Sub-Series VI: Legislative Correspondence by Committee,, 1969-1977 (bulk 1972-1977).
Dates
- 1969-1977 (bulk 1972-1977).
Scope and Contents
Legislative Correspondence by Committee includes the principal files of correspondence received by HAW on legislative matters from constituents and others for the period 1972 - early 1977. (For other periods, see the other sub-series of LEGISLATIVE / ISSUE CORRESPONDENCE. Also, see Related Series below.)
A number of major themes are found in this sub-series, some of which are specific to the period covered and others which resound throughout the LEGISLATIVE / ISSUE CORRESPONDENCE series. Concerns about Federal employee compensation, Social Security benefits cuts, taxation, and government spending are well-documented in the sub-series. There is much correspondence on animal welfare, a focus of HAW legislation over the years, as it relates to trapping, horse exports, lab testing, and dogfighting. Environmental issues such as ocean sludge dumping, national parks protection, offshore drilling, air and water pollution, and land use are subjects of much correspondence. Related to environmental issues is correspondence concerning energy development, particularly access to oil resources. Correspondence regarding the Tocks Island dam project, as well as other public works projects, is in the series. Housing, support for railroads (notably, Conrail), and the 1974 pardon of former President Nixon are among the other domestic issues well-represented by correspondence in this sub-seeries.
Much correspondence is concerned with a wide range of foreign policy mattters. US involvement with Vietnam continues to draw constituent letters, from the war's final years to post-war concerns about Vietnamese orphans and proposals for amnesty for draft resisters. The sub-series includes a Bronze Star and other medals sent to HAW in 1972 by a Vietnam veteran in protest of the war. The Foreign Relations files of 1972 also include correspondence from Senator Fulbright regarding the strategic arms limitation treaty with the Soviet Union.
In addition to the original constituent correspondence, the files include the carbon copy of HAW's response. Carbons of HAW-initiated correspondence, including letters to editors and to other legislators are in these files. Though not extensive, incoming correspondence from other legislators and Federal and state government officials can be found in this sub-series.
Language of Materials
Undetermined .
Physical Description
(43 cubic feet)
Arrangement
Legislative Correspondence by Committee consists of six sets of correspondence progressing chronologically by year from 1972 to 1977. Within each set, the material is arranged alphabetically by the Senate Committee having legislative jurisdiction over the subject matter.
Many of the folders identify only the committee name without further categorization (e.g., Agriculture, Commerce). All material, substantive or not, was placed in these general folders unless HAW's staff saw reason to open a file on a specific subject under the primary category. Material associated with a specific sub-category will typically be found in the general folders as well (e.g., correspondence on Tocks Island will be found in both Public Works: Tocks Island and in Public Works). Further, a continuing exchange of correspondence between HAW and a correspondent on a particular subject may or may not have been stapled together by HAW's staff; it appears that, for the most part, the staff merely filed correspondence as received. Researchers are advised to look through the various general folders associated with a committee and its sub-categories to find related documents. Identical subjects may also be found under various committees (e.g., both Interior and Public Works hold Tocks Island material).
The dates used in the container list are from the carbon copies of HAW's outgoing correspondence. The dates do not necessarily reflect those of all documents in the folder. The 1972 set holds a small amount of HAW correspondence from prior years. Container 867 includes those files with legal size documents that were separated from the rest of the sub-series.
Appraisal and Discard Information
Legislative Correspondence by Committee originally amounted to approximately 53 cubic feet of material. Several cubic feet of material were discarded during processing. The bulk of this discarded material was redundant form letters and postcards. In these instances, small amounts of representative samples were retained. The extent of the discards were documented by the processing archivist, and the documentation is included with the retained samples in the relevant folder.
Also discarded were most of the "multiples," that is, correspondence touching on multiple issues. Multiples tended to be rambling and unfocused, or superficial lists of pro/con positions, or otherwise covering the same issues found in the categorized files. Nevertheless, representative multiples and substantive multiples were retained.
Part of the New Brunswick Special Collections Repository