John Leonard Pilcher Papers, 1941-1976 (bulk 1953-1964)
127.5 boxes, 70 linear feet
167 photographs

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: VII. Academies and VIII. Case Files are closed. Restricted files have been removed from II. Meigs Office, III. Miscellaneous File, and VI. Post Office and are housed separately from the rest of the collection.

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

Processing Notes: Scrapbooks, photographs, and artifacts were physically separated from the papers for preservation. Photographs were removed from scrapbooks wherever possible and replaced with Xerox copies. One series has been sampled.

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 Leonard Pilcher Papers, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, The University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia.


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BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE:

John Leonard Pilcher was born in a two-room log cabin near Meigs, Georgia on August 27, 1898. Although Pilcher's father died when he was five, and Pilcher had to support his mother and two young sisters, he completed seven grades of public school and graduated from Massey Business College. In 1922, he married Dorothy Covington of Moultrie, Georgia. They had two sons: John Leonard, Jr., who in 1946, at the age of seventeen, was killed in a plane crash while serving as an ROTC air cadet at the University of Georgia; and Charles, who handled the family business while his father was in Washington.

 

Pilcher started working at the age of fifteen, and by the time he was twenty he was operating a small business. Involved in agricultural pursuits most of his life, Pilcher not only owned a farm, but expanded his holdings to include a general mercantile business, a fertilizer manufacturing plant, feed mill, corn elevator, cotton gins and warehouses, and a syrup canning plant. He was involved in many business organizations, such as the National Cotton Council and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, and served as the director of the Thomas County PEA (production and marketing). He also became president of the Bank of Meigs, Georgia.

 

At the age of twenty‑-one, Pilcher was elected mayor of Meigs. During the years 1921 through 1940, he also served as a councilman and a public school trustee. In 1940, he was elected to represent the Seventh District in the Georgia State Senate. After his term expired in 1943, he returned to Meigs and was elected to the post of county commissioner of roads and revenue for Thomas County, a position he held from 1943 to 1947. During this same period he also served as a member of the Agricultural and Industrial Board for the county (1944‑1948). From 1948 to 1949, Pilcher was the Supervisor of Purchases for the state of Georgia, serving under Governors Thompson and Arnall. In 1953, Edward Eugene Cox, the congressman representing the Second District, died and a special election was held to fill his seat. In spite of a large field of candidates and his late entrance into the race for the position, Pilcher won the seat in a hardworking campaign by a 2,000 vote margin over his nearest competitor.

 

Pilcher was a member of Congress from February 4, 1953 to January 3, 1965. He started on the House Committee on Government Operations, serving on the committee from 1953 to 1954. After an attempt to gain a seat on the House Agriculture Committee failed, he accepted a seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee where he served from 1955 to 1964. He was a member of the Subcommittee on the Far East and the Pacific and became chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Economic Policy. Twice, in 1959 and 1961, Pilcher went abroad with other members of the subcommittee on Special Study Missions to oversee U.S. economic and technical assistance programs.

 

Pilcher did not run for reelection in 1964. Instead, he retired from his congressional career and took the post of Southeastern Regional Director of the Office of Emergency Planning. Pilcher died on August 20, 1981, at the age of 82.

 

 

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SCOPE AND CONTENT:

The John Leonard Pilcher Papers span the years 1941 to 1976, with the overwhelming majority of the material falling between the years 1953 to 1964, when Pilcher represented the Second Congressional District of Georgia. The collection consists of correspondence, speeches, telegrams, reports, newspaper clippings, briefings, memos, news releases, copies of bills and laws, and other printed material. It also includes scrapbooks, a guestbook, artifacts, and photographs. The bulk of these papers are the working files of Congressman Pilcher's Washington and Meigs offices and reflect the interests of Pilcher and his constituents. His deep interest in agricultural and small business affairs, stemming from his own experience as a farmer and businessman in Meigs, is given ample scope here, such as the Flint River Channelization Project files in the Political series. Also reflected in the collection is Pilcher's interest in foreign policy, especially the topics of mutual security and foreign aid, gained while serving as the chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Economic Policy of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and from his two trips abroad in 1959 and 1961 on Special Study Missions. His work on the Foreign Affairs Committee led to his involvement in the Atlantic Union, a movement to create a commonwealth encompassing North America and Western Europe, which is also documented in Pilcher's files.

 

Pilcher was a firm supporter of the Kennedy‑-Johnson ticket in 1963; indeed, he was the only Georgia congressman to support Kennedy from the beginning and was named to the candidate's Natural Resources Advisory Committee. His interest in the campaign is shown in the Meigs Office series, among others. Pilcher's involvement in local, state, and national Democratic Party maneuvering is documented by the collection, and his own campaigns, especially that of 1953, are covered as well.

 



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ORGANIZATION AND ARRANGEMENT:

The papers are organized into eleven series: I. Legislative, II. Meigs Office, III. Miscellaneous File, IV. Personal, V. Political, VI. Post Office, VII . Academies (RESTRICTED), VIII. Case Files (RESTRICTED), IX. Scrapbooks, X. Photographs, and IX. Artifacts.



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RELATED COLLECTIONS IN THIS REPOSITORY:

Iris F. Blitch Papers

S. Ernest Vandiver, Jr. Papers

Carl E. Sanders Papers

August H. Turnbull Collection of Carl Sanders' Speech/Press Files
E.L. Forrester Papers
Stephen Pace Post Office Files
Richard B. Russell, Jr. Collection
Herman E. Talmadge Collection
Democratic Party of Georgia Records


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RELATED COLLECTIONS IN OTHER REPOSITORIES:

Georgia Government Documentation Project, Series F: Marvin Griffin oral history collection. Special Collection Department, William Russell Pullen Library, Georgia State University

Stellanova Osborn papers, 1916-1992. Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, Harvard University
Griffin Bell Papers, School of Law, Mercer University



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SERIES DESCRIPTIONS:

I. Legislative, 1953-‑1964
26 boxes, 12.75 linear feet

The series contains correspondence, bills, memos, news releases, reports, telegrams, and other printed material pertaining to legislation sponsored by Pilcher and other congressmen. There is some overlap with similar topics in the various subseries. There is also legislative correspondence filed by constituent name in the Miscellaneous series, which acts as a partial name cross‑reference file to this and other series (for a more detailed explanation of this cross‑referencing, see the description of III. Miscellaneous File).

 

A. Subject File, 1953-‑1964
17 boxes, 8.5 linear feet

This subseries consists of constituents' letters dealing with various topics mainly concerned with farming and small business practices, although public issues such as social security, postal rates, education, and taxes are also common to the files. The subseries is arranged by year beginning with the earliest date first, arranged in four, and then two year increments (1953‑1956, then 1957‑1958, 1959‑1960, etc.), then alphabetically by subject. Within each folder the correspondence, bills, newsletters, telegrams, memos, and other printed material are generally arranged chronologically. This subseries is cross‑referenced by series III. Miscellaneous File, and a few of the folders contain notes that cross‑index individual files.

 

B. Foreign Affairs Committee, 1955‑-1964
6 boxes, 3 linear feet

This subseries contains correspondence, memos, releases, and printed material related to the Foreign Affairs Committee in which Pilcher was the chairman of the Subcommittee on Foreign Economic Policy (1955‑1963) and a member of the Subcommittee on the Far East and the Pacific. It is cross-referenced by series III. Miscellaneous File to a minor extent. The Foreign Affairs Committee subseries is composed of the following divisions:

 

(1) General File, 1955‑-1964
1 box, .5 linear foot

Consists of memos, press releases and printed material, loosely grouped by year but not in a strict chronological sequence. This was material of an informational nature furnished to Pilcher as a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

 

(2) Subject File, 1956-‑1964
1 box, .5 linear foot

Consists of correspondence and material arranged alphabetically by subject, dealing with matters that came before the Foreign Affairs Committee and committee business.

 

(3) Countries 1956-‑1963
4 boxes, 2 linear feet

Consists of correspondence and material, arranged alphabetically by city, county, or region. Most of the files contain material, such as itineraries and briefings, that were collected while Pilcher and several other congressmen traveled to Asia, the Western Pacific, the Middle East, Southern Europe, and North Africa in 1959 and to the Far East in 1961 on Special Study Missions to oversee U.S. economic and technical assistance programs. Reports and speeches that arose from these trips are also contained in the files.

 

C. Copies 1956, 1961-‑1962
1 box, .5 linear foot

Arranged alphabetically by subject , this subseries contains copies of Pilcher's replies (either by letter or telegram) to constituent letters found in the Subject File (Subseries A). It also includes Jules replies not found in the Subject File, copies of replies sent to Pilcher, copies of bills to which the replies relate, and a few unanswered letters. The sub­series is cross‑referenced by series III. Miscellaneous File.

 

D. Bills 1955-‑1960, 1962, 1964
1 box, .5 linear foot

Subseries D contains bills introduced by Pilcher in the House of Representatives including those bills that became law, and also consists of reports on the bills and copies of the laws some of those bills became. A small amount of correspondence and other material, consisting primarily of telegrams but also including memos and speeches which relate to specific bills may also be found here. The material in this subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject or (in the case of private bills) by name and is found in the same box that contains copies (Subseries S), filed immediately after the copies. Series V. Political, subseries C. Georgia File, cross­references individual files in this subseries.

 

E. Voting Record 1953‑-1964
2 boxes, .75 linear foot

This subseries, arranged alphabetically, contains mainly pamphlets and bound tablets on Pilcher's voting record while a member of the House of Representatives. These pamphlets and tablets are separated into subject headings and how he voted. A booklet outlining how Democrats and Repub­licans voted on major issues in 1955 and 1956 and a file containing a Congressional Record pertaining to Pilcher's views on foreign aid are also included.

 

II. Meigs Office, 1960-1964
4 boxes, 2 linear foot

This series consists of correspondence (primarily with constituents), notes, and printed material sent to or handled by Pilcher's office in his hometown of Meigs , Georgia . Within two chronological groups (1960‑1964, 1960‑1961) the files are arranged alphabetically by individual or corporate name, or by the subject contained, e.g., "Congressmen's Letters". A few subject files contain notes that cross‑index individual files. Restricted materials have been removed from this series.

 

Included in this series are such topics as Agriculture, the Democratic National Convention, and the 1960 Kennedy‑Johnson Presidential Campaign and Election. Items of interest contained within the files include: Letters from John W. McCormack (Speaker of the House of Representatives), J. Edgar Hoover (Director, Federal Bureau of Investigation), Harry Truman (U.S. Presi­dent, 1945‑1953), and Robert Kennedy (Attorney General and brother of President John F. Kennedy); transcripts of the Kennedy vs. Nixon Broadcasts, 1960; For­eign Affairs Committee notes; correspondence on impending legislation; and in­formation pertaining to the Flint River channelization, urban renewal, housing development, military schools and service, veterans administration, and Internal Revenue Service data processing in Georgia.

 

III. Miscellaneous File, 1953-1964
85 boxes, 41.5 linear feet

This series is divided into two subseries, 1953‑1960 and 1960‑1964, arranged alphabetically by name, corporate name, and subject. These dates are bulk dates only; items carrying later dates were sometimes inserted into earlier files, and earlier material was often brought forward into the later files if the file re­mained active or was reactivated at a later date. Within each subseries will be found correspondence (primarily constituent letters), memos, clippings, telegrams, and other printed material. Restricted materials have been removed from this series.

 

The Miscellaneous File acts as a partial name cross‑reference file to the following:

 

I. Legislative series

A. Subject File

B. Foreign Affairs Committee

C. Copies

D. Bills

 

IV. Personal series

A. Subject File

B. Office File

 

V. Political series

A. Subjects

B. Georgia File

 

VI. Post Office series

 

It is a partial cross‑reference file because not everything that is in the Miscellaneous File is in the series/subseries it cross‑references, and vice versa. What material is actually in the folders also varies. The Miscellaneous File may only have a copy of Pilcher's reply to a letter, the letter but no reply, or both the letter and its reply together. Individuals may be found under their own names or under the organization they represent.

 

Much of the cross‑referencing is implicit, i.e., there is no memo or file notation in either the Miscellaneous File nor the series/subseries cross‑ref­erenced that actually says such a cross‑reference exists. However, memos are occasionally filed in the other series, and many of the files in the Mis­cellaneous File have cross‑references noted on the folder itself, found below the date. These notations are not only to other series, but also serve to link files within the Miscellaneous File itself. The notations are not always clear as to what file is meant, since a single subject may be filed under several different headings, e.g., material on the city of Albany, Georgia, may be found under Albany, GA and City of Albany, GA.

 

The files in the series reflect constituent opinions on the topics of the day, their requests for information and assistance, various projects for the benefit of the Second District that Pilcher undertook, and Pilcher's relation­ship with both federal and state agencies. Items of special interest include letters to and from U.S. and state legislators such as Richard B. Russell, Herman Talmadge, Carl Vinson, E.L. Forrester, Iris Blitch, and J. Willis Conger (State Senator, 8th District); material from Pilcher's Executive Assistant, John W. Ellis; a 1958 letter from Pilcher to the National Historical Wax Museum in Washington, D.C., detailing an anecdote about Carl Vinson; the Griffin Bell file, concerning his appointment to the 5th Circuit judgeship‑‑he later became Attorney General from 1977‑1979 under President Jimmy Carter; and mate­rial about the Atlantic Union, a plan to create a commonwealth including North America and Western Europe in which Pilcher was interested, and about one of its most ardent advocates, Mrs. Chase S. Osborne.

 

IV. Personal, 1946, 1953‑1967, 1970
8 boxes (sampled)

This series reflects three aspects of Pilcher's life while a congressman: the financial, the invitations he received from both dignitaries in Washington and people in the Second District, and some of the routine tasks in running his office. The Invitations File subseries (IV.B.) has been sampled ‑‑for a more detailed account of the method used, sae the subseries description below.

 

A. Subject File, 1946, 1953-‑1967, 1970
2 boxes, 1 linear foot

Arranged alphabetically by subject, the subseries is composed of cor­respondence (including congratulatory letters and thank yous), bills, re­ceipts, and forms, which are primarily concerned with financial matters‑­insurance, paid bills, and the operation of Pilcher's businesses in Meigs by his son Charles. There is some purely personal correspondence, how­ever, and this subseries holds the largest amount of material on Pilcher's son Charles and wife Dorothy, aside from series II. Meigs Office and some isolated pieces of correspondence in III. Miscellaneous File (which does cross‑reference this subseries).

 

B. Invitations File, 1953‑-1964
6 boxes, 3 linear foot

As the title of this subseries suggests, it contains invitations, in the form of letters, memos, notices, and formal engraved invitations, arranged chronologically. It must be noted here that Pilcher included notices of congressional committee and subcommittee meetings in this file. This subseries has been sampled, using the following scheme:

 

A_11 invitations extended by J.L. Pilcher, those that have sub­stantive personal correspondence, or resulted in speeches or ‑televised appearances, have been kept. A_11 invitations extended by the president or government officials of Cabinet rank have been retained. A_11 notices of meetings of congressional committees and subcommittees, and those invitations, either formal or informal, to discuss congressional business (as opposed to the purely social) are in this subseries, as are all memoranda of invitations.

 

Two to three engraved invitations in each of two categories‑­declined and accepted‑‑ have been retained per month for each year.

 

Two to three invitations in each of two categories‑‑declined and accepted ‑‑have been kept in each of the following divisions and their subdivisions per year:

 

POLITICAL (national and Georgia Democratic committees, for example)

1. National 2. Georgia 3. Local

 

ECONOMIC (organizations such as the National Cotton Council or the Georgia Chamber of Commerce)

1. National

2. Georgia

3. Local

 

EDUCATION

1. Educational organizations

2. Colleges and universities

3. High schools

4. Elementary schools

 

CIVIC ORGANIZATIONS AND EVENTS (for example, the Boy Scouts of America , local chambers of commerce, and the Thomasville, Georgia Rose Festival)

1. International

2. National

3. Georgia

4. Local

 

VETERANS (Veterans of Foreign Wars, etc.)

1. National

2. Georgia

3. Local

 

MILITARY (invitations from commanders of local military bases)

 

PERSONAL (from friends, congressional colleagues interested in purely social interaction, members of the King‑Queen Rod and Gun Club)

 

As a result of the sampling, 2.5 boxes (approximately one linear foot) of material has been discarded.

 

C. Office File, 1953-‑1958, 1961, 1963-‑1964
1 box, .25 linear foot

Filed immediately after IV. Personal B. Invitations File, this subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject. It consists of correspondence and material, primarily concerned with requests for photographs and the creation of photo‑cards (calling cards with a photograph on it) and photographs.

 

V. Political, 1952-1965
12 boxes, 6 linear feet

This series is concerned with Pilcher's involvement in the Democratic Party in Georgia and the Second District, his campaigns and speeches, and his interest in local projects. It is composed of a wide variety of materials, including cor­respondence, telegrams, reports, and speeches

 

A. Subjects, 1952-‑1954, 1956‑-1965
1 box, .5 linear foot

Composed of note cards for speeches, membership lists, notarized affi­davits of election results, campaign button and poster promotional material, rules for primaries, memos, correspondence (including congratulatory letters), telegrams, newspaper clippings, and disclosures of campaign expenditures ar­ranged alphabetically by subject. The subseries focuses on the Democratic Party in the Second District and its committees, although there is some mate­rial on the party outside of the Second District. There is some material on various pieces of legislation, such as the Flint River Project, Mutual Secu­rity, postal pay increases, and Civil Rights, which will be found in the folders titled "Miscellaneous". This subseries is cross‑referenced by series III. Miscellaneous File.

 

B. Campaigns, 1953-‑1958, 1960, 1962‑-1964
1 box, .5 linear foot

This subseries is primarily congratulatory messages concerning Pilcher's 1953 election victory. It also includes material on campaign expenditures for his congressional campaigns and correspondence on Pilcher running for re‑election in 1964. The subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject.

 

C. Georgia File, 1953-‑1964
8 boxes, 4 linear feet

The Georgia File could almost be considered a subset of series III. Miscellaneous File (which cross‑references this subseries). The subject matter in both is similar, and the arrangement is identical‑‑alphabetical by name or subject. This subseries has cross‑references to individual files within the subseries, and partially cross‑references I. Legislative D. Bills. It is composed of correspondence, telegrams, reports, memos, news releases, newspaper clippings, and other printed material which tend to concentrate (more than III. Miscellaneous File) on economic projects, such as government contracts and programs or the establishment, inprove­ment, or demolition of government facilities, and on personal cases in­volving Georgia and Georgians, especially those residing in the Second District. The Flint River Channelization Project is extensively dealt with here, as are the Dry Creek Watershed of Georgia and the city of Albany, Georgia.

 

D. Speeches, 1953‑-1964
2 boxes, 1 linear foot

The subseries is arranged alphabetically by subject or document type, and consists of speeches (both drafts and final copies), Congressional Record and congressional committee statements, speaking invitations, news/press releases, correspondence and telegrams relating to speeches, and background mate­rial used in composing speeches, such as correspondence, reports, articles, and newspaper clippings.

 

VI. Post Office, 1941, 1944-1945, 1947-1948, 1952-1961
5 boxes, 2.5 linear feet

Consisting of correspondence, memos, regulations, reports, and telegrams, the series is concerned with the opening, closing, or construction of post offices; routes; constituent comments on and postal investigations/inspections into service; legislation pertaining to the operation of post offices; and the appointment of postmasters and rural carriers in the Second Congressional Dis­trict. The series is arranged alphabetically by community name or subject. It is cross‑referenced by series III. Miscellaneous File. Restricted material has been removed from this series.

 

Note: The files on Benevolence and Bluffton, Georgia contain material directed solely to Third Congressional District Congressman E.L. Forrester and his predecessor, Stephen Pace. The files were apparently transferred because of redistricting in 1964 which added the counties of Clay, Crisp, Quitman, Randolph, Terrell, and Turner, all originally part of the Third District, to the Second District. Additional post office material on these counties, covering the years 1937‑1964, may be found in the E.L. Forrester and Stephen Pace collections, also in the Russell Library.


VII. Academies (RESTRICTED)

VIII. Case Mail (RESTRICTED)

IX. Scrapbooks
6 scrapbooks
The scrapbooks consist primarily of newspaper clippings that chronicle Pilcher's state senate and congressional careers. The news clippings contain information about Pilcher's speeches, ppublic appearances, campaigns, platform, and appointments to military academies. The scrapbooks also contain speeches, letters, certificates and photographs. The photographs have been removed for preservation wherever possible and Xerox copies put in their place.

X. Photographs
167 photographs
This series consists of photographs, primarily black and white, covering civic events Pilcher attended and various trips he made as a congressman. Because Pilcher played an important role in federal construction in his distriction, the series also includes views of the Moultrie post office and the town of Cavalry, among others. Among the some the more notable individuals appearing in the photographs are: Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Hubert H. Humphrey, Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr., Francisco Franco, and Chiang Kai-shek.

XI. Artifacts
This series consists of miscellaneous artifacts such as plaques and certificates Pilcher earned, portraits of notable political figures, and news clippings.


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ACCESS POINTS

Johnson, Lyndon B. (Lyndon Baines), 1908-1973.

Arnall, Ellis Gibbs, 1907-

George, Walter F. (Walter Franklin), 1878-1957.

Sanders, Carl Edward, 1925-

Vandiver, S. Ernest (Samuel Ernest), 1918-

United States . Congress --Elections, 1953.

United States. Congress. House.

Democratic Party (U.S.)

Presidents --United States --Election --1960.

Civil rights --United States.

Agricultural laws and legislation --United States.

Small business --Law and legislation --United States.

Legislators --United States.

United States --Foreign relations --Law and legislation.

Congressional records.

Press releases.

Speeches.

Photographs.



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FOLDER LIST

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



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