Collections
House of Representatives Papers (1960-1969)

Cigar Box, Dawson's Drugstore
Cigar Box, Dawson's Drugstore 1947
Bob Dole and supporters
Bob Dole and supporters watch returns at Republican convention, 1964
Robert J. Dole Campaign
Robert J. Dole Campaign, 1964
Robert J. Dole with "Bob-O-Links"
Robert J. Dole with "Bob-O-Links" ,1960.
Robert J. Dole at Food and Agriculture Conference, Rome
Robert J. Dole at Food and Agriculture Conference, Rome, 1965
Robert J. Dole campaigning with farmers
Robert J. Dole campaigning with farmers, 1974
Bob Dole with members of Russell Fire Department
Bob Dole with members of Russell Fire Department, c. 1961
Robert J. Dole at luncheon during Goldwater campaign
Robert J. Dole at luncheon during Goldwater campaign, 1964.

Series of Descriptions

Personal/Political

Campaign Records

Includes planning materials relating to the first Dole congressional race in 1960, the close 1964 race against William Bork, and the 1968 contest for the Senate seat vacated by Frank Carlson. A smaller number of folders document the elections of 1962 and 1966. Files contain voters' correspondence and replies from Dole and his staff, newsletters, clippings, precinct lists, speeches, advertising, volunteer lists, event planning, and opponent research. The files contained in this series reflect the strategizing and labor which went into following up on each and every personal contact Dole made while campaigning throughout Kansas.

Caucus/ Political Party

Consists chiefly of information concerning party-related events, initiatives, and people. Includes folders on individuals who played a large part in local and national party efforts, the "87th Club" programming and other conservative caucus activities, the Billie Sol Estes, Bobby Baker, Adam Clayton Powell matters, and individuals in the Kennedy/Johnson administrations. In general, files reflect a mix of background information and Republican positions on contemporary issues. Files documenting several efforts put forth by the Republican Party to spread conservatism to the grassroots are found in this series, including Operation Employment, Operation Survival, and the Paul Revere Panel, of which Congressman Dole was a member. The 87th Club and Conservative Freshman Group files provide insight into the alliances he formed as a newly-elected representative. In 1964 Congressman Dole was an active supporter of Senator Barry Goldwater for the presidency. Nelson Rockefeller's bid among fellow Republicans for the same nomination is illustrated in various files in this series, as is the crushing disappointment felt by Republicans over the eventual Democratic landslide. The 1964 race was a difficult one for Dole, and files encompass his numerous Kansas public appearances and those of his colleagues lending support to his candidacy.

Patronage/Job Rec.

Primarily concerned with U.S. Post Office appointees and candidates.

Correspondence

Includes a wide range of routine courtesy correspondence, personal appearance planning, political strategizing, family matters, and VIP Correspondence. These folders also contain thank-you letters and acknowledgements of congratulations, and include several folders of correspondence describing Congressman Dole's first impressions of life in Congress. Topics include Civil Rights, school prayer.

Legislative Records

General

Legislative subject files illustrate how Congressman Dole's interests expanded over eight years from an initial narrow set of agricultural, transportation, and education matters to a much broader range of issues relating to the national and international political climate and economy. Files reflect his focus widening from wheat allotments, reclamation projects, and rail service reductions to broader themes, including the ongoing conflict that Republicans from farm states experienced with Secretary of Agriculture Orville Freeman, military base closings in the First District (coupled with expansion of the military's role in Southeast Asia), increasing global interdependence, and the pervasive presence of the federal government in all aspects of Kansans' lives. Topics convey a sense of the conservative view on dominant issues of the Kennedy/Johnson administrations.

Of particular interest are files relating to legislation authorizing the shipment of wheat to India, tracing how Dole eventually allied with President Johnson to alleviate Third World hunger. Likewise, files concerning Food For Peace (P.L.480) legislation reveal how Congressman Dole sought to modify this act in characteristically conservative ways, by supporting an anti-Communist clause and adding a Farmer-to-Farmer assistance exchange. Legislative initiatives relating to hunger and nutrition that Congressman Dole led in the House of Representatives formed the groundwork for his later work in the Senate on implementing school lunch programs, the WIC and Food Stamp programs. Files contain a broad range of background research and topical information, reports, statements, clippings, research, prints (some annotated), industry publications and promotional material. Topics include: Cuba, Vietnam, admission of Red China to the U.N.

Specific

Relate to passage (or blockage) of "New Frontier" and "Great Society" legislation, farm bills, veterans' legislation, transportation, and defense appropriations. Files include statements, testimony, releases, correspondence, committee prints, updated versions of bills, 'dear colleagues', and handwritten vote tallies. Writings point to the support Dole gave to civil rights issues and legislation: " …without question it seems the federal government must prevail, particularly in this situation. In talking to some of the Congressmen from Mississippi, you quickly sense just how deep and serious this problem is." Topics include: Food for Peace, Civil Rights, HUAC, Cuban Situation, Bread and Butter Corps, Mexican Farm Labor, United Nations, Selective Service, Peace Corps.

Constituent Service

Issue Mail

Issue mail content is extremely valuable in reflecting citizens' continuing concerns with federalization of school aid, farm programs, and medical care. It contains correspondence to and from individual voters, state and local officials, businesses, institutions, and grass roots organizations in response to proposed legislation and current issues affecting constituents. Material in this series consists of Dole's personal responses stapled to the original constituent mail. The majority were dictated and proofread by Dole; very few instances of form replies are evident in the series. Issue mail illustrates how larger issues increasingly affected the lives of Kansans as the nineteen-sixties unfold. Dole reiterates that "…the great majority in Western Kansas still pride themselves in the belief that they can better take care of their needs and responsibilities than some federal bureaucracy", while dealing with an ever-increasing assortment of national and international issues. Topics include: Madlyn Murray O'Hare atheist colony in Rook County, school prayer, Kennedy assassination.

Appointments

Service academy files (Closed to researchers)

Reference

Factual information on issues and organizations of ongoing interest to constituents: the American Battle Monuments Commission services, Selective Service regulations, the activities of HUAC, annual Kansas events (air shows, Prairiesta, etc.), and other interests with a continuing presence in Dole's district. Topics include: WCTU, John Birch Society

Press Relations/Media Activities

Office Administration Records