John W. Davis Papers, 1954-1976
324 boxes, 162 linear feet

Administrative Information

- Access Restrictions
- User Restrictions
- Processing Notes
- Copyright Information
- Preferred Citation

Biographical Note

Scope and Content

Home

Organization and Arrangement

Related Collections

- In Russell Library
- In other repositories

Series Descriptions

Access Points

Folder List

ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Access Restrictions: Case mail is closed for a period of 75 years after creation.

User Restrictions: Library acts as “fair use” reproduction agent.

Processing Notes: Photographs and artifacts have been removed from the papers for preservation.

Copyright Information: Before material from collections at the Richard B. Russell Library may be quoted in print, or otherwise reproduced, in whole or in part, in any publication, permission must be obtained from (1) the owner of the physical property, and (2) the holder of the copyright. It is the particular responsibility of the researcher to obtain both sets of permission. Persons wishing to quote from materials in the Russell Library collection should consult the Director. Reproduction of any item must contain a complete citation to the original.

Preferred Citation: John W. Davis Papers, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia.

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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:

John W. Davis, Jr. was born in Rome, Georgia on September 12, 1916. He graduated from the University of Georgia in Athens with an A.B. in 1937 and an LL.B. in 1939. He was admitted to the bar in 1939 and commenced practicing law in Rome, Georgia. Davis served in the War Department Headquarters from July 1942 to December 1945, and was assigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps, serving for a time in South America. He moved to Summerville, Georgia in 1946 and resumed practicing law. From December 27, 1950 to January 1, 1953, he was solicitor general of the Rome Circuit. Davis was elected judge of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit for six years, and served from January 1, 1955 , until his resignation December 31, 1960. The following year, Davis was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-seventh and to the six succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1961-January 3, 1975). Davis served on the House Administration Committee (1965-1970), the House Foreign Affairs Committee (1971-1974) and the Science and Astronautics Committee (1961-1974), chairing the Subcommittee of Science, Research, and Development. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1974 to the Ninety-fourth Congress. Davis then resumed his law practice residing in St. Simons Island, Georgia until his death on October 3, 1992.

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SCOPE AND CONTENT:

The personal and congressional papers of John William Davis, Jr. date from 1954 to 1976. The collection includes speech and press files (1960-1974); personal files containing thank yous, invitations, congratulations, and condolences (1961-1974); appointment records (1973-1974); legislative files containing bills and committee material (1957-1974); general files containing correspondence relating to federal agencies, counties, and constituents (1958-1974); files relating to federal funding received for projects within the 7th Congressional District of Georgia (1972-1974); and files relating to federal funding of watershed projects in the 7th Congressional District of Georgia (1963-1970).

In 1991, additional material was added to the collection. It consists of 13 boxes of press and speech, political campaigns, personal, intra office, legislative, office administration, technology assessment, scrapbooks and memorabilia. The photographs have also been inventoried.

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ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT

The collection has been arranged into thirteen series, nine of which are open to researchers. Series and subseries are arranged chronologically and alphabetically by topic. The restricted files contain mainly case mail and alphabetical and chronological cross-reference files for use by library staff as finding aids.

The addendum has been arranged into seventeen series, ten of which are open to researchers.

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RELATED COLLECTIONS IN THIS REPOSITORY:

Maston O'Neal Papers
Robert G. Stephens, Jr. Papers
Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection
Herman E. Talmadge Collection
Ben Blackburn Papers

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RELATED COLLECTIONS IN OTHER REPOSITORIES:

Not available at this time. Please contact Russell Library for more information.

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SERIES DESCRIPTIONS:

I. Speech-Press, 1960-1974
26 boxes, 13 linear feet

A. Subject File
This subseries consists of speeches and statements by Davis on a particular topic taken mainly from news clippings.

B. Chronological File
This subseries consists of the following types of publicity materials relating to Davis: news clippings, grants, insertions in the Congressional Record, newsletters, radio scripts and tapes, press releases, and speeches, addresses and statements.

The researcher should be aware that the press file, particularly press releases, may overlap with materials from other files. For instance, there are press materials on Davis campaigns interfiled with campaign correspondence in II. Political campaigns. There is also a fair amount of overlap in C. Grants and V. Legislative, Appropriations Committee; VI. C. General Counties; and XII. Federal Funding.

C. County File
This is divided into the following subseries:
1) Grants-Newsclippings: While the folders in this file were marked "grants," they appear to be the same type of clippings found in the next subseries
2) General clippings, except fewer counties are covered in this file. It is arranged alphabetically by county and thereafter chronologically, latest date first.
3) General newsclippings: While this material is mostly grant information, there is some non-grant material. It is arranged by county and thereafter chronological, latest date first.
4) Grants notices: This group contains short statements about the amount and date of grants and was probably used to figure the total amount of grants per county for certain periods (adding machine totals are included). It is arranged by county and thereafter chronologically, latest date first.

II. Political Campaigns, 1960-1974
10 boxes, 5 linear feet
This series contains correspondence and material on offices Davis campaigned for.

III. Personal 1961-1974
19 boxes, 9.5 linear feet
This series contains correspondence and material indicating "personal" engagements and contacts which kept the congressman in touch with constituents and personal friends.

A. Congratulations and Condolences
This contains carbon copies of letters, sometimes accompanied by newsclippings, sent by Davis to constituents that had made news for social achievement. The file also contains a few awards or certificates given to Davis.

B. Invitations
This contains 1) Accepted 2) Declined 3) Sponsored 4) Pending Invitations for social events and speaking engagements.

C. Thank You's
This contains incoming and outgoing correspondence between Davis and his constituents and professional associates. The subseries is arranged chronologically, latest date first.

IV. Intra-Office 1973-74
1 box , .5 linear foot
This series contains two books which record the hourly appointments (9:00-6:00) of Davis' Committee and Club meetings and his speaking engagements for 1973-74.

V. Legislative 1961-74 (1957-60 Two Folders)
91 boxes, 45.5 linear feet
This series is arranged by Congress and contains legislative material and correspondence for the 91st, 92nd, and 93rd Congresses (1979-1974). It contains Davis Bills from 1961-1974. Each Congress is arranged by House Committee followed by Davis' Committees (ones he served on) and Subcommittee followed by Davis Bills as follows:

VI. General File, 1961-1974 (1941, 1958-1960 Two folders)
75 boxes, 37.5 linear feet
This series contains a variety of material and correspondence, reports, press releases, and grants especially in the early years. The General File, as well as, Legislative, reflect the increasing sophistication of Davis' filing system. In the years 1961-68 (87th - 89th Congresses) General Correspondence-Subject Files includes legislative correspondence. The 1969 and 1970 material is filed together, as was 1971 and 1972. However, 1973 and 1974 were both filed separately (with the exception of the federal agencies and county files which were maintained together).

VII., VIII, IX, X. RESTRICTED

XI. Rivers, Harbors, and Watersheds, 1963-1970
1 box .5 linear foot
This series contains correspondence, news clippings, news releases, and Department of Agriculture reports on the Federal watershed projects in the Seventh District. The file was maintained separately in Davis' office and therefore was kept as a distinct series, although the file is small and somewhat similar to folders found in Series VI. General File. The series is arranged alphabetically by name of project, then chronologically within each category.

XII. Seventh District Federal Funding, 1972-1974
1 box, .5 linear foot
This series contains incoming and outgoing correspondence, notices, and lists of contacts regarding federal funding (from landfills to ballet projects) that Davis helped to obtain for the counties in his district during 1972-1974. These files represent a more complete set of records than is found in the "grants" portion of Series I. Speech-Press.

A. General Correspondence-Subject Files
This contains correspondence, clippings, and reports, and 7th district causes and projects championed by Davis.

B. Federal Agencies and Departments
This contains correspondence and material in which Davis attempts to facilitate communication between his constituents and the Federal government. Also contained are agency clarification of policy and reports on agency activity in the Seventh District.

C. Counties
This contains primarily constituent request for assistance in getting Federal funds, Davis grant releases (duplicates of ones found in Series I. Speech-Press), Federal agency releases, newsclippings about grants. Some non-grant correspondence about the county is also contained. For the years 1972-1974 the county file contains much of the
same type correspondence as Series XII.Federal Funding. Though some shifting of material in the General File was done to establish consistency, the categorization of the files by years is not always precise. For example, some of the later months of 1968 are found in 1969-70. A more detailed outline of topics within each category is available.

XIII. Audiovisual Materials, 1964-1974

3 videotapes, 341 audiotape reels
The three videotapes and 341 audiotape reels of the collection, originally recorded between 1964 and 1974, provide a nearly complete record of Davis's legislative activity and political opinions during the time. The audio materials consist of addresses and debates on topical matters and current legislation recorded for radio broadcast in Georgia's Seventh District, news releases reporting on enacted legislation recorded for radio broadcast in Georgia's Seventh District, recordings of Davis responding to constituent questions for radio broadcast in Georgia's Seventh District, recordings of news conferences held by Davis, recordings of speeches and addresses given on various occasions (including several post office dedications), commercially produced campaign commercials for radio broadcast, recordings of debates engaged in during campaigns, and Davis' statement on the death of Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr. in 1971.

Subjects of particular interest in the audio recordings include the Colorado River Basin Water Project; Davis's comments on Martin Luther King, Jr.'s suggestion that Alabama be boycotted due to policies regarding race; Davis's support for American intervention against Communism in Southeast Asia (including Vietnam); Davis's support for NASA, the space program, and the aerospace industry (particularly Lockheed); the Civil Rights Act of 1966; Davis's opinions on immigration, housing, agriculture, and education bills; the GI Bill; the United States Postal Service; the metric system in American education; Food for Peace; Watergate; and the minimum wage.

While there are some radio transcripts in I. Speech/Press that correspond to the audio holdings, there are no official library transcripts of this material. Subject analyses for the audio material are available at the Russell Library for researcher use and serve as a subject guide to the audio materials.

JOHN W. DAVIS PAPERS [1991 ADDENDUM], 1960-1975
13 boxes, 7.5 linear feet

I. Speech-Press, 1960-1974
1 box, .5 linear foot
The Davis Speech-Press material in this addendum is divided into six subseries. The items in this series were, for the most part stored in no recognizable order. They have been arranged to facilitate their usefulness.

This is arranged latest date first, with the following subseries appearing in alphabetical order within each year (each category does not appear each year). Within each subseries the arrangement is in reverse chronological order.
A. Articles
B. Columns for the newspaper
C. Congressional Record inserts
D. Newsletters
E. Speeches, addresses, and statements

II. Political Campaigns, 1954-1974
2 boxes, .75 linear foot
This series consists of correspondence, newspaper clippings, newspaper advertisements, campaign literature, and one book of check stubs. It is divided into six subseries.
The original subseries did not contain materials on either his judicial campaigns in 1954, 1956, and 1958, nor on his congressional campaigns in 1966, 1968, 1970, and 1972. These campaigns have been included as a part of the addendum. T

III. Personal, 1961-1975
2 boxes, 1 linear feet
This series contains correspondence and material indicating "personal" engagements and contacts which kept the Congressman in touch with constituents and personal friends. It is arranged into the following subseries.

A. Congratulations and condolences
This contains letters and cards of congratulations, greetings , and condolence between Davis and his constituents or Davis and his friends. The subseries is divided into two subseries, one congratulations and one condolences.

B. Invitations
This contains original invitations of various activities. They are undated and therefore arranged in alphabetical order by invitee. Also included is a list of persons invited to a "Reception and Dinner Inn On The Park 1945," which included Representative Davis.

C. Thank You's
This contains one letter from Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

D. Family
Items are of personal interest and related to Davis, his family, and close friends. This ranges from newspaper accounts of the death of Davis's first wife to various awards given to Davis or others. Some of the clippings date to the 1920's and concern Davis's father. They are arranged in reverse chronological order. Within the years the documents are also arranged chronologically, latest date first.

E. Miscellaneous clippings
This contains clippings from various dates. They range from cartoons to fashion items, from articles on oat farming to obituaries of persons whose relation to Davis is unknown.

F. Flight logs
This contains two flight logs. One log lists time spent by various individuals in the "Link Trainer," a flight simulator, while the other lists only one flight on 18 August 1968.

G. Personal Correspondence
This series contains correspondence between Davis and friends and family members. It is arranged by alphabetical order and then chronologically, latest date first.

IV. Intra Office, 1961-1970
1 box, .5 linear foot
This series contains seven books, arranged chronologically, which record Davis's appointments (though perhaps not all) for the years 1961, 1962, 1963, 1965, and 1970. It also contains two guest registers, one from 1964 to 1967 and the other from 1967 to 1969.

V. Legislative, 1961-1975
1 box, .5 linear foot
This series is arranged by Congress, most recent first, though not all Congresses in which Davis served are represented, and contains legislative material and correspondence. Each Congress is arranged by House Committee, followed by committees on which Davis served. As this follows the organization of the Davis collection large gaps appear in the arrangement of the list of committees. This is due to the lack of documents corresponding to the various committees represented in the original material.

VI., VII., VIII., IX., X., XI., XII. RESTRICTED

XIII. Office Administration, 1970-1972
1 box, .5 linear foot
This series contains items Davis distributed to constituents, colleagues and friends. Also included are a few sheets of office stationery. The materials are arranged alphabetically.

XIV. Technology Assessment, 1970-1976
1 box, .5 linear foot
This series contains documents that relate both to Davis's position on the Technology Assessment Board, while still in Congress, and his position in the Office of Technology Assessment, after leaving office in 1975. The series is arranged chronologically, latest date first.

XV. Scrapbooks, 1960-1970
1 box 1 linear foot
This series contains two scrapbooks. They are filled with news clippings and photographs which detail Davis's political life in the 1960's. One book deals with the 1960 election exclusively, while the other deals with various events in the 1960's.

XVI. Artifacts, 1960-1975
3 boxes 2.5 linear feet
The boxes contain various artifacts from the years Davis spent in Washington.

XVII. Photographs, 1960-1974
634 images, 203 sets
This series consists of photographs of John W. Davis focusing primarily on his political career. The photographs contain images of Davis as a young man, lawyer, jurist, and politician. Contents of this series range from photographs of Davis at fundraisers, formal dinners, and at work on various congressional duties.

This series is arranged in chronological order. Each image has been identified by a brief description of the subject, date, and size. This excludes slides which must be viewed with a projector

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ACCESS POINTS

United States. Congress. House.
Legislators --United States.
Political campaigns --Georgia.
Water resources development --Georgia.
Congressional records.

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FOLDER LIST

Not available at this time. Please contact Russell Library for more information.

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