Burton Kendall Wheeler papers, 1910-1972

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Wheeler, Burton K. (Burton Kendall), 1882-1975
Title
Burton Kendall Wheeler papers
Dates
1910-1972 (inclusive)
Quantity
15 linear feet of shelf space
Collection Number
MC 34
Summary
Burton K. Wheeler (1882-1975) was U.S. Senator from Montana from 1923 to 1946. Papers include biographical materials; general correspondence (1910-1972, but primarily 1939-1940); campaign materials (1924-1946); speeches (1923-1959); clippings (1916-1971); transcripts of interviews; drafts of his autobiography; a childhood reminiscence; writings; press releases; printed material of the Senate Interstate Commerce Committee investigation (1936-1942) of the nation's railroads; etc. Subject matter is concentrated on foreign neutrality policy, President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Supreme Court reorganization plan, and monetary policy.
Repository
Montana Historical Society, Library & Archives
Montana Historical Society Research Center Archives
225 North Roberts
PO Box 201201
Helena MT
59620-1201
Telephone: 4064442681
Fax: 4064445297
mhslibrary@mt.gov
Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Burton Kendall Wheeler was born February 27, 1882, at Hudson, Massachusetts. After his public schooling and a period of work in the Boston area, Wheeler attended the University of Michigan. He received his law degree in 1905. In October 1905, he settled in Butte, Montana, and began work as a clerk for an established lawyer. The following year, Wheeler went into practice on his own. In 1910, he was elected to serve in the Montana House of Representatives as a Democrat from Silver Bow County. While in the legislature, Wheeler supported the candidacy of Thomas J. Walsh for Senator. For this support, Walsh arranged to have Wheeler appointed U.S. District Attorney for Montana in 1913. He served in this capacity throughout World War I and was the subject of much controversy for his actions in protecting the right of dissent. He resigned in 1918 to avert a possible Walsh defeat.

In 1920, Wheeler was defeated by Joseph M. Dixon in a bitter campaign for governor, but two years later, he was elected U.S. Senator. He held this Senate seat until his defeat in the primary election of 1946. During his Senate career, Wheeler was a constant foe of the "interests" and was chiefly responsible for the exposure and investigation of graft in the Department of Justice (1924-1925). Wheeler was an early supporter of Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal, and served as chairman of the powerful Senate Interstate Commerce Committee. However, in 1937, Wheeler broke with the administration over Roosevelt's unsuccessful bid to "pack" the Supreme Court. His opposition to Roosevelt was again of major importance as a member of the America First Committee and as a supporter of non-involvement in the European war, which began in 1939. Wheeler, because of his widespread support in the Democratic party, was considered a major contender for the presidential nomination in 1940, until Roosevelt announced for a third term. He was strongly considered as a running mate with Roosevelt that year, but refused to accept the nomination. Wheeler again supported non-involvement in 1945-1946, when he opposed the United Nations and loans to our allies after the war.

After his defeat for reelection to the Senate by Leif Erickson in the 1946 primary, Wheeler retired to private law practice in partnership with his son Edward, in Washington, D.C. Burton K. Wheeler died in 1975, at age 93.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

The Wheeler collection consists of thirteen series: General Correspondence (1923-1972), Miscellaneous Correspondence (1924-1956), Campaign Materials (1922-1946), Court Papers (1920, 1924, 1944), Financial Records (1939-1940), Press Releases (1924-1957), Printed Material (1929-1969), Reports (circa 1937), Speeches (1923-1959), Subject Files (1910-1925), Writings (1925-1962), Miscellany (1923-1972), and Clippings (1916-1972).

B.K. Wheeler's General Correspondence concerns the Senate investigation of the Justice Department (1924-1925), neutrality (1939-1942), and other political issues. Correspondents include B.R. Albin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Charles Evans Hughes, Barclay Craighead, Lee Metcalf, Mike Mansfield, Ed Craney, Elizabeth Wheeler Colman, and constituents. The Miscellaneous Correspondence consists of letters neither to nor from Wheeler, but concern subjects Wheeler was interested in, such as the Daugherty Investigating Committee regarding Japanese fishing near California (1924), the National Committee on Relations with Latin America (1927), and the Sewell Avery-Montgomery Ward controversy (1944).

The Campaign Materials consist of pamphlets, flyers, campaign letters from the Wheeler for President Club and the Wheeler for Senate Club, transcripts of radio broadcasts, and a booklet--"That Man Wheeler of Montana"--published and circulated by the Wheeler for President Club.

The Press Releases, Printed Material, and Speeches all cover a wide variety of topics, such as the Progressive Party, Robert M. LaFollette, Sr., Wheeler's indictment, remonetization of silver, reorganization of the Supreme Court, neutrality, World War II, America's post-war policy, agricultural problems, and railroads. In addition, the Printed Material includes Senate committee reports and hearings transcripts of investigations of the attorney general and corruption in the Justice Department (1924) and of corruption in the railroad industry (1937). The Reports consist of the text, index, and exhibits of "An Answer to the Testimony in Behalf of the President's Plan" to reorganize the Supreme Court.

The Subject Files contain material on the investigations of J.G. Darden (1910-1920), Harry M. Daugherty (1924), and the U.S. Justice Department (1920-1925). There are also files on the Wheeler Defense Committee and Wheeler's indictment. Wheeler's Writings include many of the same topics found in the printed material, press releases, and speeches. In addition, there are early drafts of Wheeler's autobiography, Yankee from the West.

The Miscellany series contains biographical material on Wheeler, notably Dayton Stoddard's manuscript for a Wheeler biography. Also included are transcripts of an oral interview (1961) and Wheeler's voting record (1923-1946). The Clippings series includes scrapbooks of clippings on the LaFollette-Wheeler campaign (1924), reorganization of the Supreme Court (1937), the Detroit Chapter of the America First Committee (1941), and Yankee from the West.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Restrictions on Use

Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.

Preferred Citation

Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Research Center, Archives, Helena, Montana.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

Arranged by series. Some material housed in manuscript volumes. Some material housed in oversize folder in archives map case. See inventory below for more information.

Location of Collection

1:3-7

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

Future Additions

There are ongoing accruals to this collection.

Acquisition Information

Acquisition information available upon request

Separated Materials

Photographs, selected printed material, and artifacts were transferred from this collection to the M.H.S. Photo Archives, Library, and Museum respectively.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection

General Correspondence Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
1 / 1
W. Horsly Gantt
1923-1924
1 / 2
William H. Johnson
1924
1 / 3
Katherine D. Blake
1925
1 / 4
Collier's Weekly
1925
1 / 5
Dartmouth College (re admission of son)
1925
1 / 6
Elizabeth G. Evans
1925-1926, 1931
1 / 7
W. Horsley Gantt
1925
1 / 8
Mercer G. Johnston (re B.K. Wheeler indictment)
1925-1926
1 / 9
Henry W. Elliott
1926
1 / 10
The Public Ledger (includes articles "What is a Demagogue"); The Survey (includes article "What Has Become of the Pre-War Radical?")
1926
1 / 11
Foreign Policy Association (re Mexican land and oil law)
1927
1 / 12
W. Horsly Gantt
1927
1 / 13
G-N (correspondents include George Grose; National Magazine)
1927
1 / 14
N-P (correspondents include North Dakota voters; Pacific Coast Review, re impressions of Greece)
1928, 1931
1 / 15
A-F (correspondents include Arthur Babbitt; R.C. Battey; M. Seaton Cohen; Harry L. Day; Denver Trades and Labor Assembly 50th Anniversary Committee; Vin Fortune)
1932
1 / 16
G-L (correspondents include Robert A. Gilchrist; Frank Hancock; "J.H."; Thomas M. Kehoe; Mrs. H.N. Kennedy; Ernest L. Klein; Lester H. Loble; J.B. Love; Allan S. Lund)
1932
1 / 17
M-W (correspondents include James J. Miles; Gerald P. Nye; O'Connor for Congress Club; A.D. Sperry; "J.A.S."; Thomas A. Tobin; U.S. Office of Indian Affairs Fort Belknap Agency; Maude Wheeler)
1932
1 / 18
The Evening Star (Washington, D.C.)
1933
1 / 19
B. R. Albin
1934-1935
1 / 20
James H. Baldwin (includes letters re Baldwin's appointment as district court judge)
1934-1935
1 / 21
Franklin D. Roosevelt
1935
1 / 22
B. R. Albin
1936
1 / 23
C-W (correspondents include Elizabeth Glendower Evans; Harry B. Hawes; Charles Hosmer; C.B. Horsford; Edward Wheeler)
1936
1 / 24
A-G (correspondents include Wallace E. Bacheller; Max Bend-Cohen; H.E. Beverage; James Emery Brooks; Mark Childs; M.A. Deas Jr.; Jean Wilson Dewey; M.J. Francill; O. Gunvaldsen)
1937
1 / 25
Charles Evans Hughes
1937
1 / 26
H-W (correspondents include Douglas Wilson Johnson; Mrs. George T. Haw; H.W. Nethken; Lowell Wadmond)
1937
1 / 27
B. R. Albin
1938
1 / 28
Montana constituents: A-S (includes T.J. Collins; Thomas F. Corbally; Eugene Graf; B.C. Kinman; Jerry O'Connell; M.O. Olsen; Tom Ralston; Ben Stern)
1938
2 / 1
B-L (correspondents include Bendix Products Corporation; Perry B. Dillman; Arthur Franklin Durand; H.H. Evans; John Gaskill; Mark Gibson; Freeman H. Hubbard Railroad Magazine; Edith Hyatt; R.J. Lewis)
1938
2 / 2
M-W (correspondents include Edward C. Maguire; H.W. Nethren; Joseph W. Rebholz; A.J. Ribe; H.S. Sackett; Anna C. Wood)
1939
2 / 3
B. R. Albin
1939
2 / 4
Franklin D. Roosevelt
1939
2 / 5
Wheeler Family
1939
2 / 6
Montana constituents: A-D (include Joe Bosone; J. Burke Clements; Thomas F. Corbally; Barclay Craighead; Ed Craney)
1939
2 / 7
Montana constituents: F-H (include Frank Finnegan; S.C. Ford; P.L. Grantham; Leverne Hamilton; Helena Trades and Labor Assembly; Mike Holland; Fred G. Huntington; W.C. Husband)
1939
2 / 8
Montana constituents: J-M (include Frank T. Kelsey; Elizabeth V. Kennedy; H.R. Kester, Miles City Star; A.F. Lamey, Democratic State Central Committee; Norman LeFever; E.G. Leipheimer; J.B. Lowe; Harry McGregor; E.M. Mestad; R.R. Mowry)
1939
2 / 9
Montana constituents: N (include John W. Nelson; G.A. Norris; H. Norskog)
1939
2 / 10
Montana constituents: O-S (include James F. O'Connor; John C. O'Grady; Lewis Penwell; E.L. Shields; Pat C. Sullivan; E.E. Sweitzer; Lloyd W. Swords)
1939
2 / 11
Montana constituents: T-W (include Earl Talbott; O.S. Warden, Great Falls Tribune; Dan Whetstone, Cut Bank Pioneer Press; Sid A. Willis; George A. Wright)
1939
2 / 12
Non-constituents: A-B (include P.M. Abbott; O.J. Arnold; Elmer Benson; W.J. Borland; John F. Byrne)
1939
2 / 13
Non-constituents: C-E (include Joseph E. Cassidy; S. Bayard Colgate; Howard Coonley; Bessie W. Croxdale; John P. Devaney; Wallace Doying, enclosing a biographical sketch of Wheeler; Harry M. Doyle, Hudson, Mass. News-Enterprise; Cyrus S. Eaton)
1939
2 / 14
Non-constituents: F (include Perlie P. Fallon; Louis N. Fehlberg; Edward FitzGerald; Clarence Francis)
1939
2 / 15
Non-constituents: G (include Ray George; Robert L. Glenn; William Green, AFL; Joseph H. Griffin)
1939
2 / 16
Non-constituents: H (include Frederick Brown Harris; Milton W. Harrison; J.N. Haynie; Albert Charles Hyland)
1939
3 / 1
Non-constituents: J-L (include Mercer T. Johnston; Frank E. Lawrence; Lawrence Lipkin, Young Folks Civic League)
1939
3 / 2
Non-constituents: M (include Ray McKaig; Lemuel P. Mathews; Harold J. May; Frank Miles, Iowa Legionaire; Julius H. Miner; Maude T. Mitchell; John Moses)
1939
3 / 3
Non-constituents: N-P (include New York Committee to Keep America Out of War, enclosing radio speech of Rev. F.J. Beckman; Charles H. O'Donnell; James F. O'Kelly, Paul Revere Sentinels, Inc.; Anthony J. O'Malley, Wheeler Homecoming Celebration, Hudson, Mass.; Harry E. Polk, Williston Daily Herald; E.A. Purdy)
1939
3 / 4
Non-constituents: R-S (include C.A. Robertson; Reid Robinson, International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers; C.C. Rowan; Andrew G. Sathre; Arthur E. Seagrave; Harold M. Sherman; James A. Stone)
1939
3 / 5
Non-constituents: T-Y (include Sol Taishoff; Charles E. Taylor; Lockwood Thompson; A.J. Thoner; Brice Toole; Walter S. Wheeler; B. Loring Young)
1939
3 / 6
B. R. Albin
1940
3 / 7
J. Burke Clements
1940
3 / 8
Barclay Craighead
1940
3 / 9
Ed Craney
1940
3 / 10
Arthur Lamey
1940
3 / 11
Lee Metcalf
1940
3 / 12
Mike Mansfield
1940
3 / 13
Richard Neuberger
1940
3 / 14
R. Bailey Stortz
1940
3 / 15
Montana constituents: A-B (include W.F. Aldrich; F.L. Anderson; Roy E. Ayers; D.A. Batchoff enclosing statement of Harrison Freebourn about his persecution by Anaconda Company; William K. Brown; John E. Byrne)
1940
3 / 16
Montana constituents: C (include Ed Campbell; Pat Carter; E.B. Coolidge; Thomas F. Corbally)
1940
3 / 17
Montana constituents: D (include F.L. Darland; J.C. Darrah)
1940
3 / 18
Montana constituents: E-F (include Willard Fraser; Mearl Fagg; Grace Field; W.F. Flynn, Miles City Star; L.D. French)
1940
4 / 1
Montana constituents: G-K (include P.E. Geagan; Robert Granger enclosing flyer "Highlights of the Roosevelt Record on Indian Affairs"; Claude B. Gray, Montana Farm Bureau; Leo C. Graybill; Charles D. Greefield; T.J. Hocking, Glasgow Courier; A.J. Holderman; Mike Holland; Charles E. Holly; T.E. Kamrud; Elizabeth Kennedy)
1940
4 / 2
Montana constituents: L-M (include John Leahy; Lester H. Loble (enclosing article on founding of Helena airplane mechanics training program; J.B. Love; John A. Lovelace; George N. McCabe; Joe McCabe; Earl McGinnis, Lewistown Democrat-News; C.H. McLeod; Bob Mackie; Pat Murphy)
1940
4 / 3
Montana constituents: N-R (include John W. Nelson; Albert J. Partoll; Margaret Patterson; Lewis Penwell; Peter Rorvick)
1940
4 / 4
Montana constituents: S-V (include O.H.P. Shelley, Red Lodge Picket-Journal; Lewis Spaulding, Townsend News and Comments; Tom Stout, Lewistown Democrat-News; A.J. Stuart; E.E. Sweitzer; Amanda O. Swift)
1940
4 / 5
Montana constituents: W-Z (include O.S. Warden, Great Falls Tribune; Sam B. Winn)
1940
4 / 6
Non-constituents: A (include P.M. Abbott; H.C. Alderson; O.K. Armstrong enclosing article from NY Journal-American)
1940
4 / 7
Non-constituents: B (include William L. Bay; Brancko Bechir; David L. Behncke, Air Line Pilots Assn.; Robert Bendiner The Nation re article on Wheeler; Arthur L. Boreman Dry Goods Journal; Rolland Bradley; Martin O. Brandon; J.G. Bruce, Idaho Public Utilities Commission; Charles C. Buck; J.W. Buckwelter)
1940
4 / 8
Non-constituents: C (include William J. Clark; Ed P. Cleary; A.B. Cochran; Thomas E. Cooper; W.F. Cooper; Howard Costigan)
1940
5 / 1
Non-constituents: D (include Kenneth C. Davis; Vincent A. Day; Prescott Dennett; R.W. Digges; C.C. Dill; E.Z. Dimitman, Philadelphia Inquirer; Manuel Dittenheimer)
1940
5 / 2
Non-constituents: E-F (include George Eyrich; William L. Fitzgerald; Margaret A. Flanagan; Vin Fortune)
1940
5 / 3
Non-constituents: G (include Linn A.E. Gale, Make Europe Pay War Debts Committee; Phil H. Gallagher; Harry Gambichler; Ralph E. Gates; Arthur M. Geary; Ben S. Gellenbeck; B.M. Gentry; Ray George)
1940
5 / 4
Non-constituents: H (include Louis Bree Harrison; W.E. Hassler, Washington State Democrat; Edward E. Henry; Charles J. Hitchcock; Roy W. Howard, Scripps-Howard Newspapers)
1940
5 / 5
Non-constituents: I-K (include Adolph Igra; George P. Jones; Charles M. Kearney, National Beet Growers Assn.; Edward Keating, Labor; Warren G. Keith; L.M. Kesler)
1940
5 / 6
Non-constituents: L (include George J. Leary; Ernest K. Lindley)
1940
5 / 7
Non-constituents: Mc (include Charles A. McCarron; C.B. McCullar, Milledgeville News)
1940
6 / 1
Non-constituents: M (include Dona Marchand; Edward Marsten; George W. Merkle; James W. Miller, Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers; J. Emerson Miller; J. Merancy Murphy)
1940
6 / 2
Non-constituents: N-O (include Willard J. Nash; Lawrence E. Nelson, enclosing paper on legality of third term; Norman C. Norman; Eugene P. O'Brien, Albany County Commissioner, Pennsylvania; Carl D. Oppenheimer, enclosing radio talks on Wheeler)
1940
6 / 3
Non-constituents: P-R (include Samuel B. Pettengill, enclosing a legislative newsletter re third term issue; Harold Putnam, Boston Globe; Adolphus Ragan; Calvin M. Roberts; Frank A. Roberts; C.A. Robertson; D.B. Robertson, Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen and Enginemen; Reid Robinson, International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers; C.C. Rowan)
1940
6 / 4
Non-constituents: S-V (include Fred H. Schomburg; Elizabeth Scott; E.C. Scoyen; Arthur E. Seagrave; John W. Smith re farm situation in Colorado; Clyde H. Tavenner, aide to Congressman A.J. Sabath; M.W. Thatcher, Farmers Union Grain Terminal Association; Francis E. Townsend)
1940
6 / 5
Non-constituents: W (include E. Welsh; William Allen White; A.F. Whitney, Brotherhood of Railroad Trainmen; Richard W. Wilson)
1940
6 / 6
C-W (correspondents include Columbia Broadcasting System; Detroit News WWJ re Wheeler radio speech; Frank Evans re Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League to Champion Human Rights, Inc.; "Hutch" re Sen. Murray; Gerald Jones; J.J. Kindscher)
1941-1943
6 / 7
A-H (correspondents include Arthur M. Anderson; William J.H. Boetcher; R.L. Frazier, re Under Cover by John Roy Carlson, a.k.a. Avedis Derounian; Milton W. Harrison)
1944
6 / 8
K-Y (correspondents include Mrs. S. Franklin Pierce enclosing flyer on Under Cover; Sam Swain re Under Cover)
1944
6 / 9
Elizabeth Wheeler Colman
1945
6 / 10
C (correspondents include J. Burke Clements; R.C. Crays)
1945
6 / 11
A-V (correspondents include Joe Bauer; Dan Bollich, Treasury Dept. re David George Kin, aka Samuel Roth, and book Plot Against America; Mearl Fagg; James Forrestal; Fred Naegele; Martin Norager; Clarence Hughes; Ricardo Seeber; unidentified)
1946-1947
7 / 1
A-W (correspondents include E.F. McDonald, Jr.; Felix Frankfurter re old indictment against Wheeler; Dayton Stoddard re book; M.W. Thatcher; Robert G. Athearn)
1951-1959
7 / 2
Ed Craney
1960-1970
7 / 3
Elizabeth Wheeler Colman
1962
7 / 4
C-T (mostly re Yankee from the West)
1961-1969
7 / 5
Ed Craney
1971-1973
7 / 6
Montana Historical Society (re the New Deal)
1970
7 / 7
M-W (correspondents include William C. Sullivan; K. Ross Toole; Edward F. McGrady; Oscar Wheeler)
1971-1972, undated
7 / 8
Crow-Assiniboine Indians (re right to sue in court)
undated

Miscellaneous Correspondence Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
7 / 9
Daugherty Investigating Committee (re Japanese fishing near California and re Gaston B. Means)
1924
7 / 10
O. E. Pagan to William J. Donovan (re Gordon Campbell)
1925
7 / 11
Mercer G. Johnston to Mr. Sherman (re National Committee on Relations with Latin America)
1927
7 / 12
B. R. Albin and Willard E. Fraser (re B. K. Wheeler and Charles Lindbergh)
1941
7 / 13
B. R. Albin (re Sewell Avery-Montgomery Ward controversy)
1944
7 / 14
B. R. Albin and B. Clements
1945
7 / 15
Frances Wheeler Sayler (re Wheeler biography)
1951-1956

Campaign Materials Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
7 / 16
B.K. Wheeler senate campaign
1922
7 / 17
LaFollette-Wheeler campaign
1924
7 / 18-19
B.K. Wheeler senate campaigns
1928, 1934
7 / 20
Wheeler for President Club
1938
Oversize Folder
1
"The Wheeler-for-President Circular"
1940
Box/Folder
7 / 22
Wheeler for President Club
1940
7 / 23-24
B.K. Wheeler senate campaigns
1940, 1946

Court Papers Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
7 / 25
Grossman vs. United States; and Grossman vs. Frank et al. transcript of record
1920
7 / 26
United States vs. Means deposition; Charles Weinfeld deposition
1924
7 / 27
John J. McGrain vs. Mally S. Daugherty Appellee's briefs
1924
7 / 28
United States vs. Joseph McWilliams et al. plea of defendant Eugene Nelson Sanctuary [copy; also includes pamphlet "Roosevelt's Impeachment Blocked by Congressmen"]
1944

Financial Records Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
7 / 28
Wheeler for President Club: paid contributions and list of expenditures
December 1939- July, 1940

Press Releases Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
8 / 1
re Progressive Party; Robert M. LaFollette, Sr.; B.K. Wheeler indictment
1924-1925
8 / 2
re prohibition; announcement for re-election; Fordney-McCumber tariff act
1926-1929
8 / 3
re remonetization of silver; Democratic National Convention
1926-1929
8 / 4
re announcement for re-election; remonetization of silver
1934, 1936
8 / 5
re reorganization of Supreme Court; Federal Land Bank interest rates
1937
8 / 6
re investigation of railroad finance; arms race; Railway Labor Executives' Association; waste and losses in railroad industry
1938
8 / 7
re Felix Frankfurter; reorganization of Federal Communications Commission; investigation of railroads; survey of telegraph industry; President Roosevelt's Reorganization Plan No. 1; Transportation Act (S.2009); Wheeler homecoming, Hudson, Mass.)
1939
8 / 8
re Wheeler-Rayburn Holding Company Act; Nazi control of American defense industries; profiteering in national defense
1940
8 / 9
re investigation of alleged attacks by U.S. Navy on German submarines; Nazi domination of Europe; Anti-Sabotage Act
1941
8 / 10
re neglect by railroads of safety devices; legislation for dependent relatives of soldiers killed in action
1945
8 / 11
re Burton K. Wheeler Scholarship, Montana State University Law School
1957
8 / 12
re Railroad Reorganization Act (S 2009); Seaboard Company, Ltd.; federal guarantee of bank deposits; U.S. Reclamation Service; drought in Montana; Gerald P. Nye; the Flathead Project; William Leahy; American workers; seed loans to farmers on relief; 73rd Congress
undated

Photographs Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
8 / 13
List of photographs transferred to the Photo Archives

Printed Material Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
8 / 14
"Indian Affairs: Letters of Commissioner" (re land allotments, liens upon Indian lands, tribal claims pending before Commission, and irrigation of Indian lands)
1929
8 / 15
Bimetallism (includes "Independent Bimetallism or Bolschevism?" by Jonathan Bourne, Jr.; "The Silver Question: Elementary Facts Bearing on the Silver Question" by Joel F. Vaile, 1896
1896, 1932-1933
8 / 16
"Brief on Peace-Time Military Conscription" submitted by Lawyers Committee to Keep the United States Out of War
circa 1940
8 / 17-18
Congressional Record reprints re B.K. Wheeler
1924-1959
8 / 19
Democratic Party
1932-1940
8 / 20
Jerry O'Connell for Congress
1938
8 / 21
List of printed material transferred to the Library
8 / OvFd
"Report of the Official Canvass of the Vote Cast at the Primary Election Held in the State of Montana, July 21, 1936" (annotated with Jerry O'Connell votes, July 19, 1938)
1936
8 / 22
"Rules of the Municipal Court for the District of Columbia"
1950
8 / 23-24
Supreme Court reorganization
1937
8 / 25
U.S. House Judiciary Committee inquiry into the conduct of Harry M. Daugherty: adverse report and minority views
January 1923
9 / 1-2
U.S. Senate Select Committee on the Investigation of the Attorney General, hearings Vol. 1-3 (re Harry M. Daugherty and Teapot Dome scandal)
March-June 1924
9 / 3
U.S. Senate Select Committee on Interstate Commerce: To Prevent Uniform Delivered Prices, hearings
March-April 1936
9 / 4
U.S. Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce: Investigation of Railroads, Holding Companies, and Affiliated Companies: preliminary report (re MidAmerica Corporation)
March 1937
10 / 1-5
U.S. Senate Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate Commerce: Investigation of Railroads, Holding Companies, and Affiliated Companies: hearings, parts 1-10
December 1936- October 1937
11 / 1-6
U.S. Senate Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate Commerce: Investigation of Railroads, Holding Companies, and Affiliated Companies: hearings, parts 11-22
October 1937- March 1938
12 / 1-3
U.S. Senate Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate Commerce: Investigation of Railroads, Holding Companies, and Affiliated Companies: hearings, parts 23-29
March 1938- 1942
12 / 4
U.S. Senate Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate Commerce: Investigation of Railroads, Holding Companies, and Affiliated Companies: report no. 25, parts 1-27
1939-1940
12 / 5
U.S. Senate Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate Commerce: Investigation of Railroads, Holding Companies, and Affiliated Companies: report no. 1182 parts 1-2
1940
13 / 1-2
U.S. Senate Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate Commerce: Investigation of Railroads, Holding Companies, and Affiliated Companies: report no. 1182 parts 3-5
1940
13 / 3
U.S. Senate Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate Commerce: Investigation of Railroads, Holding Companies, and Affiliated Companies: report no. 26 parts 1-2
1941
13 / 4-5
U.S. Senate Subcommittee of the Committee on Interstate Commerce: Investigation of Railroads, Holding Companies, and Affiliated Companies: report no. 714 parts 1-4
1941-1942
14 / 1
"War and Labor Voting Records: U.S. Congress 1937-1941" compiled and published by Congressional Intelligence
1942
14 / 2
B.K. Wheeler
circa 1925- 1944, undated
14 / 3
World War II [additional material in Oversize Folder]
1940-1942
14 / 4
Miscellaneous government publications
1936-1942
14 / 5
Miscellaneous
1938-1969
14 / 6-10
"An Answer to the Testimony in Behalf of the President's Plan" (re reorganization of the Supreme Court: includes index, text, and exhibits; some material in Oversize Folder)
circa 1937

Speeches Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
15 / 1
"The Building of a Nation" (re American politics)
1923
15 / 2
Address before the laymen of the Methodist Conference at City Club, Boston (excerpts, re the economy)
January 1924
15 / 3
Speeches made during the LaFollette-Wheeler campaign
1924
15 / 4
"Child Labor Amendment"
1925
15 / 5
re Robert M. Lafollette, Sr.; Robert M. LaFollette, Jr.
1925
15 / 6
"Irresponsible Autocracy" (re Coolidge administration); "It Is Time to Call a Halt" (re Indians' right to sue the federal government); "Long-and-Short-Haul Clause of Interstate Commerce Act"; "Reply to Commissioner Burke's Accusations"; "What the Progressive Farmers of the South Think of the McNary-Haugen Bill"; "What is Back of the So-Called Administration Farm Bill" (re farm prices, agriculture)
1926
15 / 7
re Nicaragua; "Farm Relief"
1927
15 / 8
"Concessions in Foreign Countries"; "Why Are We in Nicaragua?"; "Pullman Surcharge"; "Railroad Rates on Agricultural Products"; "Campaign Expenditures"; "Mexican Situation"
1928
15 / 9
"Farm Relief Bill"; "Federal Farm Board"; "Grundy Appointment"; "Grundyism"; Senator Brookhart's re-election
1929
15 / 10
"What the Progressive Democrats and Republicans Are Fighting for in Congress"; "The Rayon Industry and the Tariff"; "Muscle Shoals and the Power Question"; national parks; monopolies; Smoot-Hawley Tariff; "The Trend from Democracy to Autocracy" (re government by commissions and bureaus)
1930
15 / 11
"What the Nation Needs"; "The Farm Problem"; "Lobbying"; the Balkan situation; power rates' Tom Moody pardon
1931
15 / 12
"Remonetization of Silver"; "Money and the Price Level"; "Muscle Shoals and the Power Question"; Thomas Jefferson
1932
15 / 13
Franklin D. Roosevelt nomination; National Farmers' Union; "The United States and Europe"
1932
15 / 14
"Remonetization of Silver"; "Dishonest Bankers"; "Silver Money"; "The Silver Question"; "Inflation"; "Bimetallism"
1933
16 / 1
"The Five Year Plan" (re Soviet Union); "Will of the West"; "Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Treaty"; St. Patrick's Day address; silver remonetization
1934
16 / 2
"World Court"; "Government Ownership of Railroads"; "Public Utility Holding Company Bill"; "The Real Red Menace" (re public utility holding companies); "Issues Before America" (re corporations); "Interstate Bus Control"; interest rates and the farm depression; silver remonetization
1935
16 / 3
"Consumer Cooperatives"; "Cooperatives in Rural Electrification"; problems posed by the Depression; "Railroads' Problems Today"
1936
16 / 4
Senate campaign speeches
1936
16 / 5
Investigation of agricultural income and the financial and economic condition of agricultural producers; "What Is the Most Important Issue Before the American People Today?"; "America Must Choose"; water conservation; Wheeler-Rayburn Holding Company Act
1936
16 / 6-8
Reorganization of the Supreme Court
1937
16 / 9
"The Interstate Commerce Act and the Interstate Commerce Commission from the Standpoint of the United States Senate"; "What Congress Can Do Now on Taxation"; "Naziism vs. Americanism"; executive reorganization; U.S. Constitution
1937
17 / 1
"Railroad Situation Today"; regulation of broadcasting; waste in railroad industry; "Transportation Outlook"
1938
17 / 2
"Statement on the Big Navy Bill"; "W.P.A. and Politics"; "Reorganization of Executive Departments"; "The Silver Policy"; speech to United Palestine Appeal; "False Statements of Congressman Jerry O'Connell"
1938
17 / 3
"Foreign Policy and Neutrality"; "America Must Remain at Peace"
1939
17 / 4
"Farm-Mortgage Refinancing"; Wheeler homecoming
1939
17 / 5
National issues; agricultural legislation; "A Liberal Looks at Private Enterprise"; speech to National Association of Manufacturers; neutrality and the national economy
1939
17 / 6
"Present Railroad Problems"; "Our Transportation Problem"; "How Can We Solve the Railroad Problem"; "Railroad Problems and Their Relief"
1939
17 / 7
"Keep Out of War"; nomination of Henry L. Stimson and Frank Knox; "The Dangers of Peacetime Conscription with Democracy"; "Is Peace Time Conscription Consonant with Democracy?"; "Peacetime Conscription"; "Let's Go to War Now: an Answer"; "Conscription and National Defense"; "Our Foreign Policy"; "A Just Peace"; "Should the United States Urge a Negotiated Peace Now?"
1940
17 / 8
Andrew Jackson; transportation legislation; United Mine Workers; Abraham Lincoln; railroad problem; "Government Control of Business"; "1940 Liberalism"; neutrality
1940
17 / 9
Railroad legislation; "The Railroads and Economic Conditions Confronting the Country"; farm appropriations legislation; "The Relief Problem"; "Youth: Jobs and War"
1940
18 / 1-4
Neutrality speech on NBC Radio Network (phonograph records]
circa 1940
19 / 1
Neutrality; "The Lend-Lease Bill Means War"; "Lend-Lease Bill"; "America, You Will Love War!"; "The Bill 1776: The Road to War"; "Unity for Peace"; "Convoy of Supplies Means War"; "Peace"
1941
19 / 2
HB 1776; neutrality; "The American Enabling Act of 1941"; "War or Peace"; "America First Tribute"
1941
19 / 3
Neutrality; modification of neutrality act
1941
19 / 4
Neutrality; "Participation by the United States in War"
1941
19 / 5
Neutrality; "Tribute to Senator Hiram Johnson"
1941
19 / 6
Neutrality; "Prevent War by Fighting for Peace"
1941
19 / 7
Neutrality
1941
20 / 1
Senator Murray's accusations
July 1942
20 / 2
"Let Us Defend the American Home"; "Americanism versus Internationalism in the Post-War Picture"; "The War and the Peace"; "Sound American Policy"; conscription; "To Defer Fathers from Draft"; Senate Resolution 192; planning to win the war
1943
20 / 3
"Bases for Permanent Peace"; "The Balance of Power in Europe"; "Our Post War Policy"; "An International Police Force"; "Conditions on the Home Front"; "Artificial Rubber in the Post-War World"; American war aims
1943
20 / 4
"Our Dilemma in China"; "Should We Join a World Organization Which May Require Us to Fight to Enforce Its Decisions?"; "World Police Force"; "A People's Peace"; domestic and foreign problems facing post-war Americans
1944
20 / 5
"Sound American Policy"; Tyler Kent trial; "Finland"; Atlantic Charter and post-war realities; government in post-war Europe
1944
20 / 6
"Our Liberal Heritage"; "The Truth about Fort Peck"; "The Future of Communications"; Senator Nye's re-election; future development of communications industry; "Use of Waters of the Missouri River"; "Freedom of Speech on the Air"
1944
20 / 7
"The United Nations and Peace"; "Report on European Trip"; "Our Position in Post War"
1945
20 / 8
"Shall Congress Give Up Its Constitutional Right to Declare War?"; "The Crimea Conference"; "The United Nations Charter"; "American Foreign Policy and Attainment of Peace"; "What Great Britain Can Do to Strengthen her Relations with the United States"; "Universal Military Training"; "America's War and Foreign Policy"
1945
20 / 9
"Agriculture"; "Much-Maligned American Coal Miners Break All Production Records in 1944"
1945
20 / 10
Remarks, extensions of remarks, etc. from Congressional Record (includes annotations re speeches of others)
Jan-June 1945
21 / 1-2
Remarks, extensions of remarks, etc. from Congressional Record (includes annotations re speeches of others)
July 1945- June 1946
21 / 3
"The British Loan"; Palestine
1946
21 / 4
Primary election campaign
1946
21 / 5
Miscellaneous
1947-1959
21 / 6
Fragments and unidentified
undated
21 / 7
"Addresses and Statements of Hon. B.K. Wheeler", collected by E.B. Craney
1930-1939
22 / 1-2
"Addresses and Statements of Hon. B.K. Wheeler", collected by E.B. Craney [2 vol.]
1940-1946

Subject Files Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
22 / 3
J.G. Darden investigation
1910-1920
22 / 4-8
Harry M. Daugherty investigation (re Teapot Dome scandal, etc.) [includes Oversize Folder]
1924-1925
23 / 1-5
U.S. Justice Department investigations (re McGrain vs. Daugherty)
1920-1925
23 / 6
Wheeler Defense Committee
1925-1926
23 / 7
Burton K. Wheeler indictment
1924-1925

Writings Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
23 / 9
"Why Are We in Nicaragua?"; "Individualism Gains in Russia"; economic demands of farmers; sound money and silver; memo re public utilities
1927-1932
23 / 10
"American Points of View"
August 1938
23 / 11
"Memo on Conference at the White House with the President" (re third term)
August 1938
23 / 12
"Railroads on the Witness Stand"; "Shall We Permit Loans to the Allies?"; "America--Gone by Tomorrow?" (re peacetime conscription)
1940
23 / 13
"The Shocking Truth about Radio"
1944
23 / 14
"Dangers of Post-War Alliances"; "The Road to Enduring Peace" (re implications of the Atlantic Charter and the United Nations on post-war policies)
1944, 1947
23 / 15
Transcripts of B.K. Wheeler dictation for autobiography
1961
23 / 16
Yankee from the West, early drafts (chapters 1-5)
1961-1962
24 / 1
Yankee from the West, early drafts (chapters 6-11)
1961-1962
24 / 2-4
Yankee from the West, revised drafts
1961-1962
24 / 5
Yankee from the West, notes
1961-1962
24 / 6
"Some of the Devious Paths of the Law"
undated
24 / 7
B.K. Wheeler re references to him in Arthur Schlesinger's biography of Franklin D. Roosevelt
undated

Miscellany Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
24 / 8
Bills and resolutions introduced by Wheeler
1933-1938
24 / 9
Carbon County, Montana, Democratic Central Committee endorsements
August 1932
25 / 1
Cartoons [photographic copies] used in Cartoons Concerning some Actions of Montana's Senator Burton K. Wheeler
circa 1937- circa 1941
25 / 2
Ed Craney re European war and discussion of American neutrality on the radio
June 1940
25 / 3
Edward J. Earley, "Burton Kendall Wheeler and the Election of 1924"
undated
25 / 4
Harrison J. Freebourn statements re indictment
1940
25 / 5
Hart-Albin strike and B.K. Wheeler
1939
25 / 6
List of artifacts transferred to the Museum
25 / 7
"List of Attorneys in Montana Arranged According to Towns"
undated
25 / 8
Magazine articles on B.K. Wheeler
1924-1940, undated
25 / 9
Political materials of others
1923-1924
25 / 10
Franklin D. Roosevelt re goals of Administration
1933
25 / 11
Richard T. Ruetten's thesis on B.K. Wheeler [fragments]
1961
25 / 12
Frances Wheeler Sayler's notes, etc. for proposed Wheeler biography
1951-1956
25 / 13-14
Dayton Stoddard manuscript for Wheeler biography [drafts]
1958-1960
26 / 1-6
Dayton Stoddard manuscript for Wheeler biography [drafts]
1958-1960
27 / 1
U.S. House Special Committee on Un-American Activities subversive investigations materials
1943
27 / 2
U.S. State Department news releases
1943
27 / 3
Burton K. Wheeler anecdotes re childhood experiences
1972
27 / 4
Burton K. Wheeler birthday celebration invitation
1972
27 / 5
Burton K. Wheeler diplomatic passport
1923
27 / 6
Burton K. Wheeler indictment (speeches by Thomas J. Walsh, W.C. Brown, and J.A. Reed)
1925-1926
27 / 7
Burton K. Wheeler interview re Thomas J. Walsh [transcript]
1949
27 / 8
Burton K. Wheeler interview [transcript]
1961
27 / 9
Burton K. Wheeler interview [transcript]
undated
27 / 10
Burton K. Wheeler presidential candidacy endorsements
1939-1940
27 / 11-17
Burton K. Wheeler voting record
1923-1943
28 / 1
Burton K. Wheeler voting record
1943-1946
28 / 2
Burton K. Wheeler voting record on farm issues
1923-1942
28 / 3
"Wheeler's Seventeen Years of Voting for Labor"
1940
28 / 4
Miscellaneous
1931-1945, undated

Clippings Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
28 / 5
Butte Miner
1916
28 / 6
Butte Bulletin
1920
28 / 7
Solidarity
1920
28 / 8-11
Miscellaneous
1922-1924
28 / 12
Burton K. Wheeler indictment
April 1925
29 / 1-2
Miscellaneous
1925-1936
29 / 3
Reorganization of the Supreme Court
1937
29 / 4
Jerry O'Connell
1937-1938
29 / 5
Miscellaneous
1937-1938
29 / 6
Burton K. Wheeler presidential candidacy
1939
29 / 7
Burton K. Wheeler homecoming, Hudson, Massachusetts
1939
29 / 8
Miscellaneous
1939
29 / 9
Harrison Freebourn indictment
1940
29 / 9-10
Burton K. Wheeler senate campaign
1940
29 / 12
Burton K. Wheeler presidential candidacy
1940
29 / 13-14
Miscellaneous
1940
29 / 15
Miscellaneous (includes accusations of mail fraud)
1941-1942
30 / 1
Miscellaneous (includes accusations of mail fraud)
1943-1944
30 / 2
Miscellaneous
1945
30 / 3
Burton K. Wheeler senate campaign
1946
30 / 4-9
Miscellaneous
1946-1972
30 / 10-11
Miscellaneous
undated
31 / 1
Scrapbook re LaFollette-Wheeler campaign
1924
Volume
1
Scrapbook re LaFollette-Wheeler campaign
1924
Box/Folder
31 / 2
Scrapbook re Wheeler political activities and indictment
1924-1925
Volume
2
Scrapbook re reorganization of Supreme Court
1937
Box/Folder
31 / 3
Scrapbook "From the Detroit Chapter of the America First Committee, 'The Vietigs'"
1941
Volume
3
Scrapbook re Yankee from the West
1962

Audio Recordings Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
Media Cabinet
Untitled
Undated
Media Cabinet
Untitled
Undated
Media Cabinet
Untitled
Undated
Media Cabinet
B. K. Wheeler Speech, American Neutrality
circa 1940
Media Cabinet
B. K. Wheeler Speech, American Neutrality
circa 1940
Media Cabinet
B. K. Wheeler Speech, American Neutrality
circa 1940
Media Cabinet
B. K. Wheeler Speech, American Neutrality
circa 1940

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Authors
  • Elections
  • Investigations--Government
  • Legislators--United States

Personal Names

  • Wheeler, Burton K. (Burton Kendall), 1882-1975 (creator)

Geographical Names

  • United States--Politics and Government
  • Washington (D.c.)--Politics and Government