866-1902) with readmissions and discharges/deaths (1918-1920), and registers kept by patient's county of residence (1860s-1968). There are also an 1893 record of patient's personnel possessions when admitted and population record books for the Intensive Treatment Program for Sexual Aggressives (1973-1993).
U. S. Selective Service System: Minnesota Headquarters: An Inventory of Its Circulars	gr00438
Mimeographed memoranda, bulletins, reports, and other circular issuances sent from the office of the director of the Minnesota headquarters of the United States Selective Service System.
Watonwan County, Minnesota : An Inventory of Telephone Directories	lb00062
A collection of telephone directories for cities in Watonwan County, Minnesota. Telephone directories are published by telephone companies and include alphabetical listings of residential and business phone numbers and street addresses in the white pages, and a listing of businesses arranged by subject in the yellow pages. Each entry on the inventory lists the city name, year of coverage, and the shelf number of the printed volume or microfiche set which includes that city.
Russell F. Whitehead: An Inventory of His Business Correspondence	01070
Business correspondence and miscellaneous records of Whitehead as editor of The White Pine Series of Architectural Monographs (1915-1931) and its successor, Pencil Points (1932-1940).

New and Updated Catalog Records

Name/Abstract
Leo, John B., 1841-1884. John B. Leo letters, 1863-1865, 1884.
Seven letters and one photograph of John B. Leo, an Irish immigrant who enlisted in Company H, Tenth Regiment, Minnesota Infantry at the start of the Dakota Conflict (Aug. 1862) and served, there and in the Civil War, until 1865. The letters are addressed to Annie in Faribault, Minnesota, whom he married circa 1863.
Long Meadow Gun Club (Bloomington, Minn.). Long Meadow Gun Club registers, 1894-1945.
Entries in two registers (1894-1904 and 1904-1945) give date of hunting party, names and addresses of hunters, and numbers and kinds of birds shot at a club located near Minneapolis.
Minneapolis Basketball Corporation. Corporate record book, 1947-1966.
Corporate record book (1947-1966) containing minutes of stockholders and board of directors meetings and organizational documents, as well as a foldered copy of the organization’s articles of incorporation (1947).
Prescription book of sick in hospital at Fort Snelling, [1830-1831], 1835.
Fragments of a prescription book kept at Fort Snelling. The fragments list the names of patients and the day-by-day medications or treatments they received for the dates December 29, [1830]-February 8, [1831] and May 1-June 24, 1835.