Paul Beckett Papers, 1939-1989

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Beckett, Paul Louis, 1913-
Title
Paul Beckett Papers
Dates
1939-1989 (inclusive)
Quantity
5 Linear feet of shelf space, (7 boxes)
Collection Number
Cage 559 (collection)
Summary
Paul Louis Beckett was Professor of Political Science at Washington State University from 1947 to 1977. The papers of Paul Beckett are made up of correspondence with fellow scholars, consisting mostly of letters of recommendation for former students and colleagues, administrative reports on the Department of Political science, and draft writings on research and teaching of municipal government.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open and available for research use.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Paul Louis Beckett, Professor of Political Science at Washington State University from 1947 to 1977, was born October 18, 1913, in Warren County, Illinois. He completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1935 at Monmouth College, a Master of Arts at the University of Illinois in 1938, and a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of California at Los Angeles in 1949.

During the early 1940s Beckett was employed in municipal government in Los Angeles and also worked in a war-time administrative agency in Washington, D.C. From 1945 to 1947 he was a member of the faculty of the University of New Mexico, and in 1947 he joined the Political Science faculty of Washington State College. His field of special expertise was municipal government; his interests and research also included the politics of organization and reorganization, individual and group behavior in organizations, decision making, leadership and authority, communication, and how to ensure administrative responsiveness and responsibility.

During the 1950s, a time when many colonized countries in the Middle East gained independence, Beckett actively participated in the establishment of municipal governments while teaching at the American University in Beirut. In 1952, Beckett, his wife, and their two young children traveled to Beirut, where he established the Department of Political Science at the American University and taught the history and fundamentals of municipal government.

After returning from Beirut, Beckett extended his administrative duties at Washington State College, serving as chair of the Department of Political Science for eight years. In 1957 he was a public administration consultant to the planning board of the Pakistani government.

In addition to his teaching and administrative activities, Beckett was also an active member of the American Political Science Association, the Pacific Northwest Political Science Association, The American Association of University Professors, and the American Society for Public Administration.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The papers of Paul Beckett are made up of correspondence with fellow scholars, consisting mostly of letters of recommendation for former students and colleagues, administrative reports on the Department of Political science, and draft writings on research and teaching of municipal government.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Copyright restrictions apply.

Preferred Citation

[Item Description] Paul Beckett Papers, 1939-1989

Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The papers have been only slightly rearranged from Beckett's original filing system. The collection is arranged in three series.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1939-1979

Series 2: Subject Files, 1940-1976

Series 3: Addendum (added materials), 1939-1989. This sequence consists of materials added to the collection after initial processing. It contains correspondence, subject files, and miscellaneous information concerning Washington State College and the city of Pullman.

Acquisition Information

The Washington State University Libraries received papers of Paul Beckett in two installments (accession numbers UA 1978-08 and MS 1985-44). One group of papers (UA 1987-08) was incorrectly identified as university records at the time of receipt. The two accessions were combined in October 1988.

Processing Note

This collection was processed by Harvey Young in October 1988. Torsten Homberger processed the added material in the Addendum and revised this collection guide in 2009.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

Series 1: Correspondence, 1939-1979Return to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
Business correspondence
Box Folder
1 1
1938-1939
1 2
1940
1 3
1941
1 4
1942 (includes curriculum vitae)
1 5
1943
1 6
1944
1 7
1945
1 8
1946
1 9
1947
1 10
1948
1 11
1949
1 12-13
1950
1 14-15
1951 (January-June)
1 16
1951 (July-December)
1 17
1952
1 18-19
1953 (January-June)
1 20
1953 (July-August)
1 21-22
1954
1 23-24
1955 (January-June)
1 25
1955 (July-December)
1 26
1956 (January-June)
1 27-28
1954 (July-December)
1 29
1957 (January-September)
1 30
1957 (September-December)
1 31
1958 (January-June)
1 32-33
1958 (July-December)
1 34-35
1959 (January-May)
1 36-37
1959 (June-December)
1 38-39
1960 (January-June)
1 40
1960 (July-December)
1 41-42
1961 (January-June)
1 43
1961 (July-December)
1 44
1962 (January-August)
1 45
1962 (September-December)
1 46-47
1963 (January-June)
1 48
1963 (July-December)
1 49
1964 (January-June)
Personal Correspondence
Box Folder
1 50
Richard Butler, 1963-1964
1 51
Wallace E. Caldwell, 1956-1960
1 52
John D. Blacken, 1955-1959
1 53
Judith Carr, 1964
1 54
Jawad Dajani, 1952-1959
1 55
Earl Darrah, 1959-1961
2 56
Jerry Davis, 1959-1963
2 57
Jeanne Howe, 1962-1965
2 58
William L. Jackson, 1968-1970
2 59
John Junker, 1958-1963
2 60
William H. Lee, 1956-1963
2 61
Timothy Manring, 1961-1965
2 62
Stanley G. McClure, 1957-1962
2 63
Donna McIntrie, 1964-1965
2 64
Lawrence K. Muns, 1960-1963
2 65
Charles S. Oldham, 1968
2 66
Howard Payne, 1951-1953
2 67
Catherine Peat, 1959-1960
2 68
Roger D. Reed, 1961-1964
2 69
Fred Segrest, 1961-1965
2 70
Ann Stuart Sheldon, 1962-1968
2 71
Thomas Franklin Stinson, 1963-1965
2 72
Celeste Sunderland, 1950-1959
2 73
Karl Van Asselt, 1964-1966
Washington State College students' correspondence
Box Folder
2 74
1948-1953
2 75
1954-1958
2 76
1958-1960
2 77
1960-1961
2 78
1962
2 79
1963
2 80-80.1
1964
2 81
1965
2 82
1966
2 83
1967
2 84
1968
2 85
1969
2 86
1970
2 87
1971
2 88
1972
2 89
1973
2 90
1974
2 91
1975
2 92
1976
2 93
1975-1979

Series 2: Subject Files, 1940-1976Return to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
Box Folder
2 94
Ad hoc Committee on Dedication of Johnson Tower, 1966-1967
2 95-98
American Assembly on State Government, 1956
2 99-100
American Assembly paper on Washington, 1956
2 101
American Association of University Professors, WSC (WSU) chapter, 1954-1973
American Society for Public Administration
Box Folder
2 102
Conference reporting committee, 1958
2 103-105
Reporting committee correspondence, 1959
2 106-109
Inland Empire chapter, 1956-1969
2 110
National conference, 1959
Box Folder
2 111
Annals book review, 1956
2 112
Annals book review, 1965
2 113
Associated Students of Washington State University and Communist speakers, 1963-1964
2 114
Beckett as Coordinator of Graduate Studies and Graduate Students, 1964-1977
2 115-117
Beckett as Dad's Day King, 1959
2 118
Beckett Goes to Beirut, 1951
2 119
Beckett Goes to Pakistan, 1957 (plus: The Confessions of a "Biased Professor," by H. Paul Castleberry)
2 120
Beckett's Training and Experience, 1947
2 121
Budget Requests, History and Political Science, 1951-1953
2 122
"Bureaucracy and Democracy," 1952
2 123
"Civil Service in Beverly Hills, California," 1940
2 124
College Committee On Review, 1955-1956
2 125
Committee for Redistricting Washington State, 1962
2 126
Crowell Commonwealth Series, 1950-1951
2 127
Department of History and Political Science Enrollment, 1947-1948
2 128
Department of History and Political Science newsletter, 1956
2 129
Department of History and Political Science newsletter, 1960
2 130
Division of Governmental Studies and Services, 1966-1968
2 131
Evaluation of Hugh Bone's Executive Article for a model State Constitution, 1968 April
2 132
Faculty Status Committee, 1973-1974
2 133
Faculty Status Committee, annual and treasurer's reports, 1969-1974
2 134
Faculty Status Committee, Senate Review
2 135-136
Faculty Service Reports, 1947-1969
From Wilderness to Enabling Act, The Evolution of A State of Washington, by Paul Beckett, 1968
Box Folder
2 137
Chapters 1-3
3 138
Chapter 4
3 139
Appendix
3 140
Galley proof
Box Folder
3 141
Fulbright to Egypt, 1961
Graduate Student Committees and Examinations (Work Completed)
Box Folder
3 142
1948-1970
3 143
1970-1977
Box Folder
3 144
Illinois Law Review, 1942-1946.
3 145
Institute of World Affairs, University of Southern California, 1954
3 146
J. Kimbrough Owen Memorial Fund, 1957
3 147
Judicial Review of Labor Legislation in California, 1880-1910; 1961
3 148-149
Legislation and Representation: Papers and Articles, 1938-1939
3 150
"Letter from Beirut," 1952
3 151
Los Angeles Town Hall Constitution, 1943
3 152
Los Angeles Town Hall Municipal and County Government, 1945
3 153-159
Miscellaneous, 1949-1958
3 160
Mock Political Convention, WSU, 1956
3 161
Mock Political Convention, WSU, 1964
3 162
Pacific Northwest Assembly on Federal Government and Higher Education, 1960
3 163
Pacific Northwest Library Association project, 1956
3 164
Pacific Northwest Panel on State Government, Moscow, 1955
3 165
Pacific Northwest Political Science Association panel on honors programs, 1963
3 166
Pacific Northwest Political Science Association presidency, 1957-1958
3 167
Pacific Northwest Quarterly book review, 1962-1963
3 168
Personnel Administration in Santa Monica, CA, 1940
3 169
Phi Kappa Phi, WSU Chapter, President's file, 1967-1968
3 170
Phi Kappa Phi Scholarship Committee, 1963-1966
3 171
Phi Sigma Alpha National Council, 1974-1978
3 172
Political Science 440 final course schedule, 1976
3 173
Political Science 445 evaluation and incentives, undated
3 174
Political Science 592: Dr. Beckett's Last Seminar, 1976
3 175
"Politics, Personalities, and Pensions, Final Report on Santa Monica Personnel Administration," 1940
3 176
Pre-law, Political Science Department, 1961
3 177
Presidential Address, Eleventh annual meeting Pacific Northwest Political Science Association, 1958
3 178
Project on State Government, 1955-1961
3 179
Public Administration Training as Technical Assistance: Some Further Observations Based on Experience in Beirut
3 180
Public Opinion Laboratory, WSC, 1949-1950
3 181
Public Opinion poll on Washington State Government, 1950
3 182
"Quest for Quality Conference," University of Washington, 1962
3 183
Research Council Presidency, 1949-1950
3 184
Review of Khadduri and Liebesney, Law in the Middle East, 1956
3 185
Labor Legislation in California, 1961
3 186
Reviews of Henry Goodnow on The Civil Service of Pakistan, 1965
3 187
Society for International Development, Korean research project, 1968
3 188
Speeches, 1940-1952
3 189
Speeches, 1952-1971
3 190
Student-Faculty questionnaires, University of New Mexico, 1946
3 191
Technical Assistance article for Washington State Review, 1958
3 192
"The California Supreme Court and Early Efforts at Labor Legislation," Chapter 12, 1949
3 193
The Concept of Evolution in Peter Kropotkin's Anarchism: A Study of Revolutionary Theory, by Paul Beckett, 1938
3 194
"The Conflict between North and South," talk for USC Institute of World Affairs, 1958
3 195
"The Executive as Ropedancer," talk at the University of British Columbia, 1962
3 196
"The International Law of Aerial Navigation," 1940
4 197
"The Professional School and World Affairs," regional conference, University of Oregon, 1967
4 198
Third annual Institute on World Affairs, 1958
4 199
University of New Mexico, undated
4 200
Washington Political Science Association Executive Council, 1959-1961
4 201
"Washington State's Lawmakers," Washington Political Quarterly, 1957
4 202
"Washington State's New Merit System Law" (manuscript), 1962
4 203
Washington State University Institute of World Affairs, 1960
4 204
Water Research Center project, Harvey Doerkson, 1972
4 205-207
Western Governmental Research Association second annual conference, 1962
4 208
Western Political Quarterly, 1964-1965
4 209
Western Political Science Association, 1957
4 210
Whitman County, WA, government, 1947-1948
4 211
Whitman County manuscripts and working papers, 1950
4 212
Woodrow Wilson Award Committee, 1955
4 213
Workshop for middle managers talk, Fairchild Air Force Base, 1964

Series 3: Addendum (added materials), 1939-1989Return to Top

Container(s) Description
Box Folder
Correspondence, Washington State College Department of History and Political Science
Box Folder
5 214
1951-1953
5 215
1965
5 216
1966
5 217
1967
5 218
1968
5 219
1969
5 220
1970
5 221
1971
5 222
1972
5 223
1973
5 224
1974
5 225
1975
5 226
1976
5 227
1977
Correspondence, personal
Box Folder
6 228
I. Cecil Asfour, 1958-1963
6 229
Clarence A. Berdahl, 1939-1949
6 230
Ronald Beyensee, 1956, 1958, 1969
6 231
Paul and Ben Booz, 1957-1959
6 232
Carol F. Clark, 1960-1961, 1982
6 233
Dr. and Mrs. Wilson Martindale Compton, 1957-1967
6 234
Mike and Ethel Crowe, 1962-1967
6 235
Earl Davis, 1939-1955
6 236
Melvin Davis, 1960-1974
6 237
Tom Donnelly, 1945-1946
6 238
Pierre Ecoiffier, 1959
6 239
Ernst W. Gohlert, 1966-1975
6 240
J.A.C. Grant, 1939, 1941, 1946
6 241
Charles B. Hagan, 1938-1978
6 242
Robert J. Harris, 1939-1949
6 243
Bruce and Lolly Haston, 1968-1971
6 244
Jack Holmes, 1947-1955
6 245
Robert and JoAnn Lampman, 1953
6 246
William and Eliza Landeen, 1959
6 247
Mr. and Mrs. C.B. Martin, 1942-1943
6 248
Art and Bertha O'Neil, 1943, 1952
6 249
Walter C. Schnackenberg, 1954-1973
6 250
Maxine Guse Semmel, 1955-1959
6 251
Harold Scheffelman, 1955-1959
6 252
Foster Sherwood, 1948-1956
6 253
Clyde F. Snider, 1939-1971
6 254
Thor Swanson, 1951-1964
6 255
Dave and Olga Mary Wilder, 1953-1954
6 256
American University of Beirut students, 1952-1966
Subject files
Box Folder
6 257
Ad hoc committee on General Graduation Requirements, 1962-1964
7 258
The American Political Science Association Conference, 1972
7 259
Beckett-Lamp Water Research Center grant, 1975
7 260
County Government Across the Nation, Chapter 5 (annotated typescript)
7 261
Haynes Foundation, Los Angeles, 1943-1944
7 262-272
Miscellaneous newspaper clippings and printed ephemera, 1960-1973
7 273
Pacific Northwest Political Science Association, 1958-1981
7 274
Potential article, research on Washington legislative committees, 1951-1959
7 275
Potential article, research on birth places of Washington legislators, 1889-1989
7 276
Research Studies, 1951-1959
7 277
"The Role of the Representative Assembly in a Democracy," 1939
7 278
United States Bureau of Budget, 1949-1953
7 279
Western Government Research Association, Conference Proceedings, 1959
7 280
Western Political Science Association conference programs, 1951-1974

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Political science -- Study and teaching.

Personal Names

  • Beckett, Paul Louis, 1913- -- Archives

Corporate Names

  • Washington State University -- Faculty -- Archives.

Finding aid prepared by Torsten Homberger.
2016

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