Contents and Arrangement Collection View
Description:

The Early Activities series documents George McGovern's early years from 1939 to 1955, before he held public office. It contains information on his military service as a B-24 pilot during World War II as well as his early political activities in South Dakota. The series includes correspondence, statements, schedules, and press clippings. Of special interest are maps and photographs documenting McGovern's WWII bombing tours in Europe.

Divided into the following subseries: Subseries 1A: Appointments and Notes, 1954-1955; Subseries 1B: Biographical, 1945; Subseries 1C: Correspondence, 1944-1955; Subseries 1D: Statements and Publicity, 1939-1955

Description:

The House of Representatives series documents George McGovern's activities in the House of Representatives, 1956-1960. Documents contained in this series show McGovern's early focus on agricultural and nutritional issues and his involvement in food aid legislation. In addition, the legal files in this series document McGovern's commitment to education, equal rights issues and Indian affairs. The series includes materials from his 1956 and 1958 campaigns as well as legislation files, correspondence, statements, schedules and invitations, and patronage files.

Divided into the following subseries: Subseries 2A: Campaigns for Office, 1955-1956, 1958; Subseries 2B: Constituent Relations, 1956-1960; Subseries 2C: Correspondence, 1956-1960; Subseries 2D: Legislation, 1957-1960; Subseries 2E: Office Files, 1956-1960; Subseries 2F: Patronage and Post Office Files, 1957-1960; Subseries 2G: Statements and Publicity, 1956-1960

1957, 1957

7 boxes

1958, 1958

10 boxes

1959, 1959

9 boxes

1960, 1960

8 boxes
Description:

This series contains materials from George McGovern's Senate and presidential campaigns. Documents included in this series cover McGovern's first bid for the Senate in 1960, his subsequent campaigns in 1962, 1968, and 1974, and his final, unsuccessful reelection campaign in 1980. The series also documents McGovern's 1968 candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination and his 1972 presidential campaign. In addition, the series includes files on McGovern's political alliances and activities during the 1966 House elections and the 1964 and 1976 presidential elections. Types of materials in this series include files on campaign organization, financial files, promotion and advertising files, issue and policy files, and campaign correspondence.

Divided into the following subseries: Subseries 3A: 1960 Senate Campaign, 1960; Subseries 3B: 1962 Senate Campaign, 1960-1962; Subseries 3C: 1965 and 1966 General Elections, 1963-1966; Subseries 3D: 1968 Senate Campaign, 1965-1968; Subseries 3E: 1968 Campaign for the Presidential Nomination, 1967-1969; Subseries 3F: 1972 Presidential Campaign, 1968-1975; Subseries 3G: 1974 Senate Campaign, 1973-1975; Subseries 3H: 1976 General Elections, 1975-1976; Subseries 3I: 1980 Senate Campaign, 1980-1981

Description:

This series documents George McGovern's activities as the director of the Food for Peace Program (1961-1962) and United States Senator (1962-1980). Of special interest are files documenting McGovern's activities as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate Committe on Interior and Insular Affairs (1967-1972) and as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs (1969-1970, 1973-1977) and its successor, the Subcommittee on Nutrition of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (1978-1980). In addition, the series contains documentation pertaining to McGovern's activities as chairman of the Subcommittee on Agricultural Credit and Rural Electrification (1971-1976) and the Subcommittees on South Asian Affairs (1973-1974) and Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs (1975-1977). The series includes legislation and policy files, statements, schedules and invitations, travel files, patronage files, and constituent correspondence.

Organized into the following subseries: Subseries 4A: Constituent Relations, 1961-1981; Subseries 4B: Correspondence, 1961-1981; Subseries 4C: Food for Peace, 1952-1962; Subseries 4D: Legislation, 1963-1981; Subseries 4E: Staff Files, 1961-1980; Subseries 4F: Office Files, 1961-1980; Subseries 4G: Patronage and Employment, 1960-1980; Subseries 4H: Statements and Speeches, 1961-1981;

1966, 1966

16 boxes

1967, 1967

4 boxes

1968, 1968

12 boxes

1970, 1970

18 boxes

1971, 1971

21 boxes

1972, 1972

12 boxes

1973, 1973

19 boxes

1974, 1974

16 boxes

1975, 1975

19 boxes

1976, 1976

14 boxes

1977, 1977

15 boxes

1978, 1978

11 boxes

1979, 1979

17 boxes

1980, 1980

13 boxes

S, 1979

1 box

1963, 1963

2 boxes

1964, 1964

3 boxes

1965, 1965

2 boxes

1966, 1966

2 boxes

1967, 1967

3 boxes

1969, 1969

4 boxes

1963, 1963

2 boxes

1964, 1964

2 boxes

1965, 1965

2 boxes

1966, 1966

3 boxes

1967, 1967

2 boxes

1969, 1969

2 boxes

1970, 1970

3 boxes

1971, 1971

2 boxes

1972, 1972

3 boxes

1973, 1973

2 boxes
Description:

The Audiovisual Materials series documents a major portion of George McGovern's political career with audiovisual materials, including most years in the House of Representatives (1957-1960), his service as Special Assistant to the President and director of the Food for Peace Program (1961-1962), and his senatorial career (1962-1981). In addition, the series contains campaign materials from McGovern's House and Senate campaigns as well as his 1972 presidential campaign and his unsuccessful bids for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968 and 1984. The material dating from 1981-1984 is of particular interest as no other series of the George S. McGovern Papers documents this time period. The series contains film footage, video recordings, audiotapes and audiocassettes, computer tapes and diskettes, and other formats.

The series has been divided into the following subseries: Subseries 5A: 1957-1959; Subseries 5B: 1960-1969; Subseries 5C: 1970-1979; Subseries 5D: 1980-1984; Subseries 5E: Undated Materials, undated; Subseries 5F: Unidentified Materials, undated

Description:

The Memorabilia series contains campaign ephemera as well as three-dimensional objects from George McGovern's personal and professional environment. It includes campaign buttons and bumber stickers, metal and plastic printing plates for newsletters, license plates, senate keepsakes, personal souvenirs, and other items.

This series is not arranged according to any organizational scheme.

Description:

The Photographs series contains photographs documenting George McGovern's early life as well as his national political career. It comprises private family photos and publicity photos, including head shots, family photos, and candid shots in both private and public settings. The series includes files from 1979-1980 documenting photo-ops and other publicity arrangements. The photographic materials in this series include prints, negatives, and contact sheets.

Arranged chronologically by period.

Description:

The Subject Files consist of subject files created by a previous archivist from documents in other portions of the collection. The files cover the years 1956-1980 and contain a broad range of material pertaining to policy questions, legislation, campaign issues, and day-to-day politics. Among other types of material, the series includes hearings, testimonies, newsletters, and correspondence. Researchers interested in George McGovern's political platform are especially advised to consult the subject files in conjunction with the campaign issue files in the Campaign files.

Arranged chronologically and alphabetically within.

1969, 1969

3 boxes

1970, 1970

3 boxes

1971, 1971

7 boxes

1973, 1973

2 boxes

1974, 1974

2 boxes

1975, 1975

2 boxes

1977, 1977

2 boxes
Description:

This series contains items that are peripheral to George McGovern's political activities, material belonging to family members, and secondary material. Items of note include unfiled (and some unopened) correspondence of Eleanor McGovern's and a term paper of McGovern's daughter Susan.

This series is not arranged according to any organizational scheme.

Scope and Contents

The George McGovern papers are composed of George McGovern's office files and document his activities in the House of Representatives and in the U.S. Senate, as well as his time as director of the Food for Peace Program. The collection contains legislation files; campaign materials; correspondence; speech texts; schedules and invitations; travel files; patronage files; subject files; photographs; and audiovisual materials. It does not include the personal papers of George McGovern; files labeled "personal" identify files maintained by McGovern rather than his staff.

The collection is especially noteworthy for its comprehensive documentation of George McGovern's work on food and nutrition issues. It includes files from McGovern's appointment as the director of the Food for Peace Program (1961-1962) as well as his activities as Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs (1969-1970, 1973-1977) and its successor, the Subcommittee on Nutrition of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (1978-1980). Of related interest are files documenting McGovern's activities as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (1967-1972). Campaign files included in this collection cover McGovern's first bid for the Senate in 1960, his subsequent campaigns in 1962, 1968, and 1974, and his final, unsuccessful reelection campaign in 1980. In addition, the campaign files also include McGovern's 1968 candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination and his 1972 presidential campaign. With the exception of audiovisual records found in the Audiovisual Materials series, no documentation of McGovern's activities after 1981 exists in the collection.

Arrangement

The collection is organized into the following series:

Collection Creator Biography:

McGovern, George S. (George Stanley), 1922-2012

George Stanley McGovern (1922-2012) was a United States American senator and Democratic presidential nominee known for his strong liberal stance. The second of four children, he was born in Avon, South Dakota, in 1922 to Joseph C. McGovern, a Wesleyan Methodist pastor, and Frances McGovern (née McLean). George McGovern enrolled at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, S.D., in 1940. While at Dakota Wesleyan, he joined the Dakota Wesleyan Varsity Debate Squad, winning the South Dakota Intercollegiate Oratory Contest in 1941 and the Red River Valley Tournament in 1943.

McGovern earned a pilot's license through the Civilian Pilot Training Program and enlisted in the Air Force following the attacks on Pearl Harbor. He began training in February, 1943, and was deployed in the fall of 1944 to an airbase near Cerignola in Northern Italy. In the following ten months preceeding his discharge in July 1945, he flew 35 bomber missions with B-24 Liberators over targets in Europe, including Linz, Vienna, and Munich, as well as a number of food relief flights following the surrender of Germany. In honor of his wife Eleanor, he named any plane he piloted the "Dakota Queen," a practice he later extended to his campaign planes. McGovern was awarded the Air Medal for heroism in battle.

Returning to Dakota Wesleyan in 1945 to finish his studies under the G.I. Bill, McGovern earned his B.A. in 1946 and went on to study divinity at the Garrett Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois. Dissatisfied with the ministry, he enrolled at Northwestern University, earning his M.A. in History in 1949. He returned to Dakota Wesleyan as a professor of history and political science while also continuing his studies with Arthur S. Link at Northwestern. In 1953, he received his Ph.D. in history with his dissertation, "The Colorado Coal Strike, 1913-1914".

Though raised a Republican, McGovern became a supporter of Henry Wallace, serving as a delegate from Illinois for the Progressive Party Convention in Philadelphia in 1948. In 1952, Adlai Stevenson's acceptance speech following his nomination as the Democratic presidential candidate moved McGovern to register as a Democrat. He left Dakota Wesleyan the following year to become the executive secretary of the Democratic Party in South Dakota and spent the following years revitalizing the party's presence in the traditionally conservative state.

In 1956, McGovern successfully ran for Congress and became the United States Representative for the First District of South Dakota, winning reelection against Joe Foss in 1958. During his four years in the House of Representatives, McGovern served on the Committee on Education and Labor and on the Committee on Agriculture, where he advocated strongly for rural development, food stamp legislation, and foreign food aid. These themes would characterize his subsequent political career.

McGovern challenged Karl Mundt for his Senate seat in 1960. Though the campaign focused on rural issues, McGovern's political ties to Robert and John F. Kennedy, whose Catholic background was unpopular in South Dakota, ultimately contributed to his defeat. In a phone call to his brother at the time, John F. Kennedy said "I think we just cost that nice guy a Senate seat," and subsequently offered McGovern a position in his administration as Special Assistant to the President.

In that function, McGovern served as the director of the Food for Peace Program from January 1961-July 1962. During that time, McGovern leveraged the agricultural surplus of the U.S., which had frequently been viewed as a problem since it lowered farm profits, to alleviate world hunger and improve foreign relations. When McGovern left office to run again for the Senate, Food for Peace was operating in twelve countries.

In 1962, McGovern won a Senate seat against Joseph Bottum, who had been appointed following Francis Case's unexpected death earlier that year. He was subsequently reelected in 1968 and 1974 and served in the Senate until 1981. When McGovern joined the 88th Congress in 1963, he joined the Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs and from the start developed a strong stance on farm prices, rural development, and food programs. After 1967, when he assumed the chairmanship of the Subcommittee on Indian Affairs, McGovern also became an outspoken advocate for the rights of Native Americans and for improving education and employment opportunities on the reservations. In addition, McGovern consistently challenged military and defense spending, a position that correlated with his opposition to the war in Vietnam and which became one of his central tenets. In 1969, McGovern became the chairman of the newly created Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs and, in 1978, of its successor, the Subcommittee on Nutrition. The committee played a major role in developing legislation for food stamp and school lunch programs, and explored the relationship between nutrition and health. In 1977, the Select Committee issued a seminal report, Dietary Goals for the United States (known as the "McGovern Report"), which advocated a decrease in the consumption of fats and refined sugars, and an increase in the consumption of complex carbohydrates and fiber. The report is the precursor of today's Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

McGovern campaigned briefly for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1968 following the assassination of Robert Kennedy, announcing his candidacy on August 10 and losing the nomination to Hubert Humphrey during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago three weeks later. At the convention, a motion was passed to establish the Commission on Party Structure and Delegate Selection, of which McGovern became the chairman when it began work in 1969. The commission significantly strengthened the role of caucuses and primaries and set quotas for women, youth, and minority delegates.

In 1972, McGovern won his party's nomination and ran for president against Richard Nixon on a platform that emphasized withdrawal from Vietnam and more equitable social welfare programs. While McGovern had been able to attract an enthusiastic following during the primaries partly based on his perception as an idealistic, anti-establishment candidate, his campaign was damaged by the discovery that his vice-presidential candidate, Senator Thomas Eagleton, had a history of psychiatric illness. Eagleton's removal from the ticket was viewed by many voters as political opportunism, causing the campaign to lose substantial support. In addition, the campaign lost momentum when the Nixon administration reduced troop levels in Vietnam, thereby deflating one of McGovern's main campaign issues. In addition, McGovern represented the left wing of the Democratic Party and was unable to attract the support of moderates. Given these factors combined with the power of incumbency wielded by his opponent, McGovern lost in a landslide to Richard Nixon, carrying only the state of Massachusetts.

In 1980, McGovern lost his Senate reelection bid in the course of the "Reagan Revolution" that swept many Democrats from office. He subsequently ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 against (among others) Jesse Jackson, Walter Mondale, and Gary Hart, who had been his campaign manager in 1972. He considered a renewed attempt for the nomination in 1992 but ultimately decided against it, deferring to the wishes of his family.

After electoral politics, McGovern continued to work to alleviate world hunger, serving as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and on the board of the Friends of the World Food Program. In 2001, he was appointed the United Nations Global Ambassador on World Hunger. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000.

George McGovern was married to Eleanor Stegeberg McGovern (1921-2007). The couple had five children: Ann, Steven, Susan, Mary, and Terry (Teresa), who died 1994 from exposure related to alcohol addiction. Her death prompted George McGovern to author the book Terry: My Daughter's Life-and-Death Struggle with Alcoholism and to help create the Teresa McGovern Center, a non-profit treatment facility for substance abuse patients.

George McGovern died on October 21, 2012 at age 90.

George McGovern authored or co-authored numerous books, including the following selection:

War Against Want: America's Food for Peace Program (1964)

Agricultural Thought in the Twentieth Century (1966)

A Time of War--A Time of Peace (1968)

The Great Coalfield War (1972)

The Third Freedom: Ending Hunger in Our Time (2002)

The Essential America: Our Founders and the Liberal Tradition (2004)

Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now (2006)

Abraham Lincoln (2008)

Acquisition:

The bulk of the papers were donated to the Princeton University Library in 1977, 1981, and 1987 .

Several smaller accruals were received in the 2000s as follows:

By the University of Mississippi in 2006 ([ML.2006.015]); by the Archives at the Alaska and Polar Regions Department, Elmer E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska Fairbanks, in 2007 ([ML.2007.008]); by the United States Senate Historical Office in 2008 ([ML.2008.018]); and by David Gerber in 2009 ([ML.2009.010]).

A McGovern presidential campaign film was donated by Christopher Buchanan in 2013 ([ML.2014.020]). Two previously unprocessed boxes were discovered by the Mudd Library in 2014 and added to the collection ([ML.2014.034]).

Appraisal

A total of 809 linear feet of materials were separated from the collection in 2009 as follows: 20 linear feet of books (sent to Firestone Library and the Special Collections for further processing); 123 linear feet of redundant constituent correspondence (a 6% sample of which was retained); 59 linear feet of secondary material available from other sources (destroyed); 144 linear feet of routine constituent correspondence (destroyed); 35 linear feet of routine office files (destroyed); 101 linear feet of duplicate correspondence carbons (destroyed); 106 linear feet of clippings available from other sources (destroyed); 50 linear feet of duplicates (destroyed); 53 linear feet of material, including card files and contribution envelopes, that duplicates information available elsewhere in the collection (destroyed); 103 linear feet of case files peripheral to policy research (destroyed); 4 linear feet of book drafts peripheral to policy research (destroyed); 9 linear feet of personal records peripheral to policy research (destroyed); and 2 linear feet of blank forms and folders of no research value (destroyed).

Sponsorship:

The George S. McGovern Papers were processed with the generous support of The John Foster and Janet Avery Dulles Fund.

Processing Information

Processed by Regine Heberlein in 2009. Materials were re-housed in archival boxes and grouped to document McGovern's political campaigns, service in the House of Representatives, service as Director of Food for Peace, and service in the Senate.

Boxes 940-943 added by Rachel Van Unen in 2014.

Biography written by Jessica Marati, '08. Updated by Regine Heberlein and Rachel Van Unen.

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Single copies may be made for research purposes. To cite or publish quotations that fall within Fair Use, as defined under U. S. Copyright Law, no permission is required. For instances beyond Fair Use, it is the responsibility of the researcher to determine whether any permissions related to copyright, privacy, publicity, or any other rights are necessary for their intended use of the Library's materials, and to obtain all required permissions from any existing rights holders, if they have not already done so. Princeton University Library's Special Collections does not charge any permission or use fees for the publication of images of materials from our collections, nor does it require researchers to obtain its permission for said use. The department does request that its collections be properly cited and images credited. More detailed information can be found on the Copyright, Credit and Citations Guidelines page on our website. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us through the Ask Us! form.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

For preservation reasons, original analog and digital media may not be read or played back in the reading room. Users may visually inspect physical media but may not remove it from its enclosure. All analog audiovisual media must be digitized to preservation-quality standards prior to use. Audiovisual digitization requests are processed by an approved third-party vendor. Please note, the transfer time required can be as little as several weeks to as long as several months and there may be financial costs associated with the process. Requests should be directed through the Ask Us Form.

Credit this material:

George S. McGovern Papers; Public Policy Papers, Department of Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Permanent URL:
http://arks.princeton.edu/ark:/88435/f7623c58x
Location:
Seeley G. Mudd Manuscript Library
65 Olden Street
Princeton, NJ 08540, USA
(609) 258-6345
Storage Note:
  • Mudd Manuscript Library (scamudd): Boxes 1-788; 899-939; 941-945; 1971-1972
Related Materials

Additional papers of Senator McGovern are housed at the McGovern Library at Dakota Wesleyan University in Mitchell, SD. An online finding aid is available here: The Senator George S. McGovern Collection.

Other Finding Aids

The Audiovisual Materials series, 1957-1984 (bulk 1968-1972) is described in a separate finding aid that includes an inventory: Audiovisual Materials.

Bibliography

Ambrose, Stephen. The Wild Blue: The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2001. Campaign '72: The Managers Speak. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1973. Marano, Richard Michael. Vote Your Conscience: The Last Campaign of George McGovern. Westport, Conn. and London: Praeger, 2003. McGovern, George. Grassroots: The Autobiography of George McGovern. New York: Random House, 1977. McGovern, George. An American Journey: The Presidential Campaign Speeches of George McGovern. New York: Random House, 1974. Miroff, Bruce. The Liberals' Moment: The McGovern Insurgency and the Identity Crisis of the Democratic Party. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, 2007. Stephen, Vittoria (writer/director). One Bright Shining Moment: The Forgotten Summer of George McGovern (videorecording). 2005. Thompson, Hunter S. Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail '72. New York and Boston: Grand Central Publishing, [1983] 2006. Watson, Robert P., ed. George McGovern: A Political Life, a Political Legacy. Pierre, South Dakota: South Dakota State Historical Society Press, 2004.

Subject Terms:
Campaign literature, 1972 -- Democratic.
Campaign speeches, 1972 -- Democratic.
Democratic Party (U.S.).
Elections -- United States -- 20th century.
Legislators -- United States -- Biography.
Liberalism -- United States.
Political campaigns -- United States -- History -- 20th century.
Politicians -- United States.
Presidential candidates -- United States -- Biography.
Presidents -- United States -- Election -- 1972.
United States. Congress. Senate.
presidential candidates -- United States.
Genre Terms:
Clippings.
Correspondence
Negatives (photographic).
Transcripts.
Names:
Kennedy family
Kennedy family
Eagleton, Thomas F., 1929-2007
McGovern, Eleanor, 1921-2007
McGovern, George S. (George Stanley), 1922-2012
Nixon, Richard M. Richard Milhous 1913-1994
Shriver, Sargent, 1915-2011
Places:
United States -- Politics and government -- 1945-