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John Melcher Papers, 1969-1988

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Melcher, John, 1924-
Title
John Melcher Papers
Dates
1969-1988 (inclusive)
Quantity
673.3 linear feet
Collection Number
Mss 231
Summary
John Melcher was a Montana congressman who served in the U. S. House from 1969 to 1977 and in the Senate from 1977 to 1988. Materials in this collection include bills introduced by Melcher, speeches, writings, press releases, constituent correspondence, photographs, moving images, and other documents.
Repository
University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.

Languages
English
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Biographical Note

John Melcher was born in Sioux City, Iowa, on September 6, 1924. He lived in Dubuque and Ashton, Iowa, before residing on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation and graduating from high school at Oelrichs, South Dakota. He attended the University of Minnesota before serving with the 76th Infantry Division in Europe during World War II. He was wounded in action in Germany and awarded the Purple Heart, Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Bronze Star.

Melcher received his doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1950 from Iowa State University and established the Yellowstone Veterinary Clinic in Forsyth, Montana that same year. He practiced there until 1969.

Melcher began his public service as an alderman on the Forsyth City Council and subsequently was elected Mayor of the town three times. In 1960, he was elected state representative for Rosebud County, followed by election to the Montana Senate in 1962 for a four year term. He was again elected to the Montana House in 1968.

In 1969, Melcher was elected to the U. S. House of Representatives by winning a special election to fill the vacancy created when incumbent James F. Battin resigned to accept an appointment to the federal bench. Melcher was elected to the three succeeding Congresses and served from June 24, 1969, to January 3, 1977. In the fall of 1976 the people of Montana elected him to fill the seat in the U. S. Senate vacated by Michael Mansfield. He was defeated for a third term in the Senate in 1988 by Conrad Burns.

In both the House and the Senate, Melcher was noted for his interest in agriculture, protection of public lands, notably Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management lands, and animal welfare and animal health protections. He was a strong cosponsor and advocate of the coal strip mining bill (Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act), which was vetoed twice before being passed in 1977. In 1984, he contributed to the Animal Welfare Act with an amendment requiring consideration of the psychological well being of primates used in medical research.

Melcher was a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment and affirmative action. He was an active advocate of the Food for Peace program, nutrition programs, food safety, and animal health research. He served on the Agriculture and the Interior committees of the House, and on the Agriculture, Energy, and Natural Resources committees of the Senate. He was the chairman of the Special Committee on Aging and the Indian Affairs Committee.

John Melcher and Ruth Klein were married in Oakland, California, in 1945. They had six children: David, who died at the age of six of Reyes Syndrome, Teresa, Joan, Mary, Robert and John.

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Content Description

This collection contains the House and Senate bills introduced and sponsored by John Melcher; speeches given and writings and press releases produced by his office; and constituent correspondence. The correspondence during the House years is arranged alphabetically by subject or executive department. By the time he moved over to the Senate, Congressional filing systems had changed and constituent correspondence was being placed on microfilm in chronological order. Melcher's office retained the paper copy and it is in a numerical order by date. The office also maintained subject and project files which are included at the end of each year’s constituent correspondence. Moving image materials include VHS, 3/4 inch U-Matic videos, and a single 1 inch quad video. The moving image materials include campaigns materials, debates, speeches, and footage from the congressional floor.

Scrapbooks and audio materials that are part of this collection are in processing; although they are yet not described in this guide the majority of these materials are available for research at Archives and Special Collections.

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Use of the Collection

Alternative Forms Available

A portion of the correspondence files were microfilmed and a copy of the microfilms are held by Archives and Special Collections.

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes. Copyright for manuscript materials transferred to The University of Montana. Most film materials were previously televised, the broadcasters of these materials retain rights to the content. Materials filmed on the congressional floor are public domain.

Preferred Citation

John Melcher Papers, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

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Administrative Information

Arrangement

This collection has been divided into series by time period and by format. There are 64.0 linear feet of unprocessed material. At this time, the following series are processed and described in this guide:

Series I: U.S. House - Correspondence, 1969-1974, 166.5 linear feet

Series II: U.S. House - Speeches and Writings, 1969-1976, 3.5 linear feet

Series III: U.S. House - Bills Sponsored, 1969-1976, 8.5 linear feet

Subseries 1: 91st Congress, 1st Session, 1969, 0.4 linear feet

Subseries 2: 91st Congress, 2nd Session, 1970-1971, 0.5 linear feet

Subseries 3: 92nd Congress, 1st Session, 1971, 1.0 linear foot

Subseries 4: 92nd Congress, 2nd Session, 1972, 1.0 linear foot

Subseries 5: 93rd Congress, 1st Session, 1973, 1.6 linear feet

Subseries 6: 93rd Congress, 2nd Session, 1974, 1.0 linear foot

Subseries 7: 94th Congress, 1st Session, 1975, 2.0 linear feet

Subseries 8: 94th Congress, 2nd Session, 1976, 1.0 linear foot

Series IV: U.S. Senate - Correspondence, 1977-1988, 363.0 linear feet

Series V: U.S. Senate - Project Files, 1977-1988, 20.5 linear feet

Series VI: U.S. Senate - Subject Files, 1977-1988, 32.0 linear feet

Series VII: U.S. Senate - Speeches and Writings, 1977-1988, 4.5 linear feet

Series VIII: U.S. Senate - Bills Sponsored, 1977-1988, 8.5 linear feet

Subseries 1: 95th Congress, 1st Session, 1977-1978, 0.9 linear feet

Subseries 2: 95th Congress, 2nd Session, 1977-1978, 0.6 linear feet

Subseries 3: 96th Congress, 1st Session, 1979-1980, 0.9 linear feet

Subseries 4: 96th Congress, 2nd Session, 1979-1980, 0.5 linear feet

Subseries 5: 97th Congress, 1st Session, 1981-1982, 0.8 linear feet

Subseries 6: 97th Congress, 2nd Session, 1981-1982, 0.6 linear feet

Subseries 7: 98th Congress, 1st Session, 1983-1984, 1.0 linear foot

Subseries 8: 98th Congress, 2nd Session, 1983-1984, 0.5 linear feet

Subseries 9: 99th Congress, 1st Session, 1985-1986, 1.0 linear foot

Subseries 10: 99th Congress, 2nd Session, 1985-1986, 0.5 linear feet

Subseries 11: 100th Congress, 1st Session, 1987-1988, 0.6 linear feet

Subseries 12: 100th Congress, 2nd Session, 1987-1988, 0.6 linear feet

Series IX: Photographs, 1969-1988, 1.0 linear foot

Series X: Moving Images, 1976-1988, 1.3 linear feet

Custodial History

Materials in this collection were transferred to Archives and Special Collections at The University of Montana directly from Senator Melcher's office or delivered to Archives and Special Collections by Senator Melcher himself.

Processing Note

The majority of the materials in this collection were originally organized and delivered to the archives by year. The collection was processed by year, but the finding aid has organized materials intellectually by series reflecting the type and/or content of files. During processing of this collection, materials were removed from their original enclosures and placed in acid-free folders. Published materials (i.e.. books, journal articles, government reports) were removed from the collection, as were exact duplicates, and most envelopes from correspondence to Melcher. There are 64.0 linear feet of unprocessed materials, please contact Archives and Special Collections for additional information.

Related Materials

A series of oral history interviews were conducted with John Melcher in 2006 and are housed in Archives and Special Collections at the Mansfield Library (OH 411).

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Detailed Description of the Collection

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Agriculture and state--United States
  • Animal health--Law and legislation--United States
  • Animal welfare--Law and legislation--United States
  • Indians of North America--Government relations
  • Older people--Government policy--United States
  • Public lands--United States
  • Strip mining--Law and legislation--United States
  • Strip mining--Law and legislation--United States

Personal Names

  • Melcher, John, 1924- Archives
  • Stong, Benjamin

Corporate Names

  • United States. Congress. House
  • United States. Congress. House. Committee on Agriculture
  • United States. Congress. House. Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs
  • United States. Animal Welfare Act of 1970
  • United States. Congress. Senate
  • United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Agriculture
  • United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
  • United States. Congress. Senate. Select Committee on Indian Affairs
  • United States. Congress. Senate. Special Committee on Aging
  • United States. Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

Geographical Names

  • Montana--Politics and government--20th century
  • United States--Politics and government--1945-1989

Form or Genre Terms

  • Bills, Legislative--United States
  • Photographs

Occupations

  • Legislators--United States
  • Representatives, U.S. Congress--Montana
  • Senators, U.S. Congress--Montana

Collection processed by Dale Johnson
2007

CC Attribution
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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